Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics change excessive fives through the second quarter in Recreation 4 of the Jap Convention Finals. | Picture by Dylan Buell, Getty Pictures through AFP
BOSTON— For nearly the whole thing of their time collectively in Boston, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have been linked.
They have been drafted by the Celtics third general in back-to-back years.
They possess comparable skillsets — two explosive and expert wing gamers with a capability to attain from almost each spot on the courtroom.
They usually each have been central to the success of a Celtics staff that has reached the NBA Finals for the second time in three seasons. It helped Brown earn the NBA’s first $300 million contract final summer season. And, Tatum is anticipated to get one this offseason.
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The staff has branded the All-Stars as “The Jays” in a advertising marketing campaign proven throughout video games that pitted them in opposition to each other in mini competitions.
It has created pure comparisons between them alongside the way in which, fostering an environment by which followers and sports activities pundits alike have tried to parse out which one among them is best, whose spot is most untouchable on the roster and which ones is extra pivotal to the Celtics’ success as they put together to guide the staff to the franchise’s 18th NBA title.
It reached a brand new stage final week throughout a phase on ESPN’s “Get Up” by which panelists debated whether or not the 26-year-old Tatum expressed pleasure or disappointment whereas watching the 27-year-old Brown garner Jap Convention finals MVP honors.
“I feel it’s unfair to each of them,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla mentioned of what he considered as an try to manufacture friction between the 2 stars.
Boston’s Jaylen Brown celebrates with teammate Jayson Tatum throughout extra time in opposition to the Indiana Pacers in Recreation One of many Jap Convention Finals. | Picture by Maddie Meyer, Getty Pictures through AFP
However whilst Tatum and Brown have distinguished themselves as a very powerful gamers on Boston’s roster and the keys to the Celtics’ destiny of their NBA Finals matchup with the Dallas Mavericks, Mazzulla has hope that individuals will begin viewing them in another way.
“They’re, like, two fully completely different folks. They’re two fully completely different gamers,” Mazzulla mentioned. “They’re nice teammates, they love one another they usually go about successful they usually go about their course of differently. Why they need to all the time be lumped collectively I feel is unfair.”
Stepping up
Tatum and Brown, together with Al Horford, are the one returning starters from the 2021-22 staff that misplaced to the Golden State Warriors in six video games within the Finals after holding a 2-1 collection lead.
Whereas Horford has taken on largely a reserve function this season, backing up 7-footer Kristaps Porzingis, Tatum and Brown have taken their play up a notch.
Tatum’s scoring numbers have remained regular from the common season (26.9 per sport) into the playoffs (26.0), whereas his rebounding has elevated from 8.1 to 10.4 per sport within the postseason. Brown, too, has seen jumps in these classes, going from 23.0 factors and 5.5 rebounds per sport to 25.0 factors and 6.1 rebounds within the playoffs.
Tatum believes they’ve each used classes from the 2022 NBA Finals’ loss, in addition to final yr’s convention finals loss to Miami, to develop into gamers extra geared up to perform their championship aim this time round.
“Clearly, we’ve been there earlier than, we got here up brief,” Tatum mentioned.
“You don’t all the time get a second likelihood, so actually simply it as a second likelihood and attempting to simplify issues as a lot as we are able to.”
And being one another’s largest cheerleaders, too.
After Brown made a game-tying 3-pointer late in Recreation 1 of the convention finals matchup with Indiana to ship the sport to extra time in an eventual Celtics’ victory, the very best reward got here from Tatum.
“Large time gamers make massive time performs,” Tatum mentioned of Brown.
Motivation
For Brown, this season has been about specializing in the expectations he has for himself and never worrying about others’ notion of him.
Initially, when he was requested about not being included on both the All-NBA or All-Defensive groups, he shrugged it off, saying his consideration was centered on getting again to the NBA Finals.
After he was named convention finals MVP, he acknowledged it did provide a minimum of some motivation, notably on the defensive aspect of the ball which he mentioned he put most of his work into this previous offseason.
“As time has passed by and I received so far, I ended caring,” Brown mentioned.
“I don’t care who sees what, so long as my metropolis is aware of my worth, my staff is aware of my worth, my household — that’s all I actually care about.”
Mazzulla believes the rationale the connection between Brown and Tatum is so usually talked about is rooted in outdoors disbelief that their dynamic doesn’t breed any rivalry between them.
“On the finish of the day, like, these two guys, their relationship is their relationship,” Mazzulla mentioned. “They love one another. They push one another each single day in apply. They impart with one another, however they go about it in another way. And, I feel they each get it unfair being in contrast to one another. They’re completely different. And we see different duos across the league don’t need to undergo that. … It’s as a result of they’ve been so profitable their whole careers, they’ve been in a position to for therefore lengthy keep in success at a excessive stage.”
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