After Dallas' Game 1 loss against Boston, Jason Kidd was convinced that Jayson Tatum was not his opponent's best player. While some believe he was trying to quell trouble in the Celtics locker room, he decided to tell the media that he believes Jaylen Brown is their top star.
Moments later, when Brown and Tatum went to press separately before the second game of this best-of-seven series, they were asked about it. However, both have made it clear that they are not interested in opening the door to mind games for the Mavericks' pros.
“I have no answer,” said JB, while his co-star added: “This is a team game. We wouldn't be here if we didn't have JB on our team, and we can say that for a lot of guys, of course. We all played a role in getting where we are, and we understand that people try to divide us. I think it's a smart thing to do or try to do.”
“I don't think you're lying”
– Jrue Holiday on Jason Kidd calling Jaylen Brown the Celtics' best player
(With @SiriusXMNBA /h/t @ClutchPoints )
– NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 8, 2024
According to this Boston striker, the rivals have been trying to get between them for a long time. “We have been in this position for many years and the boys are trying to divide us by saying that one of us should be sold or that one of us is better than the other. So it's not our first time at the rodeo,” said Jayson.
Although they didn't know this, the media tried to pin Kidd's words as an attempt to make noise after the Celtics beat his team by 18 points last Thursday. “Well, Jaylen is their best player,” he said this weekend with a smile.
“I'm just looking at what he's doing defensively,” Jason added in Saturday's press conference. “He brought Luke to a full court. He got to the free throw line. He did everything, and that's what your best player does.”
The Dallas coach then explained why he thinks this way. “Just understanding that he plays both sides, defense and offense, at a high level,” he shared. “And he's been doing that throughout the playoffs. I mean, when you're talking about the Eastern Conference MVP, and it looks like he just picked up where he left off.”
Boston's coach, Joe Mazzella, insists on focusing on the game, and not getting caught up in the words of the media or the team of their opponents.
Despite the efforts of the media to try to find a conflict in Kidd's words, Celtics coach, Joe Mazzulla, did not show the intention of feeding the game and emphasized that Boston's goal is to continue that game in Game 2.
“We need to focus on the truth,” he said on Saturday. “At the end of the day, nobody knows because they're not in the locker room. So I think as long as we focus on the truth, we focus on the things that we talk about every day, we focus on the relationships that we build with each other, we only focus on those things.”
The same thing happened to his students, who did not allow the media's intention to tell a story about the speech of their rival coach. Neither Tatum nor Brown admit that Kidd was trying something fishy.
“I'm not sure,” Jaylen confirmed. “But we were very focused on what our roles and responsibilities are. We have all had to make sacrifices. Jayson had to do that at a very high level, of course, and I respect him and give him a thumbs up for that. “
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