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Now, as the Celtics prepare for their fourth straight playoff appearance under coach Joe Mazzulla as the Eastern Conference\u2019s No. 2 seed, they are whole again following Tatum\u2019s return last month. And the rest of the NBA is acknowledging what the Celtics have believed for some time: The sky remains the limit for this team.<\/p>\n
Though Brown, who seized the leadership reins during an MVP-caliber season, acknowledged that he was surprised \u201ca little\u201d at least about just how well the cards have fallen for this group.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, my mentality was come in and compete. But the way the group merged together as quickly as it did \u2014 it didn\u2019t take us long. I thought it would take us a littler longer,” Brown said. “We were trending upward post-All-Star break. But we kind of figured it out maybe the first 10 or 15 games. We started clicking and gelling. That just doesn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Tatum sidelined the first 65 games, Brown flourished as the No. 1 option and leader, taking his game to new levels on both the offensive and defensive ends. He post career-high averages in points (28.7), rebounds (6.9) and assists (5.1).<\/p>\n
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He also got lots of support.<\/p>\n
Derrick White struggled offensively at times but remained a stalwart on defense, leading all NBA guards in contested shots (550) while ranking second among guards in blocks per game (1.3).<\/p>\n
Payton Pritchard adjusted his game, first as a starter and then by returning to the bench role that earned him Sixth Man of the Year honors last season. Sam Hauser remained a reliable threat from the 3-point line, and Neemias Queta grew his game in leaps in his first year as a starter.<\/p>\n
There were some questions about how Tatum\u2019s return on March 6 would affect the flow of a group that had learned to adjust and thrive without the sixth-time All-Star.<\/p>\n
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Instead, Tatum has reacclimated himself in short order, averaging 21.8 points, 10 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 16 games.<\/p>\n
\u201cQuite honestly I think it\u2019s impressive that he\u2019s gotten back to the level that he\u2019s at as fast as he\u2019s done it, while also keeping the main thing the main thing, which is remaining healthy and giving us the best chance to win every night,\u201d Mazzulla said. \u201cIt\u2019s a credit to him.”<\/p>\n
One of the final hurdles to Tatum feeling \u201cback\u201d came on April 9, when the Celtics visited the New York Knicks in his first game at Madison Square Garden since suffering his injury. He said the past month has strengthened a love for basketball he feared during rehab he might lose.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou go through ups and downs mentally when you go through an injury, especially the one that I had,\u201d Tatum said. \u201cMoments of doubt or things like that. But there\u2019s definitely a sense of gratitude.\u201d<\/p>\n
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For Brown, it\u2019s also put into perspective just how unlikely his nine seasons playing alongside Tatum have been.<\/p>\n
Famed Celtics duo Bill Russell and Bob Cousy played together for seven seasons. Shaquille O\u2019Neal and Kobe Bryant played together for eight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s been a historic run. We were able to deliver a championship in 2024. Unfortunately, we had opportunities in the past that got away from us, but we\u2019ve been right there for a long amount of time. We\u2019ve gained a lot of experience,\u201d Brown said. \u201dEverything isn\u2019t always perfect, but it\u2019s not supposed to be. It\u2019s a part of the journey. … I\u2019m excited to go have another opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brown also has an eye on bringing more trophies to Boston.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m still improving. I\u2019m still getting better. I\u2019m still learning. I\u2019m still growing,” he said. “I feel like I\u2019m entering my prime and I\u2019m excited to maximize my potential and then take advantage of every opportunity I have to win and just be a part of a team and be a part of something special.\u201d<\/p>\n
AP NBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/nba<\/a>\n<\/p>\nArticle continues below this ad<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) drives to the basket against New Orleans Pelicans guard Micah Peavy (14)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":609100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[5551,64,63,296076,296075,62056,15610,7230,157218,7217,12833,590,32203,146002,81448,145996,286233,97394,14232,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-609099","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-al-horford","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-bob-cousy","12":"tag-boston-celtics-nba-playoffs-jaylen-brown-jayson-tatum","13":"tag-derrick-white","14":"tag-jaylen-brown","15":"tag-jayson-tatum","16":"tag-joe-mazzulla","17":"tag-jrue-holiday","18":"tag-kristaps-porzingis","19":"tag-nba","20":"tag-neemias-queta","21":"tag-package-100502-member-choice-sports-option","22":"tag-payton-pritchard","23":"tag-product-30599-ap-sports-news-s-wire-only","24":"tag-product-40791-ap-massachusetts-sports-only","25":"tag-sam-hauser","26":"tag-shaquille-oneal","27":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=609099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/609100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=609099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=609099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=609099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}