The Boston Celtics have had a long journey this season from one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA to being just four wins away from capturing a title. Jayson Tatum made it clear after Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals that he was motivated by one particular narrative.
Tatum and Jaylen Brown hugged each other after Boston defeated the Miami Heat 100-96 to secure a spot in the NBA Finals. During the exchange, Tatum could be heard telling Brown something along the lines of “they said we couldn’t play together.” You can see the video below:
“we’re together…
they said we couldn’t play together”
Jayson Tatum to Jaylen Brown after their first finals appearance as a duo pic.twitter.com/rRJDWP6Goy— Matt💚 (@culturedmf) May 30, 2022
At one point, people thought the Celtics should trade Brown. The rationale was that Tatum and Brown are too similar with their styles of play and that Boston could use Brown as a centerpiece of a blockbuster trade. Former president of basketball operations Danny Ainge repeatedly refused to include Brown in trades, and Brad Stevens has done the same.
The commitment paid off. Tatum told reporters on Sunday night that all the talk of splitting up him and Brown only made the two players closer.
"Saying we need to split the group up, get rid of somebody or me and JB can't play together… that fueled us."@jaytatum0 talks about how outside noise motivated the Celtics to come together @tvabby pic.twitter.com/liCFBrmEFG
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 30, 2022
The Celtics were just one game above .500 on Jan. 31. They then turned things around and went on a huge run. Brown offered a bizarre explanation for why Boston caught fire, but none of that matters now. He and Tatum clearly can play together, and the Celtics’ confidence in that has paid off.
