Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum proved they are the top duo in the league once again. While the two struggled heavily in the first half of game one, it ended there. The two scored 47 points to finish the game while scoring 21 of 24 of Boston’s fourth-quarter points. These teams are not close. The series may seem close at three games to two games, but that does not tell the story. When Brown and Tatum are on their A-game, blowouts happen.
Where Do They Stand All-Time?
As previously mentioned, they’re the league’s best pair. However, they match up well with some of the best duos of all time in terms of success. Brown and Tatum have reached 37 wins in their first four playoff runs together. Closing out this series would give them 38 wins, not including potential victories in the Finals. Here are some notable duos and their win totals in their first four seasons together.
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen had 38 wins and one ring in their first four runs together. Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal racked up just 29 wins but have a ring to back it up. Another Laker duo, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar reached 33 wins and two rings in their first four tries. These are arguably the three best duos in NBA history, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves. However, with a ring this season, the Jay’s are in some great company.
Keep It Simple: How About Now?
Since the duo started in 2018, they’re with some of the best. Only two teams have more playoff wins than the Bucks and Warriors. The only duo with more victories are Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry with 43 wins and two rings. The Jay’s have found plenty of success since pairing up and it was foolish to think two wings who can score at all three levels and defend cannot co-exist.
There are other veteran duos who have rings, so perhaps they have already found more success. Those duos do not have the youth and teams around them like the Celtics do now to compete in the long run. This league belongs to Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
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