Due to their individual successes, 2 players on the Boston Celtics have been voted onto Bleacher Report’s All-NBA Playoff teams.
While this Eastern Conference Finals may not be a prime indicator, the fact of the matter is that throughout these 2019-20 playoffs the Boston Celtics have proven to be good… really good.
After downing the Philadelphia 76ers in sweep-fashion in round one, and besting the defending champions Toronto Raptors in a grueling seven-game-series in round two, the Cs now find themselves still very much alive as they head into game six of round three against the Miami Heat.
Arguably having the best core all throughout the bubble — as they were the only team to have five players listed on ESPN’s top-50 bubble players –, it’s no wonder as to how Boston managed to get to this point. That said, however, on a team as flush with talent as they are, throughout the 2020 postseason, two players in specific have managed to push themselves ahead of the rest of the pack, as they’ve become the C’s most consistent contributors during their long and challenging run.
Those two players: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Posting career years during the regular season, these two young & talented wings have managed to have their successes flow right into the postseason. Both Tatum and Brown rank first and second on their team in both point-per-game scoring with 25.8 and 21.5 and rebounds-per-game with 10.2 & 7.4, respectively.
In short, the All-Star and the All-Star snub have had themselves an unbelievable run through 16 games played. So much so, in fact, that Bleacher Report voted them onto their All-NBA Playoff teams.
Jaylen Brown came in on the All-Playoff Third-Team, with writer Greg Swartz’s reasoning reading as follows:
"Brown has surpassed Kemba Walker as the team’s second-leading scorer, and the 23-year-old has shown the maturity and leadership of a 15-year vet.After averaging just 13.9 points in the playoffs in 2019, Brown is now averaging more than players like Jimmy Butler, Paul George and Russell Westbrook.With Gordon Hayward in and out of the lineup with injury, Brown has had to switch between positions while defending multiple spots. His 23 steals this postseason rank fourth overall."
Jayson Tatum, of course, found himself a little higher up, as he landed on the All-Playoff Second-Team but, admittedly, Swartz believed perhaps his play could be argued as deserving of a First-Team slot.
"Tatum has made a strong argument for a place on the all-playoff first team and would likely be there if his Celtics were the ones leading the Eastern Conference Finals instead of the Miami Heat.Tatum is the only player still standing to be averaging at least 25 points and 10 rebounds per game, and he’s nearly overtaken Kemba Walker as the leading playmaker on the Celtics.The 22-year-old forward did a bit of everything for Boston in its first-round sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers and later against the Toronto Raptors and now Miami, and we’re likely getting our first real dose of Tatum as a true No. 1 option on a team that could win a Finals."
While we sure hope the Boston Celtics win Game 6 and, in turn, keep themselves in the running for this year’s Larry O’Brien trophy, should their season come to an end it’s safe to say the future is unbelievably bright with these two young studs on board.
As always — and hopefully not for the last time this season –, Go Celtics!