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Boston Celtics Young Stars Aren’t Just Along for the Ride

By Joshua Bateman

CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 17: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics dunks the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers on October 17, 2017 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 17: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics dunks the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers on October 17, 2017 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are cementing their roles on the Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics have seen the trajectory of their team transform over the first week of the season. The Celtics went into this season with championship aspirations, but losing Gordon Hayward drastically changes the realistic possibly of that now.

Hayward is not the only player that has changed how people will look at this team. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were both expected to have roles coming into this season, but they were not supposed to be consistently top performers.

It is a small sample size, but Brown and Tatum have both seized their opportunities, and are often looking like the most important players on the court.

They have both handling massive minutes, and they are using those minutes as well as anyone else. The two of them have been clear difference makers on this team, and they are not just going be there getting carried by other players.

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Tatum and Brown are having a massive impact on the success of this team, and it could get even better from here.

The first question is always consistency and sustainability. We do not know if the two of them are going to keep performing like this, and we do not know if the return of Marcus Morris and Marcus Smart will hurt their roles.

That being said, there is no way Brad Stevens will reduce their role when they are playing like this, and the team should only get better together as the season goes on.

The Celtics are clearly transitioning right now, and they are still trying to figure a lot of things out. When those things are figured out, and the team starts playing better together, then everything will get easier.

They will be getting more open shots, and Stevens will have a better idea of how to make sure they are being put in their best positions.

It was a big surprise just to see the two if them starting this season, but they have made it abundantly clear that they are ready to have that kind of responsibility. Time will tell if this will hold up, but they are proving that they can be capable players for extended minutes.

There is a good chance that Brown won’t be close to averaging 20 points for the season, and averaging a double double may be far fetched for Tatum, but what they are doing has not been that fluky.

They are not having miracle shooting nights, or are playing crazy up and down from game to game. The two of them have been playing at a high level in each game, and they are making plays on both ends.

Neither of them has been one dimensional, meaning they can struggle in any given area, and still have an impact on the game.

Both of them are rounding out their games a lot quicker than we expected. Tatum looks far from the defensive liability most were expecting, and Brown is looking like one of the most dynamic offensive threats in the game.

The shooting is still kind of suspect, but Brown is proving that he can find a lot of ways to score the ball. On top of that, his ball protection has been remarkable, ensuring that he is not a hurting the team when he has the ball.

The Celtics may not have the same championship aspirations as they did before Hayward’s injury, but seeing this kind of play from Brown and Tatum is bringing some of that excitement back.

We may not have been expecting it to come this early, but there is no hiding from the fact that Brown and Tatum are going to be vital pieces of what this team is able to accomplish this season.

Next: The Future is Bright in Boston

They are not going to sit back and let the established stars put in the extra work to have to carry a team, because they are making it clear they are not going to be players that need to be carried by anyone.

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