NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates
BOSTON — Jaylen Brown couldn’t get the exact quote correct, but you could put the words together to make a reasonable deduction on where he was going.
“The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth” is an African proverb popularized by the Marvel film “Black Panther” six years ago, and Brown used it to describe how he and teammate Jayson Tatum deal with the scrutiny of being Celtics and of being on a contending team that hasn’t yet gotten over the hump.
Tatum chuckled and shot an imaginary left-handed jump shot when a question was asked if he was the most scrutinized player in the playoffs, quipping with a smile, “Think so?” So all of this is on the minds of the Celtics’ two headliners.
For a franchise that only hangs championship banners, a franchise that — in the absence of the feel-good Knicks and drama-chasing Lakers — is always being dissected on daily television, social media and any other place that has discussions centered around the NBA.
It can be exhausting and nerve-racking.
Jaylen Brown (No. 7) and Jayson Tatum say they are different players compared to when they made their first NBA Finals appearance. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Or in the case of these NBA Finals, of this playoff run, everything can be so charmed that it presents an opportunity to change the narrative as much as it is one to become a champion.
That’s what Tatum and Brown are staring down on the eve of their second Finals.
“Referencing that, you get to a point where it’s, like, you get scrutinized enough for a large part of your career, it becomes normal,” said Brown, going back to the proverb. “Then it just rolls off you. For me, at least, I can say. I don’t know if Jayson feels the same way.”
In a way, Tatum was the golden child coming to the Celtics on draft night. Brown, who arrived a year earlier, remembers different feelings — so much so, he was shocked to receive the MVP award for the Eastern Conference finals when the Celtics swept the shorthanded Indiana Pacers.
“It’s kind of been that my whole career, in a sense,” Brown said. “Just being booed…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/2024-nba-finals-jaylen-brown-jayson-tatum-arent-new-to-this-game-anymore-011520261.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-06-06 01:15:20
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
