Mavs head coach Jason Kidd raised some eyebrows with his answer when asked following Dallas’ practice what makes playing against a man like Jaylen Brown so tough.
Jaylen is their best player, Kidd said.
“Just observing his defensive play, he moved Luka across the field. He arrived at the line for free throws. As your best player, he did everything. Simply realise that he plays both sides, offence and defence, at a high level. He has been doing that the entire postseason. Talking about the Eastern Conference MVP, he seems to have carried on where he left off. He is therefore playing at a fast clip.”
Maybe he was only offering his frank assessment. Kidd knew just what he was doing, though, based on the pause and smirk that preceded his response. It was a masterful display of gamesmanship, and the Celtics were not going to let it get to them.
I see what J-Kidd is doing, man. I see what he is doing, smiled Al Horford, waving his finger. Amazingly talented, Jaylen Brown is really unique to us.
Horford laughed as he turned to go, “That man is sneaky!”
Kidd was trying to cause problems in the peaceful Celtics locker room that has existed all season. But Tatum, Brown, and the other players had no desire to play into his mentаl games.
“No reaction from me,” Brown shot back. The game is teamwork. We’re attempting to concentrate on that, but, you know, everyone has an opinion.
Reaction not shown. This is a team sport, Tatum declared. “For many guys, we can claim that we wouldn’t be here if JB wasn’t on our squad. Everyone of us has contributed to our current situation, and we are aware that others attempt to divide us. It seems reasonable to try or do, I suppose. Guys have been dividing us and claiming that one of us is superior than the other or that one of us should be traded for many years. That means we have attended rodeos before.
Regarding the Jays, these kinds of remarks are nothing novel. For many years, talk programmes have featured a discussion about who is the better player—Tatum or Brown.
“We’ve just had to live with it for a very long time,” Tatum remarked. Very young when I entered this league, and I just had to deal with all of the ups and downs of, basically, our success. Positive and negаtive aspects have coexisted with that.
“We won’t be the last pair to go through that procedure; we are not the first. Hence, realising that aspect of it and concentrating on the task at hand while keeping the main item the main thing.
Tatum has been an All-Star in each of the last five seasons and, in the last three, has placed sixth or higher in the NBA MVP voting, receiving First-Team All-NBA honours in each of those campaigns.
Brown, meanwhile, was selected Second-Team All-NBA last season and is a three-time All-Star.
At 26 and 27 years old, their combined track record of five Eastern Conference Finals trips in seven years—a remarkable 344-189 record (.645)—speaks loudly. They have each won an Eastern Conference Finals MVP award along the way, and they are now in the NBA Finals for the second time.
All of their success, though, the Celtics have played more playoff games without a championship in the last eight years than any other club in NBA history. The Jays were not going to allow an age-old argument over who was better stand in the way of their greatest opportunity.
We have been purely preoccupied with our responsibilities. Every one of us has had to make sacrifices. I appreciate Jayson and tip his cap for having to do it at the highest of levels, right? Brown said.
“We can’t allow any outside interpretations try to get in between us right now; it’s whatever it takes to win.”
It was regular business when the Celtics resumed practice. After a few minutes of conversation around midcourt, Tatum and Brown grinned and danced to “Rid Wit Me” by Nelly during stretches.
Kidd was unsuccessful in upsetting the Celtics’ hierarchy.