How Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have found balance, complement each other, and propel the Boston Celtics – MassLive.com

This season has been one, long, Ron Paul ITS HAPPENING gif for Boston Celtics fans. After years of internet snark over Danny Ainges refusal to trade Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum, fans are relishing the opportunity to pull receipts and expose every old take they can find.

Brown and Tatum have validated Ainges patience and are seemingly on the dual path to stardom that was always the backup plan to the Kyrie Irving win-now Celtics. Both have a strong chance at being All-Stars this year, and both are still on their rookie contracts.

Its been an interesting journey to this place. Danny Ainge can certainly take some credit for drafting well. Brad Stevens can run a victory lap for helping to develop them. Obviously each of them has put in incredible hours on their own to take that guidance and build on it. And theres even an element of applying lessons learned last season to avoid repeating mistakes this year.

The combination of foresight, guidance, effort, and luck is culminating in what we see on the court.

When we drafted Jayson we thought having those two versatile wings that could guard a number of different positions and do a number of different things, Brad Stevens said after the win over Cleveland. But also werent exactly the same players, but would be good complements for each other.

This is where the two really do shine, and why two young, 67-ish wings can coexist. Yes, defensively, they are similar. Each can switch and make life hell for opponents with their strength and length. Offensively, though, their games have evolved to fit each others.

I guess we feed off each other, Brown said earlier this season. Kind of different games, kind of opposite, but it makes sense, like Fire and Ice.

Yesterdays game against Cleveland is a great microcosm of this. On the surface, they played very similarly. Both took 20 shots and were 5-for-10 on 3-pointers. Each made three free throws and had two assists.

Look closer and youll see its how they scored those points that highlights how they complement each other.

NBA tracking data, imperfect as it is, shows Tatum taking and making more contested shots than any other Celtic. Brown, meanwhile, was the team leader in uncontested shots and made baskets.

Its part of an overall trend. Tatum tends to take tougher shots. With his length and shot-making ability, hes built for that type of shot profile. Brown, the better athlete of the two, uses his speed and quickness to create separation and space. You can see it in how each approached the mismatches against Cleveland.

Jayson Tatum saw Larry Nance on him and decided he was going to go to the step-back 3-pointer.

Jayson Tatum hits a 3 on Larry Nance

Jaylen Brown got Tristan Thompson on the switch and decided he was going to put it on the floor and attack.

Jaylen Brown drives on Tristan Thompson

Tatum loves isolation scoring. Hes 22nd in the NBA in frequency of isolation attempts. His development is focused on honing those skills, while Browns is understanding how to take advantage. Like Brown said, its fire and ice. Yin and yang.

Two stats sum this up.

The first is how they get their 3-pointers. Brown has made 57 this year, and 52 have come off of assists from others. Tatum has made 74, 47 of which are assisted. Brown almost exclusively relies on spotting up to get his 3s while about a third of Tatums are pull-up shots he creates for himself.

Maximizing these catch-and-shoot opportunities has been a huge reason why Brown is thriving. Kemba Walkers 3s are split just about 50-50, so he, along with Tatum, are creating a lot of offense for themselves. That means defenses are going to focus a lot on them and leave other guys open. Brown is one of the beneficiaries, which brings us to the second statistic.

Walker and Tatum are the two players who assist the most on Browns makes. Walker has fed Brown 37 times, while Tatum has assisted on 25. However, Brown has only assisted on six of Tatums made baskets.

Brown has mastered swimming in the wake of Walker and Tatum, but this isnt a one-way relationship. Browns ability to score when Walker or Tatum are blitzed is part of why teams cant blitz them as often as theyd like. With Brown (and also Gordon Hayward when hes been healthy) on the floor, teams arent really able to send double teams at the hot hand. Until a gravity stat is invented, there wont be a statistical assist for Brown in these situations, but Brown is immensely important here.

Removing the ability for defenses to double team players enhances the abilities of the players who would get double teamed. At the same time, its the willingness of those players to pass it when they do get doubled that helps enhance the abilities of the other players on the floor.

Tatum and Brown are excelling right now because of this dynamic. They are on this roll because they fit this way. As long as they keep this kind of balance, theres no telling how far it can take them.

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