Boston Celtics respond to Jason Kidd’s comments about Jaylen Brown

The Dallas Mavericks need to find a way to disrupt the Boston Celtic if they are to bounce back from their Game 1 loss in the NBA Finals. On Saturday Mavs head coach Jason Kidd sought to create some division in the Celtics camp by declaring that Jaylen Brown is the team’s best player.

“Well, Jaylen is their best player,” Kidd told reporters. “Just looking at what he does defensively. He picked up Luka full court. He got to the free throw line. He did everything, and that’s what your best player does.”

Kidd was an NBA champion with the Mavericks as a player in 2011 and is well-versed in the verbal jousting typical during Finals series.

What did Jayson Tatum say about Jaylen Brown?

The respective influence of Brown and Jayson Tatum has been a topic of much debate between sports fans for years. But now, just three victories from an NBA championship, both players insisted that they are not concerned about the noise.

“This is a team sport,” Tatum told reporters. “We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have JB on our team, and we can say that for a lot of guys, right. We have all played a part in getting to where we’re at, and we understand that people try to drive a wedge between us.”

“We’ve been in this position for many of years of guys trying to divide us and say that one of us should be traded or one is better than the other. So it’s not our first time at the rodeo.”

Brown was just as ambivalent to Kidd’s comments, simply replying: “I don’t have no reaction.”

What is beyond doubt is the impact that Tatum and Brown have had on the franchise’s fortunes since their arrival in 2017 and 2016, respectively. The Celtics have reached the Eastern Conference finals in six of the past eight years and now look the clear favourites to pick up a championship ring, the team’s first since 2008.