The NBA handed out both its weekly and monthly player awards Monday afternoon and the Boston Celtics went 2-for-2.
Jayson Tatum was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month for games played in February, and Jaylen Brown was recognized as the East’s Player of the Week for games played from Feb. 26 through March 3. For both of them, it marked the fourth time winning each award.
Tatum strengthened his MVP case with his second POTM nod of the season, making him the only player in either conference with multiple such wins. He also earned the award for games played in October/November.
With it being his fourth POTM recognition in total, Tatum trails only Bird’s seven wins for an entire Celtics career.
JT helped to lead the C’s to an NBA-best 9-1 February record while averaging 27.2 points on 48.0 percent shooting, 8.9 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. He also committed just 2.1 turnovers per game despite averaging 79.2 touches and posting a usage rate of 29.6 percent.
It marked the ninth instance of a Celtic averaging at least 27.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 3.0 3-point attempts per game over a single month. All nine of those occurrences Tatum has been responsible for.
It was one of the best playmaking stretches of Tatum’s career, as it marked the first time he’s averaged more than 6.0 assists over the course of a single month. He tallied at least five rebounds and five assists in nine straight games from Feb. 4 to Feb. 27, a span during which Boston went 9-0. The only Celtics who have logged a longer such stretch are Larry Bird, John Havlicek, and Bill Russell.
Tatum’s best game came during a 118-110 win on Feb. 13 in Brooklyn, during which he logged month-highs of 41 points and 14 rebounds to go along with five assists, two steals, and a block. It made him just the fifth player in NBA history to log at least 40 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, five 3-point field goals, and two steals, joining DeMarcus Cousins, Paul George, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook.
“He wants to win more than anything else,” C’s head coach Joe Mazzulla said after that effort against the Nets. “I think that’s part of his growth as a player is he understands he has to be great for us every night, but it looks different every night.”
JT came close to logging a triple-double on several occasions, including a 35-point, 10-rebound, eight-assist game against Washington, a 26-point, 10-rebound, nine-assist performance in Miami, and a 29-point, 11-rebound, eight-assist effort against Philadelphia.
As for Brown, he continued the tear that he’s been on since the All-Star break.
JB helped to lead the Celtics to a 3-0 week with blowout wins over Philadelphia (117-99), Dallas (138-110), and Golden State (140-88), while averaging 28.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game. During that stretch, he shot 62.3 percent from the field, including 47.1 percent from long range.
Brown was incredibly consistent from a shot-making standpoint, making exactly 11 field goals in all three contests.
His most efficient effort came right off the bat with 31 points on 11-of-14 shooting against Philly. It made him the first Celtic to score more than 30 points while attempting fewer than 15 shots at TD Garden since Pierce in 2008.
The All-Star wing followed that up with his most well-rounded performance of the week: a 25-point, seven-rebound, five-assist, one-steal, zero-turnover effort against Dallas. He served as Luka Doncic’s primary defender that night and was extremely successful, limiting the MVP candidate to just six points during the 23.7 possessions in which he guarded him.
To wrap up the week, Brown had his most prolific long-range effort and best point-per-minute performance with 29 points and five 3-point makes during just 22 minutes of action in a drubbing of the Dubs. Brown erupted for 19 points in the first seven minutes of the first quarter, marking the fourth time in five games coming out of the All-Star break in which he tallied at least 18 points before halftime.”
“I love what Jaylen’s doing,” Mazzulla told Celtics.com when asked about Brown’s hot starts. “I love the work he’s putting in, I love the poise he’s playing with on the offensive end, I love the way he’s getting different baskets. Whether he’s handling, whether it’s in transition, the poise he’s playing with in the post, he’s really reading the game and taking advantage of it.”
The win over Golden State marked the 11th straight victory for the Celtics, the longest win streak of any team in the NBA this season. The Jays have their team rolling at just the right time, hopefully preparing them to gather some more prestigious hardware down the line.