Jayson Tatum responds to Charles Barkley’s comments about Celtics’ lack of mental toughness
"Nobody can win a championship until you do it, so nobody is going to give us the credit until we actually do it and that's fine."
After the Lakers beat the Celtics at TD Garden without LeBron James and Anthony Davis, TNT’s Charles Barkley said it was a sign that the Celtics aren’t ready to win an NBA title.
The Celtics had lost three in a row at home at the time. The Lakers loss followed losses to the Nuggets and Clippers.
“It tells me that they’re just playing on talent,” Barkley said. “They’re not mentally tough enough.”
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum responded to those comments on Tuesday during an appearance on “CBS Mornings.”
“I mean, you have to give the respect right?” Tatum said. “Those are the guys that paved the way for younger players like myself. You don’t always have to agree, but you have to in a sense respect it because of the work that they have put in.”
The Celtics have the NBA’s best record at 41-12, and are Vegas favorites to win the title this season. The franchise hasn’t won a title since 2008. Boston has come close in recent years, losing in the Eastern Conference Finals last year and in the NBA Finals in 2022. Boston has reached the Eastern Conference Finals in five of the last seven years.
“I understand that in times that we’re in,” Tatum said. “Nobody can win a championship until you do it, so nobody is going to give us the credit until we actually do it and that’s fine. We don’t necessarily pay attention to the outside noise. There’s a group of us in that locker room that goes to war with each other every day and we’re up for the challenge.”
The Celtics have won four in a row since losing to the Lakers on Feb. 1. They’ve won six of their last seven, including Sunday’s matchup with the Heat in Miami. Boston has a pair of games left against Brooklyn before the All-Star break.
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