New Jayson Tatum decision proves that past anger was justified

The Boston Celtics took on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night, earning a 118-115 victory over their Western Conference opponent. Boston decided to make Anthony Edwards a playmaker for most of the evening, and while other Wolves players made their shots, it wasn’t enough to beat Boston.

But as the game was going on, another issue came about. In the final minute of the third quarter, Luke Kornet got called for a foul under the rim. Jayson Tatum was unhappy with the call, clapping out of frustration. Immediately, the referee next to him handed him a technical foul for the action.

Needless to say, Tatum wasn’t thrilled about the choice.

Jayson Tatum's clapping tech was rescinded - and they all should be

The technical mirrored a different one that he received earlier in his career when he clapped after a play. He was frustrated with himself and clapped, but the ref thought he was clapping at him. Just as he was on Thursday, Tatum was very angry when he got a tech for that issue.

Thursday’s incident was the same thing, and the very next day, Tatum’s technical was rescinded, meaning the NBA basically admitted that he shouldn’t have received it.

Though Tatum isn’t the best when it comes to interacting with NBA officials, neither clapping tech he received was necessary. He didn’t deserve a technical foul in either situation, and the NBA rescinding the one from Thursday proves that Tatum’s past frustrations were justified.

His interactions with referees throughout the years have been less than ideal. Tatum has been known to let his tempers flare, especially when it comes to letting his frustrations be known. And the result is usually a technical foul.

But as a result of his relationship with officials, they can often be quick to judge his actions on the court. That’s probably what happened on Thursday against the Timberwolves.

Since Tatum has made his outbursts toward referees a commonality, anytime he shows emotion in their general vicinity, they are likely on high alert. And sometimes, that means they’ll dish out technical fouls that aren’t deserved.

Still, officials have to decipher his actions a bit better because the two technical fouls Tatum has gotten for clapping were both ridiculous. Tatum wasn’t trying to be aggressive in either situation.

Luckily for Tatum and the Celtics, his technical foul didn’t end up hurting the team too much, as they won by three points and held off Minnesota’s attempt at making a comeback run.

Perhaps Tatum needs to be a bit better at controlling his emotions towards refs, but at the same time, they should file “clapping” in the “do not give a tech” part of their rule book.