Celtics’ Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum Enter Franchise Records by Emulating Larry Bird and Kevin McHale

Larry Bird and Kevin McHale are two of the greatest players in Boston Celtics history. So coming close to their records is itself an achievement for a Celtic, but young stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were a field goal away from eclipsing one of their records.

Since the start of the season, both Brown and Tatum have been scoring for fun. In the absence of Kemba Walker, both have stepped up and have been leading the offense. In the first eight games, they have combined for 425 points. This is just one point short of the record set by Bird and McHale, back in the 1986-87 season.

The legendary duo combined for 426 points, which is the most by a duo in the team’s first eight games. Brown and Tatum came close to beating that record last night but fell short. In the fourth quarter, the duo combined for two points after Tatum attempted just one shot, whereas Brown missed all of his four.

Can Brown and Tatum continue to lead the Celtics in Walker’s absence?

While one could say Tatum is already the leader, Walker was their biggest veteran presence. He played unselfishly and always got the best out of Brown and Tatum. Walker is also one of the top point guards in the league, so his absence was bound to affect the team.

But so far, this young duo has led them to five wins out of eight games. Two of those losses have come due to a fumble late in the game. Against the Pistons they couldn’t find a winner with over 20 seconds left, while against the Pacers they couldn’t defend in the final seconds.

On paper, they aren’t the strongest team in the East, but that will not deter them from trying. Last night, they had an impressive win over the Raptors, with Tatum scoring 40 points. They are one of the most dangerous duos because of how good they are, both offensively and defensively.

Walker should be able to return by next week, and that will strengthen their offense further. The Celtics are not the top contenders according to predictions, but Brown and Tatum will be keen to prove that wrong.

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