“Joe, Tatum, Brown and the Celtics need their ass whipped. Another embarrassing performance at Home”. This post on X by former Boston Celtics champion, Kendrick Perkins, made it clear that the team was not playing according to his expectations. If their ongoing playoff series against the New York Knicks is any indication, then the team is not playing according to anyone’s expectations.

The same squad that won the NBA championship last year is now 0-2 against the Knicks in the Conference Semifinals. Jayson Tatum is especially facing criticism as the team’s leader, for blowing back-to-back 20-point leads at home, and the player himself melting down in crunch time. Fortunately, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s separate struggles might help to divert some of the attention away from him.

The Oklahoma City Thunder star wasn’t in as much hot water as Tatum over the last few days. However, that all changed after the recent Game 3 of the OKC-Denver Nuggets playoff series. The star player had recorded his 2nd-lowest score of the ongoing playoffs, contributing just 18 points through a 7-22 (31.8%) field goals, 1-6 (16.7%) 3-pointers, and 3-5 (60.0%) free throws. Sure, he contributed a whopping 13 rebounds, which helped for the game to go to overtime. However, during the same time, he made 0 points, 0 rebounds, and 0 assists. In the end, the Denver Nuggets walked away with a 113-104 win.

It was only in the previous game when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came out as the star of the game by recording a whopping 34 points through 84.6% field goals, 50.0% 3-pointers, and 100.0% free throws. As a result, OKC was able to win that game by a 149-106 score, aka a 43-point margin. Shai credited the win to the fact that “We knew what was at stake tonight. We came out desperate.” Well, well, well. That desperation only seems to have stood out for only 1 game.

With this recent loss, the OKC now trails 1-2 against the Denver Nuggets. This gave the perfect ammunition for all those who repeatedly heard about Jayson Tatum’s criticism, but didn’t see any such opinions being shared about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The bullet was loaded by several folks, and shot instantaneously.

NBA fans highlight hypocrisy of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander not receiving as much criticism as Jayson Tatum: “the reaction ain’t the same”

One social media user wrote, “Shai having a worst playoffs than Tatum but the reaction ain’t the same”. Shai might not have dropped memorable performances, but it is a debatable topic on whether he really is having a worse playoffs than Jayson Tatum. After all, while the Celtics are 0-2, OKC is 1-2. Furthermore, OKC defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 4-0 to get to the second round of the playoffs, while the Celtics had to take their first-round series against the Orlando Magic to Game 5. Then again, the variation in wins between the two teams is not by much.

One individual poked fun at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 0 points in overtime by writing “Bro only effective when he can foul bait”. If there is one thing that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is known for, it is his reputation as a ‘free-throw merchant’. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the league in free-throw attempts this season with his 606 shots. Giannis Antetokounmpo ranked 2nd, while James Harden was placed 3rd.

Shai’s feat was credited to his alleged ability to fluidly draw fouls. This was seen during an OKC-Pistons game around mid-March, where Shai appeared to initiate the contact, but shot backwards as if he was the player who got pushed. Even Chris Finch highlighted his true feelings over it once, by stating, “It’s so frustrating to play this team because they foul a ton. They really do. They foul all the time. And then you can’t really touch Shai. And it’s a very frustrating thing.”

One social media user saw Shai’s overtime stats, and sarcastically wrote, “but when it’s tatum”. Jayson Tatum has been facing a lot of flak over the last few days. Kendrick Perkins, who had given out that criticism about the key Celtics player, had also specially targeted Jayson Tatum by saying, “At some point, Jayson Tatum’s gotta say, ‘I’m the best player on the floor. I cannot be guarded.’ …He’s one of the most elite scorers in the game today, and I just don’t see that tenacity. I don’t see that dog in him”.

At the same time, however, several have been standing up in support of the player. Grant Williams took to X after the Celtics’ Game 2 loss and wrote, “Not even with them anymore but this C’s discourse is wild. Everyone has a right to an opinion, but JT and JB are Superstars. They are able 2 have bad games but we’ve all witnessed them both takeover”. He urged people not to let recent events cloud their eyes from what the duo has accomplished till now.

One individual wrote, “But we wanna slander Tatum constantly”, also sarcastically. To give credit where it is due, Jayson Tatum has been accepting the criticism that has been directed towards him. In a recent statement, he had said, “I take full ownership for the way that I’ve played in this series…Can’t sugar coat anything. I need to be better. And I expect to be a lot better”. Currently averaging 18 points, Jayson Tatum is scoring his lowest NBA playoff average since the 2018-19 season, when he averaged just 12 points.

One social media user again brought up the ‘foul-bait’ by writing “Nothing without the whistle”. Well, Shai needs to perform better in Game 4, otherwise he will continue not to live down his reputation as a ‘free-throw merchant’.