Jayson Tatum weighs in on Caleb Martin hard foul in Celtics' Game 1 win vs. Heat

Apr 21, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) reacts after a basket during the first half in game one of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs against the Miami Heat at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

There has been a fair amount of vitriol from fans of the Boston Celtics over how the Miami Heat played their favorite team in Game 1 of the 2024 Eastern Conference first round. And in Boston’s 114-94 win over a Jimmy Butler-less Miami squad, the physicality was definitely as high as we have seen it all season. But was it dirty play, or just playoff basketball?

If you ask Boston’s Jayson Tatum, it was nothing to get upset about. “Just understanding it’s playoff basketball,” he explained. “It’s a physical game, playing against a physical team. (Expletive) is going to happen. It’s not the last time I’m probably going to get hit like that in this series.”

Tatum was lifted up by the impact of Miami’s Caleb Martin in the contest’s waning seconds, as the Heat player delivered a hard foul in the most notable example of the tilt.

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Many saw it as a dirty play, but it did not impact Tatum as much as it looked like it might have. “I feel fine,” said Tatum. “I didn’t even see it. I went to go get the rebound, got knocked out there, (and) got right up, got ready to shoot some free throws.”

In a vacuum, it was a borderline hard foul, and part and parcel of playoff basketball. But taken with the arguably moving screen on Derrick White in the same game and several other examples, it’s a serious issue to monitor moving forward.

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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Jayson Tatum weighs in on Caleb Martin hard foul in Celtics’ Game 1 win vs. Heat