Jayson Tatum believes the Celtics are using past losses to fuel their drive for the championship.
Tatum has kept his scoring consistent from the regular season into the playoffs, averaging 26 points per game. His rebounding has also improved, going from 8.1 to 10.4 per game. Jaylen Brown has also stepped up his game, increasing his points from 23 to 25 and rebounds from 5.5 to 6.1 in the postseason.
“Obviously, we’ve been there before, we came up short,” Tatum said. “You don’t always get a second chance, so really just looking at it as a second chance and trying to simplify things as much as we can.”
Team Chemistry:
One of the biggest reasons for the Celtics’ success is their incredible team chemistry. The players have supported each other throughout the season like true cheerleaders.
For instance, when Brown hit a crucial three-pointer in Game 1 against the Pacers that sent them into overtime and eventually led to a win, Tatum praised him highly: “Big time players make big time plays.”
Handling Pressure:
This season has been emotional for Brown due to high expectations. He started with the highest-paid contract in NBA history but was snubbed on both All-NBA and All-Defensive teams.
Brown decided not to let this bother him too much: “As time has gone by and I got to this point, I stopped caring,” he said. “I don’t care who sees what, as long as my city knows my value, my team knows my value, my family — that’s all I really care about.”
Sometimes I feel like ignoring outside noise is key.
Coach’s Perspective:
Coach Joe Mazzulla talked about how different yet complementary Tatum and Brown are on and off the court.
“They’re two completely different people,” Mazzulla explained. “They’re great teammates; they love each other but go about winning differently.”
Brown, Tatum, and Al Horford are among the few returning starters from their squad that lost against Golden State in six games during last year’s NBA Finals. According to Mazzulla, they’ve learned together how to push each other towards improvement.
“At the end of the day,” Joe continued,” those two guys have their own relationship… They push each other every single day in practice… But they go about it differently.”
