Jaylen Brown Commends Flexibility Of Polished Celtics Depth

It’s only been two games and the Boston Celtics are already reaping the benefits of their new-look roster, specifically its depth.

As opposed to relying solely on the services of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics have options — and plenty of them. The front office assembled the strongest group of talent surrounding the Tatum-Brown tandem, which already has proven to relieve the worries of finding scoring options to prevent late-game collapses and lead cough-ups.

That came to life during Boston’s long-awaited redemption matchup with Miami, five months after the Heat eliminated the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals. The man of the hour? Derrick White.

“It’s gonna be like that, it’s gonna be like that each night,” Brown told reporters, as seen on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “We gotta all be comfortable in that. That’s gonna be a challenge, but teams are gonna guard us different ways, give us different looks. We got a lot of talent so we let the game decide. Tonight, D. White took advantage of his matchup.”

Brown added: “We got a lot of players that can make poised decisions down the line and we just gotta continue to keep that up.”

One of the biggest signals of growth that Tatum and Brown have shown is the beneficial ability to entrust those around them. The dividends spoke for themsevles in White’s uplifting 28-point performance, which also included a 14-point fourth quarter to help close out the Heat.

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Boston did its job in recognizing it was clearly White’s night, allowing the 29-year-old to connect on 9-of-15 shots, including five from beyond the arc. However, White made that effort to navigate looks for him easier by flexing his defensive muscle, recording three blocks — two in transition against Miami’s Jimmy Butler — plus one steal.

On Opening Night in New York, it was Kristaps Porzingis who the Celtics leaned on in order to snag a 108-104 win over the Knicks.

The proof is in the pudding; this Celtics team has the ability and luxury to alleviate any individual’s cold night by identifying the hot hand and continuously feeding it until the finish line is reached.

So far, that’s been the biggest positive sign that Boston will live up to its hype.

All five of Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla’s starters — Brown, Tatum, White, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis — finished in double figures, combining to score 111 points of Boston’s 119 points. Holiday, who finished with 17, points also shined by grabbing 10 rebounds to notch the only double-double of the night.

The season hasn’t gotten off to a completely perfect start, contrary to the 2-0 record, but the foundation is there. Therefore, optimism should be on the rise and pending a few clean-ups, most notably in the second half, the Celtics could very easily become the most dangerous team in the league.