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[Saba Sports News] The Boston Celtics’ season ended on a bitter note after a second-round playoff exit at the hands of the New York Knicks.
Entering the series as heavy favorites according to multiple sportsbooks, the Celtics failed to deliver — blowing 20-point leads in each of the first two games, losing Jayson Tatum to a ruptured Achilles, and getting outworked by Jalen Brunson and the Knicks throughout the series.
Now that the dust has settled, speculation is swirling about the Celtics’ future, including whether Jaylen Brown could be on the trading block.
Brown and Tatum have been teammates since 2016, but for the first time, their long-term pairing is in serious doubt.
LeBron James weighed in on the duo during the latest episode of *Mind the Game*.
“I mean, shit, they are who they are,” James said. “When you look at Tatum and Brown — this is years and years and years. They’ve put in their 10,000 hours. But sometimes it feels like they get a little bored because of how good they are. Not just individually, but as a team. And sometimes it shows.”
Steve Nash agreed with LeBron’s take, attributing Boston’s Game 1 and 2 meltdowns to a lack of urgency.
“Up 20, it’s easy in a sense,” Nash added.
Throughout the series, Boston struggled to consistently play their style of basketball — and it cost them. With Tatum expected to miss all of next season, any potential reunion with Brown on the court is at least a year away.
If boredom really was a factor, Tatum’s forced break could end up being a much-needed reset.