Unlike last season, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics aren't the center of attention this year and the swingman is perfectly fine with that.
The Celtics are 22-7 on the season, good for second place in the Eastern Conference standings.
“We actually like not being the center of attention this year like last year,” Tatum said, via NESN. “This year we get to focus on us and take it one game at a time. There weren’t a lot of expectations coming into the season, and we weren’t concerned about it. We just work to focus on us as a team and getting better each and every day.”
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are playing like All-Stars this season and it’s a sight everyone in Boston is thrilled to see.
On Friday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Brown and Tatum combined for 64 points to help the Celtics win their fifth straight game. The Celtics appear on their way to redeeming themselves after last season’s dysfunctional campaign.
Many believe one of the reasons Brown is flourishing this season is because he got his contract taken care of. Brown signed a rookie-scale extension with the Celtics before the season started, so he’s playing free now and turning into an elite two-way player right before our eyes.
Tatum, meanwhile, has always been a talented scorer. He’s become more efficient as the season has gone along. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is starting to look really smart for not trading Tatum and Brown for some of the superstars who have requested trades over the past few seasons.
The Celtics are in action again on Saturday. They host the Toronto Raptors. The Celtics just defeated the Raptors on Christmas up in Canada.