BOSTON – Whether it was a playoff game or pure courtesy from the Dallas head coach, Jason Kidd’s declaration of Jaylen Brown as Boston’s best player certainly put a bright spotlight on Brown and Jayson Tatum’s seven-season battle together. The Celtics have struggled to deal with the challenge of outside hostility to the point that Jrue Holiday felt the need to clarify his statement on the matter from Saturday’s practice, before taking questions from the media following his team-high 26 points in the Celtics’ 105-98 Game 2 NBA Finals win over the Mavericks on Sunday night.
“I’m not picking one or the other. I’m picking both,” Holiday said. “They’re both superstars, and here it is on the biggest stage in the world.”
Neither Tatum nor Brown, and especially the first-team All-NBA selection, aren’t offensive engines in their own right. Stars that should be explored when they’re not at their absolute best in the big moments.
Several of Tatum’s aggressive drives on Sunday night, his latest attempt on Twitter, resulted in the ball dangling off the rim and into the hands of a Mavericks rebounder. His rank-and-file from 3-point land and mid-range this postseason is equal. When Tatum cashed in his lone triple of the game, a back-and-forth sequence in the bottom of the third, he beat himself more with relief than with pride. He was 6-for-22 from the floor and 1-for-7 from deep. “I’ve definitely got to shoot better,” Tatum said. “Gah-lee…”
Tatum was more of a facilitator than Doncic tonight, just like he was in Game 1 – when Tatum posted five assists to Doncic’s single setup. Tatum collected eight rebounds on Sunday evening before finishing with 18 points, nine rebounds and 12 dimes. “I didn’t feel like I had to do something spectacular,” Tatum said. “It was just about finding the open man.” Every time Dallas checked the paint, it made him move between people — often thanks to Donich’s Matador defense clearing a lane for Tatum or Brown to drive. “Every time I take a couple dribbles, there’s like three guys out there,” Tatum said. And that’s where he responded by shooting open teammates as more Mavericks trailed him.
“Coming into the game it’s like a puzzle and he’s done a good job of solving the puzzle and learning how to do different things,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzula said. The most important thing with the way they ran and defended tonight was making the right plays on the rim.
Late in Game 3 against Indiana after Tatum drew three defenders to the basket, Tatum took a behind-the-back beauty to Al Horford’s devilish beauty for a triple. He was there all Sunday night when Tatum turned the corner and turned Dallas turnovers into easy sight of shooters lurking on the perimeter or Holiday on the baseline.
“Sometimes when I’m driving and I can crash, I need someone to float with me or be in space and be in my line of sight,” Holliday said. “So I think for the most part I try to stay in front of him, give him a good exit and make good reads.”
Tatum was the first player to text Holiday after Milwaukee traded its former point guard to Portland for Damian Lillard once Boston traded to its former offseason rival. Tatum found a unique combination with Boston’s other star newcomer, 7-foot-3 center Kristaps Porzis, where the pair completed a pick-and-pop move that stretched most opponents.
The reality is that Boston is built to withstand poor shooting displays from any top-six critical cog. Tatum wasn’t the only Celtic struggling with his shot this evening. Boston was just 10-of-39 from beyond the arc. Porsche has missed all three of his attempts from downtown. Sam Hauser missed all five. Brown himself was just 1-of-4.
But this lineup is so complete and deep, it has plenty of players to back up every eyeball Tatum commands, dancing with Derek Jones Jr. possession after possession and then missing assist after assist. “I get so much attention, I don’t always get the shot,” Tatum said. If Dallas doesn’t receive efficient buckets from Doncic and Kyrie Irving, the Mavericks may not have the playoffs to escape one of these contests unscathed. Tatum, instead, will focus on prioritizing the ball coming around Boston’s perimeter attack.
“I’m so tired of hearing about someone or this person or that person and people trying to do something other than Celtic basketball,” Mazzula said. “Everybody that’s stepped on that court has had winning games on both ends of the floor. That’s the bottom line.
The holiday break opened up a number of scoring opportunities that might not have been possible otherwise. Porziņģis, shaken for the second half, found another first quarter explosion. Peyton Pritchard made a layup with 3 seconds left in the third quarter, and he turned all the momentum back to the roar of a raucous home crowd. Brown said Boston’s backup point guard threw himself into the game to launch that exact prayer off the backboard and into the cotton. Many players will not download that Hail Mary to save their precious percentage. “The play that went unnoticed was our team’s humility at the end of Peyton’s quarterback,” Mazzula said.
“We’ve got a lot of weapons on our team,” Brown said.
After leading Golden State 2-1 in the 2022 NBA Finals, the Celtics are two wins away from sealing the deal. That season was Celtics head coach Im Udoka’s first attempt to evolve Tatum. Much of his and this team’s overall evolution is a result of that streak. “It has a lot to do with me not winning,” Tatum said of his willingness to move the ball.
When this matchup shifts to Dallas, don’t expect anything to change from his approach, even if the scoring doesn’t help at all or the walk-on fans don’t settle down at all. He leads Boston in both contests, pulling down 11 boards in both. He’s turned into Doncic’s game after game, with the Celtics wisely sticking Tatum over Daniel Gafford or Derek Lively at the 2 in Dallas’ endless pick-and-roll setup. He bent his stance. He swung his leg.
“We always talk about doing whatever it takes for the long haul,” Tatum said.