"Then I get a tech" - Jayson Tatum throws digital jab at NBA referees for picking technical foul vs Cavaliers

Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics eliminated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the playoffs to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. On the night of his team’s success, Tatum was frustrated with the officiating during the game. The Celtics star subsequently took a shot at referees with his Snapchat post.

Tatum posted a picture of Evan Mobley's hand on his elbow while attempting a three-point shot. The picture was from the first quarter when Tatum made his first three with just over five minutes remaining. Tatum captioned the post:

“Then I get a tech.”

Since the first quarter, Jayson Tatum was having an issue with the officials for not calling fouls against the Cavs. He was seen upset when he thought he was fouled on his first basket of the game.

Later, Tatum was awarded a technical foul in the last seconds of the second quarter. With just over four seconds remaining on the shot clock, Jayson Tatum made a contested three against Darius Garland. After not getting any call, Tatum made a hand-wave gesture toward official Tony Brothers and immediately got a technical.

Despite winning the series, Tatum still seems upset with his technical foul. However, NBA insider Tim Bontemps later reported that Brothers doesn't like hand-wave gestures and Tatum was lucky he didn't get a second technical.

An almost triple-double night for Jayson Tatum as Celtics move to ECF in third consecutive year

After the 2024 NBA regular season, the Boston Celtics were the title favorites and they remain so after registering a 4-1 series win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. In Game 5 of the series, Jayson Tatum was the best player on the floor.

Tatum almost had a triple-double, just one assist from magic double-digit numbers. He had 25 points on 56.3% shooting from the field and almost 43% from the 3-point line. He also came up with 10 rebounds and nine assists in the game.

However, everything hasn’t been going easy for Tatum in the 2024 playoffs. This season, his scoring averaged his lowest in the last five years. He is averaging just 24.3 points per game on 43.0% shooting from the field and a mere 28.1% from the 3-point line.

There is a high chance that the Celtics will move to the NBA Finals. However, with this kind of inefficiency from struggles on the floor, his dream of winning the title would once again become compromised. He needs to find a way to score more efficiently. Moreover, sticking to his Game 5 plan seems to be the best idea (attract and punish) right now.