The Boston Celtics are one of the toughest NBA teams to beat for a lot of reasons, and at the top of that list is their superstar duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
You won't find many teams with two players who are as gifted offensively as Brown and Tatum. These two wings can shoot from 3-point range, they can attack defenses and score at the rim, and they are deadly from mid-range.Â
Boston's impressive tandem dominated the Houston Rockets at TD Garden on Wednesday night. Brown scored a game-high 39 points on 14-of-26 shooting. Tatum poured in 38 points on 12-of-25 shooting, along with eight rebounds and four assists. The Celtics won 126-108 to extend their win streak to three games.
Tatum and Brown have both scored 30-plus points in the same game six times this season and we're not even in January yet. They had eight of those matchups all last season.
What's working so well for them in 2022-23?
"I think we've gotten better with experience," Brown told reporters in his postgame press conference. "I think Jayson is playing at an all-time best level for him. We're just coming out and playing and being aggressive. I think that's the key to it. Our offense and teammates allows it with spacing the floor. Guys who don't get credit like Malcolm (Brogdon), D-White, Sam Hauser, Al Horford, Grant Williams, great floor spacers. It allows us to be able to play -- we don't really see a lot of double teams. I think maybe one or two teams have doubled one of us all year. When you get to play with that freedom, you get out there and just make plays."
The Celtics are 17-1 all-time when both Tatum and Brown score 30-plus points. The only defeat actually came earlier this season when Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert both scored more than 40 points in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 132-123 overtime win versus Boston on Oct. 28.Â
It's hard to double team Brown or Tatum because that creates a good opportunity for the other one, plus the other Celtics players who are capable of knocking down shots (many of whom Brown mentioned above). This kind of star power and depth makes the Celtics arguably the best team in the league right now.