5 reasons not to discount the Celtics in the NBA playoffs

5. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum

Jaylen Brown (21) and Jayson Tatum (20), together, make one of the best duos of young wing players in the NBA. The two combined to average 28.2 points per game this season and have increased that total to 33.7 in the games Kyrie Irving has been inactive.

When Brown and Tatum have combined for 30 points or more, the Celtics are 20-5. In the five games, the two have combined for 40 plus, Boston is 4-1.

Tatum’s 3-point shooting percentage of 43.1 is tops among rookies this season and ninth among all players. At 38.9 percent from beyond the arc, Brown also shoots well above the league average. Brown has scored 20 or more in 15 games this season, including a 32-point performance this past weekend. Not to be outdone, Tatum has gone for 20 plus in 12 games including three of Boston’s last six.

In addition to putting up points and scoring with efficiency, both are extremely good defensive players. They’re both solid on-ball defenders against their positions and at 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-8, both match up well with guards or forwards and are rarely unable to hold their own when forced to switch off of screens.

They make whoever they’re guarding work to get open and work to get shots. They contest shots, close out on the perimeter, crash the boards, and hustle for loose balls. Both are solid ball handlers and passers and push the ball in transition as soon as it’s in their hands to turn defense into offense.

You know what you’re getting out of Tatum and Brown every night defensively. And both have shown that they’re capable of scoring 20 to 25 points a couple of times in a seven-game series. If they do, that could easily swing a game or two in the Celtics’ favor.