Before the 2024 Finals, all eyes were on the Dallas Mavericks’ backcourt duo of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic. However, now the attention has turned to the Boston Celtics’ dynamic duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown after they led their team to a 3-0 lead in the Finals. While Tatum has received flak for his inefficient shooting, Brown has drawn immense praise for picking the slack up around him. On that note, Carmelo Anthony stated that Tatum’s supposed lack of production doesn’t pose a historical problem for the Celtics.
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Melo even declared that JT wouldn’t mind Brown taking over the production in the Finals if it enables him to realize his Championship dream.
During a sit-down with Monica McNutt on the 7 PM in Brooklyn pod, Carmelo Anthony discarded the media narrative that Tatum is underperforming. Both McNutt and Melo agreed that although Tatum has been inefficient, he has had an all-around impact on the proceedings.
Furthermore, they also argued that just like Kobe Bryant and other greats needed Hall-of-Famers to win titles, Tatum, as the face of the Boston franchise, needs players like Jaylen Brown to make a championship run. For Melo, this fact should be celebrated rather than resented as every title winning team has had such a composition.
“[It’s a pity] We can’t just accept them for who they [Tatum and Brown] are. They nice…Why we even trying to wedge in the middle to separate the two...There is no team that ever won a championship who didn’t have a Batman and Robin. You have to, it’s impossible. We should be embracing Jaylen and Tatum for what they do,” Anthony told Monica McNutt and Kid Mero.
Anthony also opined that Brown’s ascension wouldn’t have been possible if Tatum hadn’t made some concessions in his role. Melo then highlighted how many folks doubted the duo’s ability to adjust at the biggest stage, given their 2022 Finals implosion. But now it is clear that those doubts were misplaced.
Then the former Nuggets superstar expressed that if the Celts win the championship then the contract situation around Jayson Tatum can become a little tricky. Since Jaylen Brown is already on a five-year, $286 million deal, his mate may expect more after proving his worth to the storied franchise. It can upset the Celtics’ balance book and cause some disruptions.
At the same time, a championship may also encourage JT to take a step back to continue the winning chain. However, despite leading his Celts to a 3-0 lead in the 2024 Finals, Tatum hasn’t escaped criticism owing to his shooting woes.
Jayson Tatum’s sub-par shooting has become a major talking point
Shannon Sharpe recently blasted Jayson Tatum for not showing up to the party like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant had done previously in the Finals. Sharpe alluded to MJ and KD also facing relentless double-teams and still coming out on top. On First Take, Sharpe expressed,
“All the great players get double-teamed. We’re asking him [Jayson Tatum] to be the face of the NBA and now we’re saying he is struggling cause he got double-teamed?…He is struggling shooting the basketball!”
While it is true that Tatum has shot terribly during the Championship round, he has also been a terrific ball distributor and a top-notch rebounder. The Forward has tallied over 7 assists while supplying around 9 rebounds per game.
Additionally, he exploded for 31 points in Game 3, proving that he can score when needed. At this point, it is safe to say that instead of chasing individual accolades, JT wants to make sure that he comes on top of the ‘championship or bust’ narratives.
