Following the Boston Celtics’ Game 5 win over the New York Knicks, without Jayson Tatum, former NFL player Emmanuel Acho made a bold claim, and NBA superstar Kevin Durant wasn’t having it.
Acho suggested the Celtics match up better with the Knicks without Tatum. Durant strongly disagreed and didn’t hold back in his response.
Kevin Durant Calls Emmanuel Acho a ‘Hot Take Artist’
After Acho said on “The Facility” that the Celtics were better off facing the Knicks without Tatum, Durant clapped back hard.
“Hot take artist have ruined the sport. Football guys, no disrespect but yall boys need to stay In ya lanes, u don’t know what it’s like it between these lines man give it a break. Dudes who quit football early to pursue media talkin mental toughness, cut it out,” Durant wrote.
Acho responded, standing by his point about Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and explaining why he believes Brown brings more grit to the floor.
“It’s not a hot take to suggest that JB plays a tougher brand of ball than JT,” Acho wrote.
“You’re right, I don’t know what it’s like between the lines, and you don’t know what it’s like to take on Adrian Peterson in the open field. That doesn’t nullify your ability to speak on toughness.”
Ironically, the Celtics’ Game 5 win likely had less to do with Tatum being out and more to do with the rotation shift. The Celtics started pulling away when they leaned more on Luke Kornet instead of Kristaps Porziņģis.
Porziņģis has been battling an illness dating back to March, which has clearly impacted his play. At full strength, he’s the better player, but right now, a healthy Kornet is outplaying a limited Porziņģis.
There’s even a case to be made that the Celtics might not be in this hole if Kornet had been getting more minutes earlier. He just had his best game as a Celtic and has consistently looked like the better matchup against New York.
Kornet finished Game 5 with 10 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks in 26 minutes. The 29-year-old center finished a perfect five of five from the field.
Tatum’s absence also pushed Brown into the role of primary option, and he delivered. Brown had 26 points, eight rebounds and a team-high 12 assists. That performance said more about Brown’s ability to lead than it did about the Celtics being better off without Tatum.
After all, Brown was the Eastern Conference Finals MVP and Finals MVP en route to the Celtics’ 2023-2024 NBA Championship win.
