The Boston Celtics are off to a strong start to their 2022-23 campaign, winners of nine of their first 13 games, due in large part to the dominant contributions from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
During an episode of “The Woj Pod,” hosted by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, former Celtics guard Kemba Walker revealed a message he relayed to former teammates, Tatum and Brown, during his tenure with Boston — expressing his joy for watching the two blossom following their debut NBA Finals appearances last season against the Golden State Warriors.
“I just remember me telling those guys,” Walker told Wojnarowski on Friday. “… Cause you know, they always seen the talks and everybody saying that, ‘They can’t play with each other.’ And I was trynna them like, ‘Just block that out … This organization isn’t going nowhere without you two.’ Literally.”
“My main thing to those guys was that they had to love each other. … Jayson and Jaylen, you two guys have to come together as much as you can and lead this team to the promised land. Like, they can’t go anywhere without those two guys. Those two guys are so special and they showed it. And I was really proud of those guys. … Those two guys are just two special talents are special people. … And it was really, really cool to see those guys in the championship last season.”
Tatum and Brown, amid their sixth campaign as Celtics teammates, have led the way, yet again for Boston thus far. Following their 131-112 victory over the Denver Nuggets at TD Garden on Friday, the Celtics sat atop the NBA in offensive rating (119.4).
Tatum has led the squad in scoring, averaging 31.4 points while Brown has followed scoring 25.3 per night — both through the Celtics’ first 12 games of the season.
Winners of five consecutive games, the Celtics will next face off against the Detroit Pistons. Tipoff from Little Caesars Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
