Grant Williams’ reckless play: How Boston Celtics should react

The Celtics beat the Hornets in Charlotte, but all the talk afterwards was about Grant Williams’ reckless takedown of Jayson Tatum. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal explores what really happened and the Celtics’ response strategy, emphasizing the need for a dominant performance against the Charlotte Hornets. As for the game, Tatum’s improved shot selection and the team’s unusual struggle in the three-point battle stood out. This episode dives into offensive execution and defensive concerns. Are the Celtics saving energy for later in the season, or is motivation waning?

Join the discussion for an in-depth look at the Celtics’ evolving strategy and what it means for their season. Listen now for unique insights into the Boston Celtics’ path forward.

2:04 Celtics vs. Hornets Recap
5:39 Grant Williams’ Intentional Foul
8:13 Celtics’ Response Strategy
12:50 Basketball Talk: Shot Selection
19:28 Offensive and Defensive Execution
24:05 Three-Point Battle and Defense
29:10 Celtics’ Defensive Effort

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Locked On Celtics is a daily Boston Celtics podcast by Boston Sports Journal beat writer John Karalis. It’s an inside look at the C’s from a former professional basketball player who is at practices & games.

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46 comments

  2. John, the mental gymnastics you needed to perform to cover for Grant here is staggering, it wasn't a Basketball play at all. It was dirty. End of story.

  3. It was more disrespectful than anything.

    Tatum reacted in one of the two ways a real man can react to that. You either get heated and fight back/retaliate or you act like nothing happened.

    Of course fans aren't real men so they would cry and complain about it. Really surprised about Jaylen Brown overreacting like he's some teenage girl though

  8. I think Tatum as taken smalls digs at Grant and Charlotte so it was double personal, saying everyone on the championship team doesnt complain about usage, and then saying you have to give your best even against a team like Charlotte

  11. Grant's gonna hear it, bigtime, when he plays at The Garden from here on out…. He ain't gonna like that 😆 He overestimated his worth when he was here and earned himself a career of riding the pine for non-contenders — at best. Absolutely no reason for him to play free safety on JT and I don't buy the "momentary lapse of reason" defense. 🤡👎

  16. In summary, John thinks that the Celtics should "go medieval on their a$$" in tonight's game. The only thing missing from John's rant is mentioning pliers and blowtorches.

  19. L take. Grant obviously did it on purpose. No excuses. Same with LaMelo grabbing Kornet jersey on the way down. They were playing dirty and it was clear as day

  24. hornets their 2 bigs and having the center position be decimated, while playing vs the C's 5th center and losing the position battle says alot abt about the disparity in talent.

  30. I saw a difference in Jaylen by game 3. I absolutely love Jaylen BUT it felt like was once Jayson got off to a hot start and started getting all the buzz again, felt like Jaylen started forcing it too much. Instead of letting the game come to him. Then by the time we played the Pacers you have both of them forcing shots again with them shooting a combined 6 for 29 from three. All that said I’m not worried because I’m hoping because of how strong our TEAM is, it will all work itself out and Joe will show them that’s not our recipe for winning.

  31. This is always my first listen in the morning, sometimes I’ll be 10 minutes in and think wait who won did John even say? So I’ll go back to the very beginning and you always do, I’m just half awake😂

    Grant was my one of favorite picks that year next to Rob Williams, usually I’m not a draft guy but I thought those two would have fantastic careers. I feel bad for Rob. After last night it is confirmed that Grant is a goofball on the court and gets foggy headed, vision gets blurry. Bad, bad play on his part, especially going after one of your “friends” you’ve spent years growing up with.

  32. John what the hell are you talking about? This is such a strange defense. The guy sprinted at Tatum and hit him with a lowered shoulder. He then went on to play victim and say Jaylen escalated. Sometimes I really despise your opinions, love your effort but your takes are just clueless.

  42. Unacceptable play, but that’s who Grant is and clearly Tatum understood and got right up without escalating. With that being said, I CANT WAIT TO SEE HOW THIS TEAM PUNCHES BACK!!

  44. Funny thing is, it was a relatively close game before. Game fell completely off the rails when Grant got on the tracks. Personally I thought it was a flagrant 1 not a 2 and Lamello foul was a common and not a flagrant.

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