Joe Mazzulla on the Tatum-Brown back-and-forth: ‘We’re focused on Jayson,’ as the 1-1 Celtics study a win like a loss

Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla tried to end the weekend’s biggest Celtics storyline on Sunday, October 25, saying his team is “focused on Jayson because he’s with us” when asked about the public exchange between Jayson Tatum and former teammate Jaylen Brown.

Speaking before practice, Mazzulla added that the organization remains thankful for what Brown gave Boston, then moved the conversation back to basketball. For a 1-1 team with several new players in big roles, that was the point: the coach wants the attention on how the Celtics play, not on a dispute that now runs through Philadelphia.

How the back-and-forth started

The exchange began Thursday night, when Tatum released a sponsored documentary on his YouTube channel in which he described being stunned by Brown’s trade to the 76ers. Brown answered a clip of it with a cap emoji. After Friday’s win over the Knicks, Tatum spent close to six minutes on the subject, said he holds no grudge and that he had contacted Brown on the day of the trade, and offered to talk it through. Brown, after Philadelphia beat Milwaukee on Saturday, agreed there was no feud but joked about it and did not take up the offer.

Treating a win like a loss

Mazzulla spent more of Sunday on film than on feuds. Boston opened in Detroit and built a 22-point lead in the third quarter before the Pistons came back to win 121-113, with Javonte Green and Duncan Robinson scoring 37 points between them after halftime. Three nights later, the Celtics held off the Knicks 107-103 at TD Garden in their home opener.

The coach called the two nights essentially the same game, separated by shot making and execution at a few moments, and said the Celtics have to “handle winning the way you handle losing”. Sunday’s session, in his description, was a full breakdown of the win, just as the staff had done after Detroit.

The numbers from Friday show what Boston wants to keep. Tatum scored 36 points on 14-of-26 shooting with nine rebounds and seven assists, and closed the game with four late baskets. The Celtics committed only 10 turnovers to New York’s 16 and led for 36 minutes and 22 seconds. The bench carried real weight: Neemias Queta had 15 points and three blocks in 22 minutes, and Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser were each plus-8 in more than 52 combined minutes. Queta said afterward that the group had drilled late-game situations all summer.

Derrick White, who played 33 minutes on Friday, said the opening pair of games had tested whether Boston’s play matches the identity it talked about in the offseason, and that two games are too few to judge.

What comes next

The Celtics host the Chicago Bulls on Monday, October 26, at 7:30 p.m. ET at TD Garden. Follow it in the Bulls at Celtics Game Center, and see Friday’s full box score in the Knicks at Celtics Game Center.