Shai Gilgeous-Alexander defended from perceived Boston Celtics HC slight at OKC star
Thunderous Intentions' Rylan Stiles sensed disrespect towards OKC star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla -- when Mazzulla implied Jayson Tatum was being ignored in the MVP race because of "shiny new toys" -- and offered pushback to the perceived slight from the league's best team's locker room leader.
"Though, this assumed slight does not sit right with Thunder fans considering Gilgeous-Alexander has Tatum beat in points, assists, steals, and blocks per game while being wildly more efficient than the Celtics great," Stiles wrote.
"Mazzulla is right, especially considering how good Boston is this season; Tatum deserves to be in these conversations, but not at the expense of a certain shiny new toy the Celtics bench boss was likely referring to."
Per CelticsBlog's Noa Dalzell, Mazzulla sent what could certainly be perceived as a slight towards SGA following OKC's 127-123 win over the Cs on January 2.
"Joe Mazzulla said Jayson Tatum can sometimes be overlooked in the wake of so many ‘shiny new toys,'" Dalzell prefaced before quoting Mazzulla, "When you get to the point where you’re as good as he is, people start to take you for granted. I think that’s the ultimate compliment."
OKC Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum face same MVP problem
SGA and Tatum are MVP equals in many ways, with the main reason perhaps being the one that costs them both the award come the summer: the Thunder and Celtics supporting casts may be performing too well for either to stand out.
On the Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets, respectively, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic are the sun in which the rest of the galaxy revolves around. Gilgeous-Alexander and Tatum are the best players on teams with players who are shouldering a comparable (if ultimately lesser) load.
Perhaps SGA and Tatum stans should all realize the same fight is being fought by both, and could well be lost by both too.