BOSTON — If Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum needed a reminder of how fortunate they are as high draft picks to play for one of the best teams in the NBA, all they had to do is look across the court at Minnesota’s Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns during Friday night’s 91-84 victory.
The Celtics selected Brown No. 3 overall in 2016 and Tatum No. 3 in 2017. Brown was brought along slowly last season as the Celtics posted the best regular-season record in the [...]
BOSTON — If Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum needed a reminder of how fortunate they are as high draft picks to play for one of the best teams in the NBA, all they had to do is look across the court at Minnesota’s Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns during Friday night’s 91-84 victory.
The Celtics selected Brown No. 3 overall in 2016 and Tatum No. 3 in 2017. Brown was brought along slowly last season as the Celtics posted the best regular-season record in the Eastern Conference and reached the conference finals for the first time since 2012. Brown, 21, has blossomed this year and Tatum, 19, has taken advantage of an ankle injury to Gordon Hayward to contribute right away. Tatum was voted the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for December and he’s the only Celtics player who has started all 42 games this season.
On the other hand, Wiggins and Towns, as is the case with most high draft picks, joined one of the NBA’s worst teams. The Timberwolves have recorded 12 consecutive losing seasons and haven’t won a playoff game since they reached the Western Conference finals in 2004 behind the efforts of Kevin Garnett, who was voted NBA MVP. They’ve also lost 12 in a row in Boston.
“I think it’s two different roads traveled,” Towns said. “We had the opportunity to play right away, plug and play, and kind of find our way through our mistakes. They were able to learn on the fly by seeing what the right things were to do. It takes time. Everyone has a different road. Me and Andrew were given a different road than Jayson and Jaylen and hopefully we all meet at the end being some of the best players to play.”
Wiggins, 22, was the No. 1 overall pick by Cleveland in 2014 and dealt to Minnesota. He was voted Rookie of the Year, but the Timberwolves finished only 16-66. Towns, 22, taken No. 1 overall by Minnesota in 2015, was voted Rookie of the Year as well, but the Timberwolves ended up 29-53. After a 31-51 season last year, the Timberwolves realized they needed veterans to help their young stars so they acquired shooting guard Jimmy Butler as a free agent. The Timberwolves are 24-16, fourth in the Western Conference.
Brown had 11 points Friday on 4-for-15 shooting and Tatum scored just four on 2-for-7 shooting, but he slammed dunks over Towns and Wiggins. The Celtics can win without them standing out though. Towns had 25 points and 23 rebounds, but Wiggins (3 of 12) scored just 10. Minnesota needs both of them to play well to prevail.
Butler scored only 14 Friday, but leads the Bulls in scoring (21.6). Towns (20.2) and Wiggins (17.5) aren’t scoring as much as they did when they ranked first and second, respectively, each of the previous two years, but the Timberwolves are winning more games. It’s difficult for young players to carry the load every night.
That’s what makes Brown and Tatum so fortunate. Like Towns and Wiggins, they also rank second and third, respectively, in scoring for their team — Brown averages 14.3 points, Tatum 13.9 — behind a talented guard. However, Kyrie Irving, who averages a team-high 24.2 points even though he scored only 16 Friday, and Al Horford are the team’s top two players. They draw so much attention from opposing defenses, they create scoring opportunities for Brown and Tatum.
“I don’t think you can overstate the amount of attention that Kyrie and Al draw,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “I think that is a positive for both of the young guys, all of the guys and that’s any team anywhere."
“It’s been easier,” Tatum admitted, “because ... winning takes care of a lot of things and then just a great group of vets we have on this team. They’re very helpful, help me get better every day.”
Tatum has surprised himself by transitioning to the NBA so easily.
“I mean a little bit,” he said. “I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t think it would be like this. You hear so many stories about how rookies struggle and on losing teams so coming into the draft I figured it would be like that.”
Tatum stayed in his house all day during Thursday’s snowstorm. Brown, on the other hand, posted video of him shooting baskets and dunking in the snow.
“Jaylen’s a nut,” Tatum said.
In 17 December games, Tatum averaged 14.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists to earn Rookie of the Month.
Stevens tries not to praise Tatum too much, preferring to keep him grounded. So he tempered his reaction to him earning Rookie of the Month honors.
“I sent him a text that there’s a lot of things that can derail forward progress,” he said. “He earned that. At the end of the day, though, it’s continuing to do all the great things that he’s doing because he’s consistent. And that’s why he got it because he’s played well and he’s consistent. It’s really hard to be consistent at any age, but certainly 19. So there’s a great opportunity now to respond to that nice award.”
Tatum may not win Rookie of the Year like Wiggins and Town did, but he’ll settle for a deeper playoff run.