Luka Dončić: Celtics' Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown Are 'Best Duo in the League'
Luka Dončić had nothing but praise for the Boston Celtics and their pair of star players ahead of Wednesday's contest.
"They're probably the No. 1 team in the league, and they probably have the best duo in the league, too," the Dallas Mavericks star said of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. "And we're in the Garden—it's always a special game. You have to come 100 percent. If you're not, you're probably going to lose. It's a big game."
It's hard to argue with Dončić's assessment considering Tatum and Brown are averaging an NBA-best 55.5 points per game. Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey of the Philadelphia 76ers are second in the league at 55.2.
That duo has spearheaded the league's best team.
Boston has the NBA's best record at 13-4 and is a half-game ahead of the 12-4 Milwaukee Bucks. It won nine games in a row before the Chicago Bulls snapped the streak with a surprising upset on Wednesday, so the Celtics will be looking to start a new winning streak when they take on the Mavericks.
While Tatum and Brown may be the league's best duo, Dončić could be on his way to claiming his spot as the best individual and the MVP.
He is averaging 33.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 49.4 percent from the field and 28.8 percent from three-point range. The Mavericks are 9-7 in large part because of Dončić's excellence, which is good enough for eighth place in the Western Conference.
The team's ceiling would be much higher if he had a running mate like Tatum and Brown do.
"It's a lot," Dončić said of being the main source of offense. "You've got to be prepared physically. I think this summer helped me. Some games I'm really tired, because it's a lot of basketball, for two years I never stopped playing basketball, but I'm just happy to play basketball."
He is second in the league with a 38.1 usage percentage, per Stat Muse. Only Giannis Antetokounmpo's mark of 38.3 is higher.
The Mavericks might need that usage rate to increase if they are going to defeat Tatum, Brown and the Celtics.
