Boston Celtics: 5 reasons to be excited for 2019-20 NBA season

Two Jays

Coupled with Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are the poster boys for the Boston Celtics rebuild. One an athletic slasher who can lock down on defense when tuned in, the other an assassin in the making, capable of scoring in a mind-boggling amount of ways.

Brown, while far from a finished product, has shown steady improvement throughout his time in Boston, barring the ill-fated start to last season which saw him lose his starting spot.

After responding to that in impressive fashion, Brown finished the season with 13.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game on 46.5 percent from the field, 34.4 percent from 3 and 65.8 percent from the line.

Entering the season on a contract year, Brown has it all to prove. An uptick in his production while showing improvements on his left-handed dribble and defensive rotations could be mean a difference of $5 million or more per year.

It should be noted, however, that during the playoffs Brown was one of the standout performers and ended the season on a high note.

Tatum is entering his third year in the league, having made an instant impact in his rookie year (due to Gordon Hayward being out with injury) he failed to build on that last season.

Tatum posted 15.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game on 45 percent from the field, 37.3 percent from deep and 85.5 percent from the line — a whisker away from the coveted 50-40-90 stat line.

Tatum’s numbers are encouraging for that of a second-year player, during Team USA duty he has looked noticeably stronger also. This will increase his ability to drive through contact and get to the line, while also keeping defenses honest when he is out on the perimeter.

If Tatum can improve his numbers by a few shades it becomes possible he will be joining Malcolm Brogdan in that 50-40-90 club before long, etching his name into Celtics folklore by being the first Celtic to do it since Larry Bird.

Having kept both players out of trade discussions for Anthony Davis to begin the summer, it becomes evident the Celtics front office is banking on Tatum and Brown to develop into the future of the franchise.

Following all the drama of the offseason, that future may be now.