On Tuesday night, the Boston Celtics cruised to a resounding victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, one disturbing trend emerged throughout the game.

Not having a good game, Jayson Tatum shot 7 for 19 from the field and 0 for 5 from beyond the arc. Some are worried about the Celtics’ future because of his unspectacular 18 points. Stephen A. Smith cautioned Tatum on “First Take” about the high standards and fierce competition. To him, “nothing less than greatness” would suffice for the Celtics, and “nothing less than a championship is going to be acceptable” for the team.

The Cavaliers’ chances of containing Donovan Mitchell may depend on Jaylen Brown.

Prior to the 2023–24 season, Al Horford paid attention when Jaylen Brown made public a number of ambitious defensive objectives for the Boston Celtics and himself.

You get a chance to make a statement at the start of the season, and I used that time to be really watchful. “I told myself, ‘I’m just going to sit back and watch what happens here,'” Horford related. “And I’ve just been impressed with what I’ve seen from Jaylen.”

Brоwn cоnsidered muscling his wаy intо а squаd himself аnd wаnted everyоne оn Bоstоn’s defense tо be nаmed tо the аll-Defense teаm. Given thаt the Celtics hаve Jrue Hоlidаy аnd Derrick White, whо hаve been nаmed tо the аll-Defense teаm, thаt аim sоunded extremely аmbitiоus.

Horford, though, thought Brown’s defensive performance spoke volumes and set the tone for the team.

Even though Horford is very good defensively, he has only been named to the All-Defense team once, in 2018, and Brown “is not shying away from anybody,” according to Horford. From one to five, he’s attempting to cover every position. He’s making an effort to make a difference, and people have noticed. Now that he has accomplished it, the rest of us are motivated. We’re in a great position now because of it.