MassLive basketball beat writer, Tom Westerholm, unveiled a feel-good story about the Celtics young stars Marcus Morris and Jayson Tatum balancing fatherhood with being an NBA player. It's good feature story, but really does little to make the 2018-19 team anymore "likable" despite winning three of its last five games - including two big wins against the Warriors and Lakers.
Westerholm opens the story following a Friday afternoon practice on the left coast and quoting Morris, who blamed his poor shooting performance on "not seeing his son" and thought it was "kind of funny." No, Marcus, what I think is kind of funny is your dismal shooting from the outside.
I understand your son is now the most important person in your life, but it still doesn't change the fact that you have job. Your job is to help the Celtics win games and shooting 25% from beyond the arc over your last 11 games doesn't help that - nor does it help alleviate the speculation from local media pundits that Brad Stevens can't control the locker room. Marcus, it's 'ok' for you to see your son at halftime, but you shouldn't need Junior to help clear your mind and get you back on track.
Why do you need outside influences to make you feel better? How you feel comes from inside. You're just the experiencer of the experience.
This show-cases a double standard. This is life. What Morris and Jayson Tatum are going through as fathers, countless other young fathers are going through the same thing if not worse. Morris and Tatum are the lucky ones they have a tremendous support system that helps them (Tatum's son, Deuce, traveled with Jayson's mother on the road during the playoffs last spring).
They have people helping them. Whether its their mother, sister, in-laws, or the Celtics themselves, but not everyone is that lucky. Most parents (not just new parents) are struggling to support their children by working multiple jobs, and/or sacrificing time away from their kids, so they can continue to do things that they love. But they don't get a soap box. They "just keep playing" and they don't complain.
I'm less impressed with Tatum and Morris balancing their "fatherhood" responsibilities, and more impressed with the the electrician down the street, running his own business, while raising three boys - including one who is sick. That's being a dad.
So before you put Tatum and Morris on a pedestal for being good fathers, think about all the parents out there, who working every day for their children, who also may be traveling and missing their offspring and don't make the millions of dollars these two make just because they were fortunate to be talented enough they can shoot a basketball.
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