The Boston Celtics eliminated the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals on May 25, giving them 10 days of rest before Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals.
With such a long period between actual games, it was inevitable that some talking heads in the media would bring up silly discussions about the Celtics star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The craziest one was probably ESPN's Get Up! show talking earlier this week about whether Tatum was happy that Brown won Eastern Conference Finals MVP, even though Tatum was clearly smiling and clapping for Brown the entire time as the trophy was presented.
Sure, there's a lot of air time to fill until the Finals, but some of these discussions have just gotten out of hand.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
When asked Friday about the scrutiny the Tatum-Brown tandem faces, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla gave a passionate defense of his two superstars.
More Celtics coverage
"It's a really good question. I'm kind of (thinking) about how deep I want to get into that, because the whole thing about that really pisses me off. And I think it's really unfair to both of them," Mazzulla said at his press conference. "I think it's stupid that people have to use those two guys' names and use information that they don't know to create clickbait so that they can stay relevant.
"It's really unfair that those two get compared. They're two completely different people, two completely different players. They're great teammates, they love each other. They go about winning and they go about their process in a different way. So why they have to always be lumped together I think is 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 single day in practice. They communicate with each other, but they go about winning differently. I think they both get an unfair -- being compared to each other. They're different, and you see other duos around the league don't have to go through that, and it's because of the platform they have. It's because they've been so successful their entire careers.
"They've had longstanding success at a high, high level and so people need them in order to stay relevant. They should not talk on speculation. They should get to know them as people before they talk about that. They're two of the greatest teammates and players that you could have, and it's been an honor to coach both of them. It doesn't mean they have to be the same. So it's bulls---. I love both of them, and they deserve better."
🔊 Celtics Talk: Kyrie! Kristaps! Previewing the NBA Finals with Cedric Maxwell | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
Mazzulla makes a lot of great points here. He's right about other duos not getting the criticism that Brown and Tatum receive. For them to have accomplished so much success early in their careers is incredibly impressive.
It's also true that Tatum and Brown are now at the point in their careers where winning championships does need to start happening, but the constant criticism this duo receives despite having better career résumés than most other star tandems around the league is mind-boggling.
The best way for Tatum and Brown to silence their critics is by beating the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals and winning the Celtics' 18th championship. That process begins Thursday, June 6, at TD Garden.
Watch Mazzulla's entire press conference below: