6/8/24
by Bob McCullough
As a semi-regular sports talk listener in the greater Boston area, I reluctantly tolerate the endless Celtics narrative about the two J's. It does have its amusing moments because of all the nonsense being spewed, but there does seem to have been a bit of a seismic shift in the last couple of weeks.
Specifically, it's about Jaylen Brown. He's always been an impressive player when it comes to character and growing his game, but in the last two series especially he's been assuming the alpha role, based largely on his clutch play.
This began in the Indiana series, when Brown's improbably corner three saved the Celtics from an embarrassing loss in Game 1. It's the kind of shot we typically expect Derrick White to make, and Tatum has been mostly missing these kinds of shots for years now. Combine that game winner with Brown's other landmark games in that series that earned him the series MVP award, and his narrative started to look a little different.
Add in his defensive contributions, and suddenly it starts to look a lot different. Brown is making clutch plays with steals and shot blocking, backing up his claim that he should have been All-NBA this year. At first those claims struck me as slightly ludicrous, but Brown is doing what he does, which is back up his words with ongoing growth on the floor.
And Tatum? He's been in a muddle for most of the playoffs so far. He's had a few of his trademark jaw-dropping games as an offensive force, but he's also been shot hunting and turning the ball over at his regular rate as well.
Lately, though, Tatum has been playing a different role. Because of the talent around him and his sudden awareness of his struggles, the results on the floor have made him look an awful lot like a #2 star who defers to the alpha.
That's not to suggest that any of this is permanent, of course. Tatum could post brilliant numbers in Game 2, or any subsequent game, for that matter. It has been noticeable for the past couple of weeks, though, and it's one of the storylines I'll be following closely as the Finals go forward.
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