It wasn’t easy, but the Celtics held on to their championship butts Sunday night in Miami for a 100-96 win to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010.
Indeed the Jayson Tatum-era, still-young Celtics head to Golden State with an eye on securing Banner No. 18, attempting to take their spot in Boston history next to the Big Three squad of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.
Yes, clearly this is Tatum’s team, No. 0 appropriately becoming the first to win the Larry Bird Trophy as the MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals.
This version of the championship chase in Boston is no one-man show, though.
Marcus Smart is the longest-tenured veteran on the roster at age 28 and the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year, first guard to win the award in a quarter century.
Robert Williams is the young, explosive, interior stud, a Defensive Player of the Year candidate himself, capable of igniting Green Teamers with a big block or a dynamic dunk.
Al Horford, Grant Williams, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard have all had their big games, significant shots and key contributions along the way this postseason through the hellacious gauntlet of the Nets, Bucks and Heat.
And then there is Jaylen Brown.
What exactly is Brown for these Celtics?
Is he Robin to Tatum’s Batman?
1A?
Scottie Pippen?
At this point, who cares?
Sure there was a point in time when Brown, like Tatum a No. 3 overall pick in Boston, was part of a debate as to whether the two young All-Stars could coexist in Boston as the core of a title team. Past playoff failures and regular season scuffles fueled the talk. They indeed heard the noise.
Which is why Sunday night, when Tatum was celebrating victory with Brown, he exclaimed, “They said we couldn’t play together!”
Tatum and Brown clearly can play together. They’ve proven that in the 2022 calendar year as the dynamic duo for the Celtics turnaround.
They proved it against the Heat.
They proved it Sunday night when Tatum led the way with 26 points in 46 minutes played, adding 10 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal to his must-win tally.
But as is so often the case, Brown was right there by his side logging his ultra-productive, star-like 44 minutes with 24 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Tatum had lost his first two trips to the Eastern Conference Finals. Smart and Brown had that experience three times.
“Today was the biggest test. Not just of the year, but of our careers,” Brown said afterwards.
Despite a late scare, Tatum, Brown and the rest of the Celtics had the answers they needed to survive, advance and pull within four wins of a title that would forever cement their spot in Boston history.
Yes, these are indeed Tatum’s Celtics, much like the title teams of the 80s were Larry Birds’ Celtics.
But Tatum isn’t doing it alone. He won’t do it alone. Just like Bird didn’t, having his own Hall of Fame running mates.
As Boston prepares for the daunting task of taking on Steph Curry’s Warriors, Tatum will have Brown right there by his side as the perfect wingman for a championship run.
What is Jaylen Brown for these Tatum-led Celtics?
He’s four games away from a title, four games away from forever being stamped in Boston history as a champion.
Tatum and Brown can certainly play together. They can win together.
Give them a couple more weeks and they might just win Boston Banner No. 18 together, Tatum leading the way and Brown right there by his side for every key step of the journey.