Tatum, Brown ball out vs Bucks: Celtics stars put NBA, critics on notice
If you looked up the 2022-23 NBA regular season for the Boston Celtics in the dictionary, the word frustration would come up often. It’s not because of the team’s record, but the way the team can look so dominant against the league’s best yet can lose to team’s fighting for the best lottery slot.
That is a pessimistic outlook on the NBA’s deepest and perhaps most talented team, a team led by young stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who when at their best are a very hard team to beat. Take Thursday night’s showdown with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the current No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks.
A 140-99 thrashing in Milwaukee was led by Tatum and Brown who combined for 70 points. Most importantly, they had a fire in their eyes that should worry the rest of the NBA. When they are engaged and both on their game, no one is beating the Boston Celtics no matter where they play.
Boston Celtics have been able to flip the switch because of their stars
Again, there is frustration there because both players have had games when they haven’t brought their best. But that is the benefit of having a 1-2 punch. When one player is down or even not playing, the other is there to pick up the slack. They will need that in the playoffs, obviously, but what Thursday night’s beatdown really showed was how dominant this Celtics squad is when both players have a passion to win burning through their veins.
Veteran big man Al Horford, who has watched the maturation of both players, continues to see that growth.
"“They are continuing to grow and I feel like they are really doing a good job of playing off one another and getting us involved,” Horford said, via Masslive.com. “Everything that is asked of them, they are being conscious of doing it. The growth is evident this year, they definitely have grown.”"
It has been another year of some turmoil. Although Tatum has played like the league’s MVP for much of the season, there has been questions about his shot selection on the court and his lack of urgency following losses. As for Brown, well, it goes deeper than that. Is he long for Boston? Does he want to one day lead his own team?
Those have been storylines in a season in which the Celtics are 53-24 and basically cruising towards the finish line. Again, that word frustration pops up because they could and should be sitting on top of the league with the No. 1 seed. In losing a game they had no business losing against the Washington Wizards, the Celtics blew a golden chance to get back on the heels of the Bucks for that top spot.
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Although they still gained a game, the result didn’t mean as much to the Bucks because there are just a handful of games left. But what the Bucks should be concerned with is that the Celtics seem to have their number.
Things can change in the playoffs, but when the force of Tatum and Brown are at their best, the C’s proved it doesn’t matter where the two teams play, especially when they have that fire in their eyes.
Next. Boston Celtics have no urgency when it comes to playoff seeding. dark
As far as some of the bad losses this season critics and fans will point at as reasons for frustration.
"“We might have lost some games,” Brown said after the blowout win. “But we didn’t let a bad game turn into a bad two weeks or a bad month. We’ve been able to pretty much bounce back. We’ve been pretty consistent all year. You would think we haven’t been, but all we got to do is just continue to play basketball, take care of details, hone in and try to reach our full potential. It’s never too late for stuff like that, and tonight was a great win.”"