The Boston Celtics have exceeded any rational expectation in the wake of the Gordon Hayward injury and there is plenty of credit to spread around on what is an intriguing roster. Al Horford has been tremendous in the middle, Brad Stevens is an elite coach and the development of Jaylen Brown has been fun to watch. Beyond that, though, the pairing of veteran star Kyrie Irving and rookie sensation Jayson Tatum has been quite interesting (both in the present and for the future) and Ken Berger of Bleacher Report dug into what is a budding relationship.
Irving indicated that his “brother-brother relationship” with the No. 3 overall pick began even before he arrived from Cleveland.
“It was already developing into a brother-brother relationship, and then I ended up getting traded hereAnd from that point, it just continued to develop. I give him his space, and he gives me mine. But whenever he needs an ear to lend or that extra push, I’m there. I told him from Day 1, ‘No matter what’s going on out here, you can always look to me to exude that confidence in you.'”
In fact, the story outlines a situation in which Tatum knocked down a dagger three against the Brooklyn Nets during a two-point victory on Jan. 8 and, while it was a wildly impressive shot for any first-year player to knock down, Irving was less impressed. “He better make it,” Irving said. “Wide-open in the corner, rookie or not, you better make the shot. Step into it and shoot it with confidence, and that’s what he’s been doing.”
There is plenty of additional context within the original piece concerning Irving’s development into something of a leader and, of course, the process by which he is emerging from the lengthy shadow of LeBron James.
Still, it has to be (very) exciting for fans of the Celtics to see the team’s still-young star point guard and the budding star on the wing coming together in this manner. It remains to be seen what the ultimate ceiling of this group is, especially through the prism of Hayward’s return and continued maturation of both Tatum and Brown. For now, though, even the present is bright and further growth in this particular dynamic can only add to that.
