Boston Celtics: B/R tabs Cs as having second-best wing duo in NBA

Despite coming into this year’s campaign with a disheveled roster, the wing rotation on the Boston Celtics is perfectly intact and, in turn, is the best in the league.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown made huge strides last season in their third and fourth seasons, respectively, playing for the Boston Celtics.

Both saw career-highs in points per game (23.4 for Tatum, 20.3 for Brown) where, alongside Kemba Walker, formulated the only trio in the league to average 20+ points a game while Tatum was selected to his first All-Star game and All-NBA team.

Heading into this year, we already knew that many expected the Duke product to have another stellar season, but in one of Bleacher Report’s latest pieces, both of the ‘Jays’ have received their deserved praise.

In an article written by Dan Favale, we see a power ranking that predicts the top 25 wings this season, and, sure enough, both rank within the top-10, with Brown at eighth overall, just ahead of former teammate Gordon Hayward (10) and All-Star Brandon Ingram (9), and Tatum at fourth overall, just ahead of 2019-20 MVP candidate Jimmy Butler and right behind superstars Kevin Durant (3), Kawhi Leonard (2), and LeBron James (1).

For Brown, Favale cites his increased role as both a scoring option and a playmaker this season as the main reason for his prediction of ranking Brown where he is:

"The Boston Celtics won’t have Kemba Walker to start the season while he recovers from a stem cell injection in his left knee, and they don’t have an obvious next-in-line option to fill the ball-handling and playmaking void he leaves behind following the departure of Gordon Hayward.Jayson Tatum will take on more of the load, as will Marcus Smart and Jeff Teague. At least one of Boston’s young guards may become integral depending on how much time Walker misses and what he looks like upon return. But Brown is the most interesting alternative because of what he can already do. Any passing punch he provides broadens the scope of someone who’s already among the league’s most impactful three-and-D guys."

For Tatum, the writer brings up his young age and how it likely means more progress is to come:

"Last year’s quantum leap is not the end of his road. Nor the middle. This is his fourth season of being 19. He doesn’t turn 23 until March. This is the beginning of his upswing.More than that, the heights at which he played last season reflect the league’s most desired genre of stardom. Every team wants a 6’8″ (maybe 6’10”) off-the-dribble flamethrower who can initiate the offense and ranks among the most disruptive defenders away from the ball. Tatum typified that criteria in 2019-20, all while emerging as, perhaps, the league’s most dangerous on-the-bounce shooter."

"What comes next for Tatum isn’t difficult to envision. Playmaking is his next frontier. He has hinted at tossing more complicated passes, particularly as he’s varied his mode of attack on drives, and Gordon Hayward’s departure coupled with Kemba Walker’s left knee injury positions him to seize even more control of the offense. His top-10 case, while not invulnerable, will not be unique to last season."

The Boston Celtics find themselves as one of only five teams with multiple players on this list, and one of two with multiple players ranked inside the top-10, with the Los Angeles Clippers being the other squad (Paul George (6) and Kawhi).

With these rankings, it’s evident that B/R believes the shamrocks have the second-best wing duo in the entire association.

Frankly, we here at the Houdini can’t argue with that logic.