On Friday night, the Boston Celtics walked into Spectrum Center hoping to bounce back from their first loss of the season. They did just that, earning a 124-109 win over Charles Lee and the Charlotte Hornets. But as the game was wrapping up late in the fourth quarter, the narrative shifted from a normal night to a wild one.
Grant Williams completely ran over Jayson Tatum as the Celtics superstar was crossing half-court. Both bodies hit the floor hard before Tatum popped right up and walked away, diffusing a situation that could have been much worse. Williams was handed a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game for the play.
And his explanation for what happened is completely bogus.
Grant Williams' reason for knocking over Jayson Tatum was terrible
After the game, Williams stated that the foul was “unintentional” and that he is very close friends with Tatum. (Via Jay King of The Athletic)
Grant Williams said the hard foul was unintentional and Tatum is one of his close friends.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) November 2, 2024
One quick look at the play is enough to see that there is nothing unintentional about it. Williams was completely behind the ball, sprinted to catch up to Tatum, and ran right into him.
What could have possibly been unintentional? What did Williams expect to happen when he ran into someone else with the full force of his body?
Jaylen Brown was very displeased with the play and had to be held back by assistant coach Tony Dobbins. He was ready to go to war for Tatum after seeing him get bulldozed.
When Williams was in Boston, he and Tatum were very close. And they probably still are to this day. That’s what makes the play in the fourth quarter on Friday night so bizarre.
Grant Williams is an absolute CLOWN.
— Savage (@SavageSports_) November 2, 2024
Runs over Tatum for no reason. pic.twitter.com/wo6sPiDxDX
Once Williams decided he was going to run into Tatum, there was no other outcome that was going to transpire than the one that did. It was always going to be a Flagrant 2. It was always going to get him ejected. It was always going to anger the entire Celtics roster.
Williams argued he was trying to make a play on the ball, but one watch of the video makes it clear that no such effort was made. (Via Bobby Manning of CLNS Media)
Grant Williams explains his ejection, the foul: pic.twitter.com/G62Iyiymmq
— Bobby Manning (@RealBobManning) November 2, 2024
How could something like that possibly be unintentional? Williams can’t even argue that he was trying to get a steal. There was no effort to get the ball.
Maybe he’s trying to say that the roughness of the foul was unintentional, as he was just trying to stop the fast break. But still. It was a bogus play followed by a bogus explanation.