The Boston Celtics‘ domination continues in the postseason, as they maul the Dallas Mavericks 2-0 in the Finals. So far, it hasn’t been a one-man show, as the starting five collectively gang up on the visitors. But, if it’s important to pick one player, it would be Jaylen Brown, who has impressed on both ends of the court. And the Mavs HC Jason Kidd picked it up to play mind games ahead of Game 2. However, it didn’t seem to do the trick as Jayson Tatum shut him down after the win.

Ahead of Game 1, Jason Kidd went on a mission to praise Brown. He said, “Well, Jaylen’s their best player… he did everything. That’s what your best player does. He plays both sides, defense and offense, at a high rate.” However, the Celtics players understood it as one of his tricks rather than a praise. Reacting to it, Al Horford even called him “sneaky” and JT casually evaded it and said, “This is a team sport. We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have JB on our team.”

While everyone expected it to play a part in the result of the game, creating a rift between JT and Brown. In contrast, they put a stellar performance together, dropping 39 points and 19 assists together. Moreover, Tatum also had a message for Kidd after the game. He said, “I think we responded really well,” in response to a reporter’s question on Kidd’s mind games.

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have been on the hunt to win their first ring together for a long time. Despite having a strong lineup, the team has continued to struggle in the playoffs. However, this season, the team has put together the right team around JB & JT and they seem to have a clear shot at the ring.

Shaquille O’Neal pitched in with valuable advice for Jaylen Brown

A team with two superstars always had the debate of whose the better player. The terms like 1A and 1B showed up because of these debates. While some teams managed to escape the debate without any rift, some teams have gone south. Especially, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal had these going on between them during their dominant stint with the LA Lakers. And things didn’t end well for the superstars as they broke up very badly.

Speaking from experience, Shaq had a really valuable lesson for Jaylen Brown during this postseason. He hinted at the issue indirectly, saying, “I’m going to give you some G-14 classification information… do not get fixated on useless titles… Doesn’t matter who’s who, or they say who’s what… Do what you gotta do and get it done.” 

While Brown remained clueless about the big man’s advice, Shaq rephrased it, saying, “They’re trying to separate you and your guy [Jayson Tatum] by saying who’s better… Don’t worry about useless titles.” The big man joined NBA TV this time after the game and dropped the crucial advice amid the Celtics’ championship chase.

Next up, the Celts move to Texas for Game 3. Do you think the mind games will do the trick in the remaining series? Let us know in the comments.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow in what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato had to say about WNBA sensation Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, this video