Jayson Tatum’s 2-word message to Jaylen Brown after Celtics’ NBA Finals berth
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, locked in
After decimating the Pacers on their home floor, celebrations were in order for the Eastern Conference champions. When they headed to the locker room, the energy shifted. There were two words that Jayson Tatum said to Jaylen Brown which made the two instantly very hungry to step on the parquet floors for the NBA Finals, via Jay King of The Athletic.
“Four more,” the Celtics All-NBA player said to the Eastern Conference Finals MVP.
All Jaylen Brown could do was nod in agreement to Jayson Tatum. What makes this Celtics squad so different from the iterations that fans have seen in the past? Experience. Brown outlined that this team is ready to hoist up the franchise’s 18th banner and Larry O’Brien trophy in the next two weeks.
“We feel like we’re a different team than we were last year and the year before that. I know everybody wants to continue to kind of pigeonhole us to what was happening in the past but we’ve had a different team every single year, different coaches, we’ve had like three coaches in the last five years. And still, people want to make it seem like it’s the same, it’s the same, it’s the same,” the Larry Bird trophy winner proclaimed.
The fast-paced evolution these two have experienced under Brad Stevens’ care is impeccable. Now, they should make do with their potential and finally bring it home, for guys like Bill Walton and Bill Russell.
Celtics’ road to the NBA Finals
The first thing they did was let go of key pieces. This got the Celtics a veteran unicorn in Kristaps Porzingis along with a proven leader and defensive mastermind in Jrue Holiday. Joe Mazzulla then kept running his schemes that banked on perimeter play. Everything worked well. The Celtics finished atop the NBA. They did so with a top-defensive rating of 111.6, which placed them third, and an offensive rating of 123.2.
Asterisks were immediately added to this NBA Finals run. Jimmy Butler was not on the Heat, and the Celtics were not receiving enough recognition. The same thing happened against the Cavaliers, despite winning in five games. Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen both missed a lot of time throughout this series. The identical phrases were being said during their rout of the Pacers following Tyrese Haliburton’s foul.
The hatred is evident at all levels of the organization, even Celtics supporters. They are limited to being the winners and wielding the pen of history.
