Jayson Tatum has made the All-NBA first group in every of the final three seasons. However Jason Kidd claimed Saturday that he’s not even one of the best participant on his personal group.
Forward of Sport 2 of the NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks head coach nonchalantly mentioned that honor belongs to Jaylen Brown, not Tatum.
“Well, Jaylen’s their best player,” Kidd mentioned after Saturday’s Mavs observe. “Just looking at what he does defensively. He picked up Luka (Doncic) full-court, he got to the free-throw line — he did everything, and that’s what your best player does.
“Just understanding that he plays both sides, defense and offense, at a high rate, and he’s been doing that the whole playoffs, when you talk about the Eastern Conference (finals) MVP.”
Brown was among the finest gamers on the ground in Sport 1 — team-high 22 factors, six rebounds, two assists, three steals, three blocks. He was extremely efficient driving to the basket and led Boston’s full-team defensive effort towards Doncic.
The Celtics gained simply, 107-89.
“It seems like he’s continued to pick up where he left off,” Kidd mentioned. “He’s playing at a high rate. We’ve just got to be a little more physical with him, and we’ve got to keep him off the free throw line and out of the paint, because he was finishing at a high rate, or he was getting fouled and getting to the free throw line.”
Kidd’s recreation plan definitely confirmed a substantial amount of respect for Tatum, nevertheless. He was double-teamed all through Sport 1, with Dallas clearly devoting additional consideration to limiting his offensive appears.
Tatum completed with a modest 16 factors (6 of 16, 3 of seven from 3-point vary) with six turnovers, however the Mavericks’ laser give attention to him freed up appears for his teammates. The Celtics outscored the Mavs by 19 factors throughout Tatum’s 42 minutes, the second-best mark for any participant behind Jrue Vacation’s plus-20.
Whereas Brown’s defensive prowess might elevate him above Tatum in Kidd’s eyes, the coach’s feedback appeared like a transparent try at gamesmanship amid what must be a aggressive sequence. That’s how Tatum seen them.
“We understand that people try to drive a wedge in between us,” mentioned Tatum, who leads the Celtics in factors, rebounds and assists this postseason. “It’s a smart thing to do, or try to do, but we’ve been in this position for plenty of years with guys trying to divide us, say that one of us should be traded or one’s better than the other.
“It’s not our first time. … We’re not the first duo to go through it, and we won’t be the last.”
Brown, Tatum’s teammate because the latter entered the NBA in 2018, mentioned he had “no reaction” to Kidd’s reward.
“It’s a team game,” he mentioned. “I try to focus on that. Everybody has their own opinions.”
Sport 2 is Sunday evening in Boston at 8 p.m.
Porzingis ramps up
Joe Mazzulla mentioned earlier than Sport 1 that Porzingis would don’t have any minutes restriction in his return from a calf pressure. Seems, that wasn’t solely true.
Porzingis admitted Saturday that he’s, the truth is, on a minutes restriction, however that he feels “good” after logging 21 extremely impactful minutes in Thursday’s blowout win.
The 7-foot-2 heart shocked himself with how effectively he carried out after a 38-day layoff. He scored 20 factors off the bench, together with 18 within the first half, and added six rebounds and three blocks.
“To be honest, the way I moved, looking back now at the game, I don’t I even expected myself to be moving so well,” he mentioned. “So that was a good sign for myself. And now having two days in between (games), preparing my body again and getting even probably better conditioning now for next game will be huge.”
It’s unclear whether or not Porzingis will return to the beginning lineup or once more come off the bench, which he’s accomplished simply twice in his NBA profession. Al Horford has began the final 11 video games on the 5 spot for Boston.
Brown requires noise
Kyrie Irving raised eyebrows when he mentioned the TD Backyard crowd, which booed him relentlessly in Sport 1, was not as noisy as he was anticipating.
Brown mentioned the identical Saturday, difficult Celtics followers to step their recreation up Sunday evening.
“I thought the crowd was good,” Brown mentioned. “I think we can be a little bit better. I expect us to be even louder. Sunday, we are going to need our fans to be hyped. It’s not just team versus team. It’s crowd versus crowd. It’s gas station versus gas station. Supermarket versus supermarket. It’s the whole city versus the whole city. We need everybody.”
After Sunday, the best-of-seven sequence will shift to Dallas for Sport 3 on Wednesday and Sport 5 on Friday.
Mazzulla serving to Mayo
Jerod Mayo lately mentioned Mazzulla has been a “great resource” for him as he adjusts to his new gig as Patriots head coach.
Mazzulla make clear his relationship with Mayo, saying they first bonded once they have been up-and-coming assistants. Mazzulla believes it’s essential for Boston’s head coaches to assist one another.
“I think as you get into this, you start to realize that once you’re in a position, nobody can really relate to you except for other people in that position,” the Celtics coach mentioned. “So you just grow a bond with other coaches because you know what they’re going through. You know what the challenges, you know what the opportunities are, you know the situation that you’re in.
“So I think it’s really important that we all stick together — me, him, coach (Jim) Montgomery, Alex (Cora). You just have to stick together and help each other through it, because each of our four coaches have been through different experiences, whether it’s inside Boston or outside Boston.”
