Gilbert Arenas got into a heated debate on his ‘Gil’s Arena’ show about Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. His co-hosts argued that Jaylen Brown was better than Jayson Tatum after winning the Larry Bird MVP. Arenas shut them down by pointing out that Tatum is regularly double-teamed, whereas Brown is not, which allows him to play one-on-one basketball.
“These are the things Kobe used to prove. I’m getting doubled, you’re not. Jayson Tatum is getting doubled, Jaylen Brown is not. You look like the number one option because two people are trying to stop you. So when you get the ball, you get to play one-on-one basketball.”
Arenas added that Brown probably would not average the impressive stat line that he did had he faced consistent double-teams in the series against the Pacers. While his co-hosts disagreed, Gil asked them to stop pushing dumb narratives.
“Congratulations. You get doubled, and let’s see what you do. You’re not going to average 30/10/6 being double-teamed… They doubled Kobe and they doubled Shaq. What I’m saying is you can’t be the number one option if you’re not demanding number one option stuff… Stop pushing those dumba** narratives, man.”
(0:14 onwards)
Josiah Johnson: “Times this postseason, [Jaylen] Brown has looked like the no. 1 option.”
Gilbert Arenas: “Jayson Tatum is getting doubled. [JB] is not.”
Rashad McCants: “[JB] is better… Who got the ECF MVP? Who got $300 million?”
(via @GilsArenaShow)pic.twitter.com/N7ZyqkTY7t
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 2, 2024
Arenas does make a good point, but he is diminishing the performances of Jaylen Brown to a certain extent. Tatum did get double-teamed quite regularly during the 2024 playoffs. But he is a star in this league and should expect that kind of defensive attention, and be able to play through it like the great players in the league.
As for Jaylen Brown, he can only combat what is in front of him. And so far, he has done an excellent job of that in the playoffs, averaging 25.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 14 games.
Tatum has struggled to play through the defensive attention, averaging 26.0 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 5.9 assists. His shooting numbers tell the real story, as he has shot 44.2% from the field, and 29% from the three-point line. While we don’t know how Brown would play if he got the defensive attention that Tatum does, that shouldn’t matter when a player is playing well and contributing to winning basketball.
The Media Has Tried To Create A Feud Between Tatum And Brown
There has been a significant push in the media to try and create some kind of rivalry between Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. But so far, the duo has not given into the media narratives, and seem to have a good relationship with each other. Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla dismissed any rumors of beef between the two in a recent interview.
“So why do they have to always be lumped together? I think it’s unfair and people just use it for their own relativity. At the end of the day, those two guys, their relationship is their relationship, they love each other, they push each other every day in practice, they communicate with each other but they go about winning differently…”
“You see other duos around the league don’t have to go through that. It’s because of the platform that they have, it’s because they’ve been so successful their entire careers, they’ve been able to longstanding success at a high, high level. So people need them in order to stay relevant.”
“And they should not talk on speculation and they should get to know them as people before they talk about that stuff. They’re two of the greatest teammates and players that you could have and it’s been an honor to coach both of them. Doesn’t mean they have to be the same. It’s bullsh*t. I love both of them and they deserve better.”
Tatum and Brown have never addressed any of the rumors about them having beef, lending further credence to the idea that such rumors are fabricated to push narratives. And the duo has historically worked very well together, and played great basketball. If they can win an NBA championship together, they could cement themselves as one of the all-time great partnerships in history.
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