Mike Breen explains what the Celtics sacrificed to win a championship: "They didn't define their game by scoring"
ESPN's Mike Breen has been around the game for a long time now. He's called many many games, including championship series, and has seen multiple championship teams come and go.
This past season, Breen watched Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown finally lead the Boston Celtics to the promised land. During his appearance on The Mark Jackson Show, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer talked about how the Celtics finally got over the hump.
"The reason that they were finally able to overcome is because they sacrificed," said Breen. "They sacrificed some of their numbers. They didn't define their game by scoring. They became playmakers. They became consistent defenders. They became leaders."
Boston was under heavy pressure to win it all
The Celtics entered the 2023-24 NBA season with high expectations, almost win-or-bust. Since drafting Jayson Tatum in 2017 to pair with Jaylen Brown, Boston had made four trips to the Conference Finals before this past campaign. In 2022, they made it all the way to the NBA Finals and were even two games away from winning it all. But they've always come short.
Last summer, the Celtics signed Brown to a historic $300 million extension. With Tatum set to negotiate his own extension in the summer of 2024, the just-concluded campaign was likely a win-or-bust year for them. Right from the start of the year, the pressure was on the Celtics and on the Jays to deliver.
"Those are the most satisfying years because they were under a lot of pressure to win it all, and the two of them came through, and even when they had off nights, shooting the ball, they figured out other ways to impact their team. It was the ultimate team basketball. They were the best team, by far," added Breen.
Tatum learned to yield to Brown when needed
JT has always been considered the Alpha in Boston. He's always been the one-half of the duo with more accolades and mileage. But in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, Tatum learned to yield to JB when needed. There were games when Brown had to step aside because Jrue Holiday or Derrick White had it going.
The Duke product averaged just 19.6 FGA during the championship-winning postseason, his lowest since the 2019-20 campaign. His scoring average of 25.0 PPG was also the lowest during that span, but his assists of 6.3 APG are a playoff career-high for him. While Brown took the spotlight for the Celtics in the playoffs, his 17.8 FGA per game in the 2024 Playoffs was fewer than the previous year.
We don't need to look at all the numbers; we've seen the Celtics ooze with teamwork every time they took the court this season. You could argue that the C's had an advantage because their team was full of talent. However, as Breen stated, their selflessness was instrumental in their success this year.
