Just lately, our Azad Rosay wrote concerning the symbiotic relationship of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and whether or not they’re the league’s finest duo. The match could be awkward at occasions. With related skillsets, they usually fill the identical house and don’t have the extra synergetic relationship {that a} level guard and heart might need.
On consecutive performs in opposition to the Nuggets on Sunday, the Celtics ran a flex intestine exit for Jaylen Brown with Jayson Tatum because the preliminary screener. It’s a curious spot on the ground to provoke the offense, proper? With Brown planted within the nook and Tatum setting a display on the baseline, it’s not as if there’s a bunch of spacing — a premium of Boston’s offense — to benefit from.
It’s an nearly unimaginable cross for Derrick White to make with Brown chopping away from the ball even with Luke Kornet above the break, protecting Nikola Jokic out of the restricted space.
Nevertheless it’s all only a matter of getting the Nuggets’ protection to make selections. Will Vlatko Cancar and Christian Braun swap? Does Jokic drop farther down in the direction of the rim with Brown crossing into the paint? They’re all micro decisions, however a bit extra concerned than negotiating a straight pick-and-roll on the high of the important thing.
However that’s what it leads into anyway. The Nuggets hedge laborious on a Brown-Kornet PnR and Boston whips the ball round till Tatum finds a large open Sam Hauser for a 3.
On the following means, it’s the identical play once more with a small distinction on the second aspect swing.
On the primary play, Jamal Murray sits deep into the paint to assist out. That offers White loads of time and house. On the next half courtroom set, White and Tatum shuffle previous one another and it’s Tatum above the three-point line to obtain the swing cross. It’s White’s flip to assault the shut out. He hits the middy floater over Jokic quite than discovering Hauser within the reverse nook, a shot that Denver was attempting to remove after getting burned thirty seconds prior.
This isn’t precisely the Celtics’ philosophy of attacking mismatches like a pod of killer whales. It’s extra wolf-like with Boston working some dummy actions all for the sake of tiring out the protection and one Mr. Nikola Jokic.
