Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown Represent Celtics Well At All-Star Weekend
The Boston Celtics weren’t represented during Saturday night’s competitions, but Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown still shined bright at San Francisco’s Chase Center.
Tatum and Brown joined forces as teammates on Shaq’s OGs, selected by Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, during Sunday night’s four-team mini-tournament. The Tatum-Brown tandem joined Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving — LeBron James was sidelined — en route to a 41-25 tournament win over Chuck’s Global Stars, the team created by fellow Hall of Famer Charles Barkley.
It was unlike any previous All-Star Game fans and players have ever experienced, and a proactive response from NBA commissioner Adam Silver for the season’s viewership drop. Tatum and Brown first squared off against Candace’s Stars, assembled by WNBA icon Candace Parker, and snagged the two victories — each a race to score 40 points first — to leave Chase Center winners of All-Star Weekend.
“It was different,” Brown told reporters postgame, per CLNS Media. “I think trying something different to see what kind of works and sticks. So I guess they’ll look at it and see in comparison to what it was before, I guess, and we’ll see what we do for next year. I’m not sure. I don’t really have any thoughts on it. It was just different.”
Tatum, who fell short of his second-career All-Star MVP honor behind Curry, finished with a game-high 15 points, accounting for over 36% of the team’s offense in the finale. The six-time All-Star shot 6-of-7 from the floor, shot 3-of-4 from 3-point range and grabbed four rebounds, securing the tournament win with a two-handed dunk off a feed from James Harden to cap off the night.
Brown, meanwhile, scored four points on 2-of-4 shooting with a rebound in seven minutes off the bench. Boston’s four-time All-Star wasn’t as impactful as his Celtics running mate, however, that didn’t faze the 28-year-old as Brown remained engaged and active throughout all minutes logged during both of Team Shaq’s battles.
It’s unknown whether or not the league will use Sunday’s star-studded tournament as evidence to continue running with the format or return to the traditional Eastern versus Western Conference format fans loved for generations. Ultimately, the viewership numbers to back Silver’s decision should overrule all proposals rather than Durant’s ironic complaints as one of the many players responsible for ruining the All-Star Game.
Next year, the league’s brightest stars will take center stage for All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles at the newly-opened Intuit Dome, home of the Clippers.
It’s been 61 years since the last time Boston hosted an NBA All-Star Game, and although Beantown is approaching a seventh decade, Brown isn’t pessimistic about the possibility of getting TD Garden to host one soon.
“That would be great. That would be awesome,” Brown said. “I think the city is equipped for it. The craziest fans in the world in Boston, so I’m sure they would enjoy it. It kind of seemed like it was a little empty in here tonight. I don’t think in Boston that would happen. So yeah, if we brought the All-Star Game to Boston I would love to be there and I would love to participate. I think that’ll be great for the game.”