The Boston Celtics infamously lost out on the services of All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving this offseason while the once heralded Eastern Conference franchise immediately filled such a void with former Charlotte Hornets point guard Kemba Walker.

Not only that, but the Celtics still possess one of the most talented young cores in the entire NBA — a group headlined by a tandem of swingmen Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.

With this duo slated to lead the Celtics for years to come, Brown and Tatum have become quite familiar with each other over the course of the last few seasons.

In doing so, Brown has realized how hard Tatum is on himself — maybe even too hard at times.

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“I think he had a solid year. He’s probably his toughest critic,” Brown recently said, via NBC Sports Boston. “I didn’t think he had as bad a year as he probably thought he did. I think he still produced, I think he still got to show people what he can do. I’m sure, in his eyes, he has a lot more he wants to show the world, as do I. So I can feel him in that regard. He had a solid year, it wasn’t as bad as people tried to make it out to be.”

As the aforementioned Irving makes his way to the Brooklyn Nets from the Celtics in 2019-20, his absence will surely pave the way for both Brown and Tatum to step up in a big way if Boston has any hopes of leading the way in the Eastern Conference.