Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have the Celtics absolutely rolling in their seventh season as teammates. Drafted just a year apart both at No. 3 overall, the two have become the faces of one of the most storied franchises in the NBA.
Both players have been playing inspired ball as of late, helping the Cs build up an 11-game winning streak as they head into Tuesday’s meeting with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In fact, they were both recently recognized by the league, with Brown winning the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award and Tatum receiving Eastern Conference Player of the Month honors for February.
“I’m getting better and he’s getting better,” Tatum said during an appearance on the “Knuckleheads” podcast back in December of 2021. “It’s not like we’re staying the same. We’re two of the hungriest players in the league.”
The quote resurfaced this week after the Celtics laid an all-time beatdown on the Golden State Warriors in Sunday’s nationally televised game on ABC.
It’s still relevant for sure, except that the two are no longer hungry. They’re starving — but in a more fun way than the kids when the Red Sox lose (famine coming in 2024).
Tatum and Brown “starving” is great because it’s caused them to not only take their game to a new level but also to elevate their leadership.
Being two of the longest-tenured Celtics now that Marcus Smart is no longer on the team has left the duo with the task of steering their star-studded squad in the right direction.
The right direction has turned out to be sacrifice, which has been an overarching theme all year.
With the additions of both Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, two All-Star level players, and the emergence of Derrick White, it could’ve been easy for the Cs to run into a “too many mouths to feed” sort of problem.
That hasn’t happened. It’s been the opposite actually. There’s been plenty of success to be spread around and everyone’s been able to eat at different times, thanks to the Jays.
Both guys have seen their shot totals drop a bit from last season. Brown is down nearly three attempts per game, while Tatum has shaved off a pair of looks on average as well.
It should also be known that Holiday has been a big help here, too. He’s taking the least amount of shots per game since his rookie season but has still been more reliable than ever.
The collective sacrifice has allowed for Porzingis and White to piece together some of their best and most efficient seasons yet.
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Tatum’s sacrifice is something that he recently discussed with The Athletic’s Jared Weiss.
“I’ve realized that more now, just because I blinked and I remember my first game like it was yesterday,” Tatum said. “So, now to be in year seven, and I still feel super young, I can see a time when this s— can come to an end. I’m just trying to maximize that window.”
The former Duke star’s maturity has shined this year as he has been more than okay with deferring to his teammates if the situation calls for it.
“As good we are, they’re still going to try to double-team me,” Tatum told Weiss. “It’s all about just getting that pick, I draw two on me, throw it over the top to Jrue or White, and they kick it to open shooters. If we do that four or five times in a row, they have to change what they’re doing.”
His willingness to occasionally take a back seat to the other Celtics might get him killed when MVP conversations happen because he isn’t posting monster triple-doubles every night. Good thing he’s trying to help his team win, instead of worrying about individual awards.
“It’s just about trusting that it’s going to come back,” Tatum said. “I’m going to get my shots, get my points. It’s just about trusting the process. It’s tough when you’re younger, you just want everything to happen so fast and how you want it to happen, but it don’t work like that.”
Brown’s team-first mentality has shined brightly over the past month as well. Prior to his Player of the Week heater, he had been taking far fewer shots than usual. He shot 15 or less times in eight of the 11 prior games. That number may still seem pretty high, but it’s two attempts lower than his season average of 17.
That stretch showcased Brown’s ability to pick his spots and avoid doing too much, which was a major criticism surrounding him after the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Miami Heat. There were some concerns early on this year, after he had just signed his lucrative contract extension, that JB would struggle to fit within the new-look Boston team. Instead, he’s done a tremendous job of displaying growth throughout the season and gelling with the many new faces dawning the Celtic green.
On top of that, both stars have voiced and displayed a commitment to thriving on the defensive end.
“I feel like I’m playing some of the best defense of my career,” Brown said back in December (h/t CLNS Media). “I made a commitment before the season that I wanted to be First-Team All-Defense. I feel like I’ve been living up to that.”
A day later, he was sure to emphasize his impact on the defensive end in the team’s Dec. 15 win over the Orlando Magic.
“I also had a couple of steals, a couple blocks,” he said when asked about his offensive output (h/t Khari Thompson/Boston.com). “I’m going to start having to run my own campaign for First-Team All-Defense. But, nah, it’s cool. I’m really locked in on both sides of the ball. I’m really feeling comfortable and like I’m excelling, making plays at the rim, taking the ball from people, doing my job and more on the defensive side whether people want to pay attention to it or not.”
This feels like the most-locked-in version of Jaylen that we’ve seen in quite some time. Last season, there were plenty of fair questions surrounding his defensive presence. Now, it seems like every single night, he’s out there taking on the toughest assignment.
Back in January, we saw him help in holding Luka Doncic to a 12-of-30 shooting performance in Dallas. He guarded Doncic on 33 possessions and held him to five points on 2-of-6 from the field.
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More recently, he took on the tough task of defending Stephen Curry in Sunday’s win over the Warriors. Curry had one of his worst games of the season, shooting just 2-of-13 from the field and 0-of-9 from beyond the arc.
“I’m 240 pounds chasing around Steph Curry,” Brown said Sunday (h/t CLNS Media). “That’s a different level of shape you have to be in. But when you’re playing the best, you have to take on that challenge.”
Brown hasn’t been shy at all about his desire to be selected to one of the NBA’s All-Defensive teams this season. That goal is one that’s shared by his co-star Tatum, who discussed doing so before the season when he said that he was aiming to make All-Defense.
It doesn’t seem to be a goal that hast slipped his mind in the slightest.
“I have no idea how the voters view our defense individually,” Tatum told reporters after Boston’s Dec. 14 win over Cleveland. “Just try to do your job every single day. Take pride. Our best players on our team, we don’t hedge, we don’t show. We switch, we take pride in guarding whoever it is. And that’s big for our team not having any weak links.”
His most impressive defensive outing may have come in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder back in January. The game wound up being close, but it was a pretty frustrating watch for the majority of the night. The young Thunder were having their way with the Cs and seemed to be getting every look that they wanted.
Then, in the fourth quarter, it was Tatum who stepped up to guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. OKC’s main man finished the period with just three points, missing all three of his attempts from the field.
Tatum’s willingness to step in and defend the hottest player on the floor that night was a prime example of how he has grown as a leader. Both players have done a tremendous job of leading by example all season.
Whether it’s been on the defensive end or through sacrifice Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have shown that they’re not only committed to helping the Celtics win games but are starving for the championship success that has eluded them up until this point.
In three-and-a-half months, they could very well ease some of that starvation. But, it doesn’t really feel like one title would have them satisfied, now does it?
