NBA GM Points Out Flaw In Celtics’ Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown Tandem

When the Boston Celtics failed to reach the NBA Finals this season, nearly all eyes turned toward Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

In a league where talent is everything, the two All-NBA wings were outdone in the Eastern Conference finals by an eighth-seeded Miami Heat squad that had an undrafted player outperform both Tatum and Brown in the series.

There was plenty of criticism of Tatum and Brown, and then there came what has been a consistent topic in recent offseasons on whether it was best to break up the star-studded duo, especially with Brown in line for a massive supermax extension.

Like former NBA player Jay Williams, one anonymous general manager believes it is nonsense for the Celtics to try to split one of the best tandems in the league. But the GM conceded that after six seasons of playing with one another, the two don’t make each other better on the court, a fatal flaw hindering the Celtics.

“Each of them attracts so much attention,” the GM told the Heavy’s Steve Bulpett. “You’d think they’d be more comfortable by now with playing off each other and knowing how to get each other great shots.

“I can’t remember too many times when one created for the other — when one made a move, gave it up and the other guy finished. It was always somebody else creating for one of them, and that makes them easier to guard.”

And the GM believes if it wasn’t for a member of Boston’s supporting cast than the Heat would have swept the Celtics.

“Realistically if they didn’t have Derrick White in that last series, they would have lost 4-0,” the GM said.

Tatum and Brown turning into playmakers — something Ime Udoka wanted out of them when he first took the job with Boston — and aiding each other’s game could be one of the only things that saves them with the Celtics.

It’s a recipe that certainly works from a team’s stars. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray already proved the validity of it on a stage that Tatum and Brown have yet to excel on.