It’s not what the NBA wants you to think about. And Jayson Tatum probably doesn’t want to think much about it either. It’s not how athletes at his level process things. But Tatum was fair Tuesday when he spoke of shortness of breath during competitions more than a month after testing positive for COVID-19. That he doesn’t have the same energy as before.
This is what he said according to ESPN.com:
“I think your breathing is a bit messy”, Tatum said on Tuesday afternoon after the shoot Denver Nuggets“I’ve been through some games where I don’t want to say [I was] difficulty breathing, but you know, you tire much faster than usual.
“Just running up and down the track a few times, it’s easier to get breathless or fatigued much faster. I’ve noticed that since I’ve had COVID. It’s just something I’m working on.
“It’s gotten better since the first game I played, but I still deal with it from time to time.”
That doesn’t mean Tatum isn’t effective, because he sure is.
Even last night, he went for 21 in a big 112-99 win over the Nuggets. But Tatum’s stats have fallen since his return. It could only be temporary, but the scary thing is we don’t know. We know that COVID-19 can cause long-term scarring of the lungs.
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Tatum could recover in time, probably too. But then … maybe not? No one can be completely sure that he will be free of the securities coming next month or next year. Above all, it is hope. It feels like he should be considering he has to be one of the strongest people around to be in the NBA. But the virus itself wouldn’t have cared much about that.
Even if it remains just a mild shortness of breath, Tatum can and probably will have a great career. Maybe even a Hall of Fame. It has been one of the biggest stars in the competition in recent years and still has one of the highest ceilings. He has every chance to be one of the best Celtics ever, which isn’t easy.
But the thought in everyone’s mind should be, what if he’s never quite the same? What if he never gets back that blowout that separates him from 98 percent of the competition? Sure, he will still be a top tier player, which will make him very rich, very famous and could still lead the Celtics to glory at some point. He will hardly suffer.
But we don’t know if that’s all. And if Tatum’s career is curtailed in any way, it would be a shame. Will he think playing this season is worth it if he doesn’t live up to the goals in his head simply because his lungs are scarred by a virus he didn’t have to get? If he can’t be the guy the C’s go to at the end of the playoff games because he can’t get just the right amount of oxygen? Is it worse than that and will his life be affected from then on? Or if his career is cut short?
We still don’t know how many that will happen. The fear is that the number will be much higher than we are currently considering. Just because Tatum has been the most honest about it doesn’t mean he’s the only one. If we find out, we’ll probably give a completely different feel to this season. But no league ever worries about the consequences later when money is available now.
Let’s move to the other end of the sports spectrum. Anyone who made the Vegas Golden Knights think these golden helmets were a good idea should be quickly defeated with an alligator. Look at these damn things:
They look like the movies Gladiator and Tron bumped into each other on the highway. There is simply no one on the planet who has said, “You know what we need? More Notre Dame. “Even the Fighting Irish and their most ardent fans don’t think there should be any more of it. We don’t even need the Notre Dame we currently have.
Fortunately, the Knights lost 3-2 in the last minute of the Avalanche regulation. And that’s exactly what they deserve to skate around in these light bulbs. The Chili Peppers tried this at Woodstock, motherfuckers. See what they have become.
Let’s end with LeBron coming out of the logo … and air balls. And CJ McCollum from Portland has a hearty laugh about it.