Joe Mazzulla Sheds Light on Key Area of Growth for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown

Joe Mazzulla Sheds Light on Key Area of Growth for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown

Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown consistently return better players than the season before. While it’s early, that’s again on display to start the 2023-24 campaign.

The Boston Celtics are off to a scorching hot start. They’re 4-0, tied with the Dallas Mavericks for the NBA’s best record, and boast a 20.5 plus-minus rating, generating the most points per 100 possessions (124.8), a top-seven defensive rating (104.7), and the league’s best net rating (20.1), per NBA.com.

Their most recent win, a 155-104 dismantling of the Indiana Pacers, saw the C’s score the second-most points in franchise history and earn their third-largest margin of victory since 2000.

 

Boston is home to the best top six in the Association this season, a veteran group that’s repeatedly expressed their willingness to sacrifice for the betterment of the team. That’s been on full display early.

And while the 2023-24 campaign is in its infancy, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown appear to have leveled up in regard to elevating their impact off the ball.

 

The two consistently return better players than the season before but adding a threat like Kristaps Porzingis, a seven-foot-three center who’s a knockdown shooter but also a skilled passer, gives them a floor-spacing big man who can pass over the top of his defender to hit someone in stride for a bucket.

Thursday, Joe Mazzulla conveyed the following to Inside The Celtics about the impact Porzingis’ long-range prowess, his effect on floor spacing, and his passing can have on Boston getting more out of their star wings as cutters.

“I think it’s more important how each guy’s positively impacting the next guy on both ends of the floor,” expressed Mazzulla. “Each guy’s numbers are a little bit better than what they were because of how they’re making each other better. So, whether it’s Jayson and Jaylen’s ability to do the dirty work, whether it’s Kristaps’ ability to screen vs. different coverages, Jrue (Holiday) and Derrick (White) and their crashing and their screening, what Al does, and then what our second unit does. So, it’s more important that each guy understands that because of who the guy next to us is, we make each other better.”

 

Regarding Tatum and Brown “doing the dirty work,” their willingness to screen for a teammate to score has been evident in the Celtics’ first four games, with Derrick White voicing after Wednesday’s win over Indiana that Tatum’s one of the best screeners on the team.

 

“I think it’s something that he’s really wanted to work on over the last couple (of) years, and he’s getting better at it significantly year-to-year, and it’s something he takes pride in,” stated Mazzulla. “And when you have a guy that can handle and screen, it changes our offense, and it changes the way teams are able to guard us. I think both him and Jaylen are learning how to do things without the ball that are making our offense and our team significantly better on both ends, and that’s important.”

And as early in the current campaign as it is, the four-time All-Star, who added 12 pounds of muscle in the offseason, making it easier for him to choose between power and finesse when trying to attack the basket, is showing signs of growth as a three-level scorer.

His head coach offered the following insight to Inside The Celtics about what stands out the most to him on that front.

 

“Just the pace with which he’s playing with, and he’s taking what the defense gives him, and so there’s a time, like you said, there’s a time for threes, layups, twos, whatever it is, but most importantly, he plays with the level of intentionality, pace, and physicality he’s doing now.”