Jaylen Brown's EVOLUTION This Season | How It's Helping Jayson Tatum Right Away

Summary

Locked On Celtics: Jaylen Brown’s Evolution This Season & How It’s Helping Jayson Tatum Right Away

Date: April 3, 2026
Host: John Karalis (Boston Sports Journal)
Guest: Tom Westerholm (Boston.com)

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Episode Overview

In this episode, John Karalis is joined by Tom Westerholm to deeply analyze the transformation in Jaylen Brown’s game this season. The discussion centers on how Jaylen’s experience stepping into a number one role—often misunderstood as a purely “ego-driven” thing—has matured his all-around play, directly benefiting the Celtics as well as Jayson Tatum upon his return from injury. The hosts unpack how this evolution impacts the team’s dynamic, chemistry, and playoff outlook—particularly given the unique circumstances of this so-called “gap year.”

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rethinking Jaylen’s Role as the “First Option”

• Premise Shift:
  • John: “We thought about Jalen as the number one option, as like an ego thing… But what it actually is is Jalen has learned how to do Jason’s job, basically, and he has learned how much you have to pay attention to everyone else on the floor.” (03:41)
• Not Ego-Driven:
  • Jaylen’s growth wasn’t just seizing the spotlight; he learned to orchestrate, read defenses, and create for others, not just score.
• Complete Player:
  • Jaylen has shifted from “read-to-score” to “read-and-respond,” discerning what the game needs in the moment.
  • Example: Contrasting his attempts in the Atlanta loss (scoring-minded) vs. Miami game (fluid, reactive, passing-first approach).
    • John: “He came out to score and just set his brain to it… but looked bad. Against Miami, he was just like, okay, let’s see what we got here and ended up scoring more, had seven assists.” (05:01)

2. Easing Pressure on Tatum

• Sharing the Burden:
  • Tatum no longer must be the team’s everything; the offensive and leadership responsibilities are more balanced.
  • John: “Now you just mash the two [roles] together, elevate both of them, and then split them equally.” (05:36)
• Mutual Elevation:
  • Both stars can influence the game in their own ways (one can rest or defer at times), making each more effective and less predictable.

3. Jaylen’s Improved Decision-Making & Scoring Threat

• Tom: “He understands now that, you know, he shouldn’t try to score every time… That has actually made him a much more dangerous scorer when it’s time to score.” (06:46)
• In Sync with Tatum:
  • The roles have become complementary: Jaylen as the primary scorer who can facilitate, Tatum as primary facilitator who can score at will.

4. Influence of Teammates & Roster Changes

• Trust Grows:
  • With fewer ball-dominant, high-usage co-stars (Porzingis, Holiday, etc.), the offense flows through Jaylen and Tatum more directly.
  • John: “Now there’s no question that the ball is coming back to Jalen… I think that may allow some of what I’m talking about to continue.” (11:21)
• Chemistry & Ball Movement:
  • Jaylen’s willingness to give up the ball is reinforced by a team environment where he knows he’ll get his opportunities (“if you make the right play, the ball will find you again”). (13:29)

5. Leadership, Identity and Maturity in a "Gap Year"

• Jaylen & Jayson as True Leaders:
  • Both have stepped fully into leadership, with the franchise now belonging entirely to them.
    • Tom: “Now, it is Jalen’s team and it is Jason’s team, and there is no question. And they’re ready.” (17:36)
• Developmental Milestones:
  • The absence of championship expectations enabled real growth, self-exploration, and authenticity as leaders.
  • Jaylen has grown personally—less concerned with outside criticism, more comfortable stepping outward (acting, streaming, etc.) and being himself. (20:25)
• Freedom Creates Growth:
  • John: “That freedom in his brain unlocked the thing that he needs to be right now.” (22:52)
• Prepared by Low-Pressure, Ready for High-Pressure:
  • The “gap year” gave room to experiment and develop, so as expectations return, both are better equipped to handle the pressure.

6. The Value of a “Gap Year”

• Life Lessons & Basketball Parallels:
  • Tom (on gap years): “If you can sort out where you want to go… it will change everything. I think gap years are great for a lot of the reasons that you are laying out for Jaylen Brown here, right? He’s used this low pressure environment as a sketch pad.” (26:47)
• Celtics’ “Happy Place”:
  • The team has reached a “nirvana” of basketball clarity—less urgency to prove, more focus on playing the right way and winning.
  • John: “There’s nothing left to prove other than winning a championship. And I think getting to this point… has led them to a place of kind of like a happy place, kind of like this nirvana, kind of like this—we’re here, we get it now.” (34:25)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• John Corrales:

  • “We thought about Jalen as the number one option, as like an ego thing… but what it actually is is Jalen has learned how to do Jason’s job, basically.” (03:41)
  • “You master it, you process it, Jason’s back. Now you get to split it. I think everything that’s gone through this gap year… has led them to a place… where the lights aren’t bright at all. So let’s just go.” (34:25–36:54)

• Tom Westerholm:

  • “He understands now that… he shouldn’t try to score every time. That’s true. And that has actually made him a much more dangerous scorer when it’s time…” (06:46)
  • “Gap years are great. I am a huge proponent of gap years. If you’re a student… Take a freaking gap year, it will change your life.… Jalen has used this low pressure environment as a sketch pad.” (26:47)
  • “Now, it is Jalen’s team and it is Jason’s team, and there is no question. And they’re ready…” (17:36)

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Important Timestamps

• 03:41 — John reframes the narrative around Jaylen's first-option role as growth, not ego.
• 05:01 — Comparison of Jaylen’s mentality against Atlanta vs. Miami games.
• 06:46–10:32 — Tom explains how Jaylen’s shot selection and passing have transformed his game, and the interplay with Tatum's development.
• 13:29 — Trust within the team improves Jaylen’s decision-making.
• 17:36 — Tom underscores that Jaylen and Jayson are now unequivocal leaders.
• 20:25 — Jaylen’s personal growth and comfort in his leadership role.
• 22:52 — The “freedom” and mental unlock of operating in a gap year.
• 26:47 — Tom’s analogy of the gap year’s value for life and basketball.
• 34:25–36:54 — John’s reflections on player careers, self-realization, and the true meaning of “winning.”

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Overall Tone & Flow

• Insightful, conversational, and often philosophical—this episode balances X’s and O’s with broader themes about growth, leadership, and career arcs.
• Playful banter punctuates deeper insights (“Gap, call me… Not the Gap cash that you keep sending me… Just give me real money!”), maintaining an approachable vibe.

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Summary Takeaways

• Jaylen Brown’s emergence as a complete player and leader wasn’t about ego, but maturing into someone who understands and executes every aspect of an NBA star’s workload.
• This season’s unique circumstances—a “gap year” with no overwhelming expectations and roster injuries—have fostered leadership growth for both Brown and Tatum, who now share responsibilities more equitably than ever.
• Mental freedom and trust in teammates have unlocked new levels in Jaylen’s game, and prepared the Celtics for a return to pressure-filled, high-expectation basketball.
• The Celtics’ present and future look especially bright—and different—thanks to the evolution of their two superstars.

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For full context and additional analysis, listen to the complete episode on your favorite podcast app.

Transcript

[John Corrales]

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[Tom Westerholm]

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[John Corrales]

the Locked On Celtics podcast. Why we were all wrong about what Jalen's role as the first option actually was and why it's helping him and Jason go off right now. Hey, welcome back to the Lockdown Celtics podcast right here on the Lockdown Podcast Network. I'm John Corrales. Today's show is brought to you by FanDuel during the tournament. As it wraps up, FanDuel's offering 300 back in bonus bets every day for 10 days. Head to FanDuel.com to get started. So more of a concept that not three distinct segments, but over these three segments exploring Jalen Brown's role as the first option. Why I think we actually got that completely wrong and we're thinking about it the wrong way. And what it actually was is something that's helping him play really well now. And part of why I think Jason Tatum is playing well right now, we're going to explore this concept with our guy, Tom Westerholm. And there's the button.

[Tom Westerholm]

Hey, what up? I'm excited to do this. I'm excited to do this concept album.

[John Corrales]

So we get right, right. This is the experimental thing. Yes.

[Tom Westerholm]

All right.

[John Corrales]

So for people who don't really understand what what the hell did John just say? If you're watching, it's over there to Tom's left. Did we get Jalen Brown's role wrong? And how did his role as the number one option make his and Jason's job easier? So here's period.

[Tom Westerholm]

No, not a question mark at the end Ah, whatever. Yeah.

[John Corrales]

Just conceive that I put a question mark. Yes, yes, yes. So here's my premise, Tom. We thought about Jalen as the number one option, as like an ego thing, as he finally gets to be the number one guy and he has. He alone, he himself has said, you know, I've been looking to prove this. Yeah. All along. And so I'm not saying that we got it wrong because we're just, oh, my God, we're so stupid. This is how it's just been framed. This is Jalen's chance to be the number one guy. But what it actually is is Jalen has learned how to do Jason's job, basically, and he has learned how much you have to pay attention to everyone else on the floor. And he's always been, you know, you, you still have to look and read and make your reads and all that stuff. But his, his efforts have always skewed. Yeah, read, but read to score first and then we'll figure out the passing afterwards. This season has had to be, yeah, you can go score if that's what they. They allow you to do. But you also, you have to set up your teammates. You have to have games where you're. You're going to get doubled. You have to pass, and you can't be first quarter Jalen all the time. And because of that, he has grown his game to a much more complete game, mentally, physically, all of that stuff. So that's. That's number one concept, that it's not just an ego thing, that Jalen has had to grow so much as a player that he's now seeing the game better than ever. He's making reads better than ever. He's. His mindset is more, let me see what the game needs and give it that versus I'm coming out to score. The Atlanta game notwithstanding, because I think the Atlanta. The loss to Atlanta, he came out to score and that again, that. But that was proof that you can't do that because you look like crap.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah. And it looked so different than the rest of the season, so.

[John Corrales]

That's right. It looked so different than the, the, the game against Miami where he scored more.

[Tom Westerholm]

He came out to score, but it was in a good way.

[John Corrales]

Yeah, no, he. It's. It's really funny to me. Just as a side note here, Jalen, I think, went out to score and just set his brain to it.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah. Yeah.

[John Corrales]

And scored less and had nine assists or eight assists and then. But looked bad. And I think against Miami, he was just like, okay, let's see what we got here and. And ended up scoring more, had seven assists. But I thought he moved the ball, gave it just whatever the defense was giving him is what he took. And I thought it looked more fluid in that. Now, the second part of this is because he's done that, he can take more of that off of Jason's plate. And so Jason doesn't have to be all that all the time. And he can stand in the corner sometimes, sometimes when he needs to take a rest as he's coming back. The way I'm looking at it is, as far as this part goes, you had Jason's job and Jalen's job, and Jason's job was maybe a little bit above Jalen's job before, and now you just mash the two of them together, elevate both of them, and then split them equally. And it just. It just takes a little bit away from Jason, gives a little bit more to Jalen. It elevates both of them on the same plane, and it allows both of them to kind of control the game in equal ways. Not necessarily the same exact way, but equal way. So I don't know where you want to start with that concept, but, yeah, I think that there's. I think this is kind of might be the way that we should be looking at the Jalen Jason dynamic.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah, it's funny, because when you brought this concept up, I wrote something remarkably similar on. On Boston.com last night. I. I think. So let's start with the scoring, right? Because, you know, you say, like, you know, Jalen has. Has kind of. He understands now that, you know, when. That he doesn't have to. In fact, he shouldn't try to score every time. And that's true. And that has actually made him a much more dangerous scorer when it's time to score, Right? Like, you know, you. At the beginning of that Miami game, he's attacking these mismatches and. And he's getting whatever he wants, right? Just getting downhill, getting to his spots, getting layups, muscle and pass people. You know, he's gotten a couple layups to go down. All of a sudden he's like, okay, I'm going to just, like, you know, eye you down and then hit a three on you. Like, he. He's got all of this stuff to his offensive game that he's. He's picking and choosing his spots better, I think, maybe in part because he is more of a focal point now, right, where it's like before, if he got the ball, you know, it's like, he probably had in some, to some degree, like the idea, okay, if I get the ball, it's my turn to go score, right? In previous seasons, because everything was running through Jason all the time. And look, I mean, you know, Celtics won a championship off that, right? Tatum's awesome. Like, that's not. Not taking anything away from him. He's, you know, elite. The. The elite of the elite. But for Jalen now to have a bigger role and to be given more of that responsibility, you know, now he, if he passes the ball, it's like, all right, that's fine. Like, you know, I'm gonna get more opportunities. I'm probably gonna get an opportunity on the next possession to go score or pass or whatever it is. He is more involved. He is taking on that bigger role. And in doing that, that, like you said, that really, I think elevated him. And I, I think it's, it's interesting because as Tatum, as he and Tatum kind of work and come back together, you know, we saw it a lot in yesterday's game. I felt like we saw Jalen as the primary scorer who also can pass and also can do all this other stuff and is like a two way star. And we also saw Tatum as this kind of distributing guy who can also totally score, right? And it was this really good dynamic, especially where they're at right now, right where, like you said, Tatum's still coming back. Tatum's. Tatum's not ready to shoulder all of that weight yet. He's ready to shoulder a lot more weight than we thought he was going to be ready to shoulder, but not ready for all that at this stage. And what, what better way to allow Jalen to keep flexing this muscle, this, like, scoring, you know, this just almost, you know, borderline MVP level player. What better way to let him just kind of harness that and go at it than to kind of be like, all right, Tatum, you know, yeah, be a facilitator. Be, you know, be this guy who's just kind of like picking the defense apart, score when you can, you know, like, it's almost like they dialed the scoring slider away from Tatum a little bit. Dial Jalen's up, you know, like you said, bring them both up, separate them, like, just. It has. It's been very seamless with, with those two, I think, in that way. And I, I really kind of love the way that they looked against the Heat where Jalen was the primary scorer. Tatum was, it was, it was a, was a primary facilitator and they both dabbled in the other stuff, like, absolutely. Like Tatum still had a triple double. He still had, was it, I think, 25 points. You know, Jalen still, I think, had almost as many assists as Tatum had. But working. But like with those roles in this season especially, and I think, you know, it'll be interesting to see how they kind of weave together the roles as Tatum gets healthier. But in this season especially, that is a. That is a really dangerous duo and a really dangerous way of kind of divvying out responsibility.

[John Corrales]

So I. I also wonder if the different teammates kind of help this along.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah.

[John Corrales]

Because, you know, it. Look, I'm not going to say it's better that they don't have Porzingis and Holiday and Al and. And like that. It's not better necessarily, but from a Jaylen and Jason, especially. Especially Jaylen. When. When Porzingis had the mismatch, it got to him. When Holiday decided he needed some shots, he took them. And now there's no question that the ball. The ball is coming back to Jalen.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah.

[John Corrales]

Yeah. I think. I think that that may allow some of what I'm talking about to continue. Let's come back and kind of explore that part of this because I think so much of this is mental. Like, it. It. What Jalen is doing and what's happening is. Is 90 mental. And that's part.

[Tom Westerholm]

We'll.

[John Corrales]

We'll do that when we come back. Today's show is brought to you by fanduel. We're wrapping up the tournaments and. Hey, listen, tournament's always great. It's one of the best times of the year. We got buzzer beaters, we got upsets. We got wins that turn into losses, losses that turn into wins. And the best part is you can get $300 back in bonus bets every day for 10 days. That means 10 chances to stay involved throughout the entire tournament. You can mix it up however you want, however you want to. Game picks. You want to pick individual games, you want to pick futures. You want to pick the same game parlay to get bigger potential payouts. You're running out of games to do the same game parlays, but it's. It's there for you. You can. It's perfect for the tournament because every day there's something new. Different matchups, different storylines, and more ways to get involved as the bracket starts to unfold and get settled. Go to FanDuel.com right now to sign up and play. When you get to FanDuel, you will see the prompt. Set a limit. Set your budget Please do that. Whatever you can afford to lose. Just in case you go cold. That's very important. FanDuel will help you gamble [e-mail] get in on the action Want a game

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[John Corrales]

Thanks for making Lockdown Celtics your first listen Every day, making it the number one Celtics podcast on the number one sports Podcast Network. You're with me every Monday through Friday. You're in every day or I appreciate that the show is daily. I will be dropping bonus podcasts. They play on a Friday night, they play on Sunday. So I have podcasts all weekend long. I will have bonus podcasts dropping randomly throughout the week. So you got to make sure you're subscribed to get these shows. Sometimes you'll get up to like 10, 11 podcasts a week, so make sure you're doing that. I'm John Corralis, by the way. I am covering the Celtics for Celtics on SI. Been covering the team for about 20 years now. I've been doing this podcast for 10. So thanks for joining me on this journey. Or let's get back to the conversation with Tom Westerholm of Boston.com and I think one of the things that's been bugging me like that has bugged me over the years is sometimes I never really was sure that Jalen or Jason would, would always trust their teammates. I know they trust like you trust Porzingis to, to do the right thing, but I felt like there was always a feeling of, man, if I pass this, I'm not getting it back. Yeah, now you're out there like Sam Houser. Of course when he's hot, he's going to shoot. But when it's a tie and it's I can get this shot off, but I could also move the ball. These guys move the ball for the most part and I think it's easier. It's been easier for Jalen all season to give the ball up because he knows that he'll get it back at some point. And I think just that feeling of it's okay, I'm going to get my 20 shots no matter what. However you, however Jalen Brown decides to play, if you make the right play, the ball will find you again. Yeah. And that just allows that freedom to say, you know what? Yeah, man, of course they're showing two. Of course I'm not going to try to split this. I'm going to, I'm going to make this pass. Jalen can turn, like you said, like, you can turn down the volume a little bit on the scoring because the scoring will always be there. He's had 30, I think 30 games, no more than that of 30 plus. He's had like 10 or 11, 40 plus. He's got a 50 point game in there. He knows he's going to score. So I think mentally part of everything that I'm talking about, like this element of being on this team with lesser talent, he knows he's gonna get the ball back.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah, no, I, I, I really think you're onto something there, because I think so. I, I, I think that the lesser talent, right, they are, they are less talent than the players, you know, than like a Drew Holiday or a Christoph Spingis or now Horford, but also like, kind of not on this team, right, where, because the roles that, those, that, those hot, like, higher talent guys, they were playing in reduced roles, right? Drew Holiday was playing in a reduced role from where he was in Milwaukee, right. He was the fifth guy in that starting lineup. And like, that's, that's crazy talent. But Drew Holiday is, is not, you know, like, he's not a, not a fifth at that stage in his career. I don't think he was like a fifth quality guy. Like, so, of course, when Jalen gives the ball up, it's like, well, I might not get this back because Jrue Holiday is, you know, he's great. He's a really good player. And I almost think when, when you look at this Celtics team, I think it might be less like, you know, spelled out like, I don't think Jalen is thinking to himself, well, I got to get my 20 shots. I think that Jalen and Jason now are just very clearly the leaders of this team in every way now.

[John Corrales]

Right.

[Tom Westerholm]

They've gone through this progression where they weren't the leaders, they were the young guys on the team. And then they were sort of like, oh, here's, here's a little bit of responsibility. Okay. All right, now we're going to bring in Kemba. We're going to bring in Kemba so that you got a little bit of help. And then, okay, Like Kemba's, you know, Kemba's like, me is really messed up. Like, we really need you guys to, like, step up again. And it's like, okay, we're the leaders of the team. It's like, yes, you for sure are. You guys are the leaders of the team. Here's Al Horford. We're going to just. We're just going to. You're going to put Al Horford in there, too, but you guys are in charge and you guys are the number one guys, no question. You know, we're going to. You know what, we're going to bring in Drew Holiday, too, right? We're just going to have these vets in there that can really kind of help things along. Now, it is Jalen's team and it is Jason's team, and there is no question. And they're ready. I think that's the other important thing. They are so ready for this responsibility. And yeah, of course they're going to give it up. They're going to. They're going to pass the ball because they're smart basketball players and they know how to win and they're ready for this moment. They're ready to be leaders. And the guys around them are good enough. Right? They're good enough to be in these roles. They're good enough to be. Derrick White is absolutely good enough to be the third best player on a championship team, no question. Right. Nimi Keita is, no question, good enough to be a starting center in the NBA, especially on a team that also has Derrick White, Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum. He is good enough for that role. Sam Houser is good enough to be a fifth starter. As long as the guys around him can do a lot of the shot creation for themselves and for other people, then Sam Houser is a great fifth starter. Baylor Shireman, the same thing. All these guys are suited for their roles. But now what? Jalen and Jay. I think one of the reasons that we're seeing such a great version of these guys is because all the guard rails are off. This is just. We believe in. You guys are. You guys are everything about this franchise. Now go get it. Go. Go. Make everybody else better. Go, Go. You know, start building your statue from the ground up. Like, you guys are the franchise and we're ready. We're ready to see what that looks like. And I think that's what I mean. You talk about the mental side of the game. What a wonderful vote of confidence for two superstars to be like, you know what we were told from the Beginning that, like, you know, if we worked hard, everything was available to us. Here it is. The franchise never lied to us. This is our franchise now. And. All right, let's go. Go win 51 games plus in a gap year. You know what I mean? Like, let's. Let's do it.

[John Corrales]

I, I think Jaylen has found a little. A little less. A little. How. How am I going to put this? He.

[Tom Westerholm]

He.

[John Corrales]

He has fewer. Fewer cares to give to censor myself for. For this. Fewer hex.

[Tom Westerholm]

Fewer hex to give.

[John Corrales]

Yeah, I think the, you know, the fact that he's out there, these. He's streaming, he decided he was gonna go do a little bit of acting. He's gonna be on this show, you know, Donnie Wahlberg's cop show on. You know, it's. He's kind of putting himself out there a little bit more. He's, I think, pushing himself in somewhat uncomfortable ways for a guy who may have been a little bit more introverted, at least publicly. So. I don't know. I, I think this role that. The number one. The number one role for 62 games or however many it was, it. It's. It's been so much more. So much more than just, hey, look at me and look at the job I can do as the number one guy. It's so much more than I've proven that I can do this. It's. I have to be comfortable with myself. I have to be comfortable with this team. I have to be comfortable as a leader in, In a way that I, I, I have to. I just have to be all of these things and just understand that it's not always going to go great. And, and that might be the third element to this, you know, like the, the going back to, like, 30 rock. You got to find the third heat that, that might be the third heat here is that for the first time in a long time, Jalen came into a season with zero expectations. Gap year, which now has become the G word. Oh, he said gap year, but because no one cared. No one said, hey, we expect you to win a championship. Jalen could come in and be like, you know what? We're gonna prove you wrong. It's not gonna go great because we see it too. And just allowing himself to that, that sense of, if it doesn't go well, it's okay, because it's a process, and we're gonna just go through it and we're gonna figure it all out. That freedom in his brain unlocked the thing that he needs to be right now. And the Reason why I'm bringing all this up is because of the. Right now. Because right now, all of a sudden, it's like, hey, guys, we kind of expect you to win, win something now. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we expect something here.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah.

[John Corrales]

So let's, let's dig into that. We'll take a second here. We'll dig into that concept when we come back. Today's show is brought to you by Game time. You want to get into an NBA arena because it is super cool to watch a basketball game in an NBA arena. Not only are the players. You don't realize how fast these guys are. You get to see how physical the game is and you get to be in this awesome building that was built just to watch these guys play basketball. It's a real experience. Game time can help you get in there because getting the tickets hasn't always been easy. Game time gives you the advantage. I've used game time plenty. It's super easy. You see the prices all up front. Whatever you see, you open it up and you go, oh, that's an $80 ticket. That's gonna be an $80 ticket. When you check out, when you're not sure what the seat is, you don't know what that section number means. A view from your seat.

[Tom Westerholm]

Boom.

[John Corrales]

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[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah. Okay. Before. Before we get into that, I would just like to say everybody's looking. Everybody. When people talk about this being a gap year and they use it as a negative, like a prerogative. Right. Like, they're. They're. Yeah. Pejorative. Thank you. Good Lord. When they use it as a pejorative, gap years are great. I am a huge proponent of gap years. If you're a student and you're going to college and you feel like, man, I don't know what direction I. I want to go with my life. Take a freaking gap year. It will change your life. Take a couple of them. It will change your life. If you can do it, take it. Because if you can, if you can sort out where you want to go and then go that direction, it will change everything. Right. I think gap years are great for a lot of the reasons that you are laying out for Jalen Brown here, right? Where it's like, you, like, like gap year as A pejorative. Jalen has used this low pressure environment, this as. As a. As a sketch pad, right? He is. He has created. He's carved out this, like all this. This newfound. I don't want to say it's newfound abilities, because I don't think it's newfound abilities. I think it's. He's worked out how to play a different way to some extent, and it has been super beneficial for him. It's been super beneficial for the Celtics. And none of that would have been like, you know, we talked about it here on the pod before, right? Bad things happening can lead to good things in the future, right? Yes, Tatum going down was a bad thing, you know, but Jalen Brown becoming who Jalen Brown is is a good thing. And now that Tatum is back and seems to be, you know, I. I don't know. I don't know what percentage of Jason Tatum he is at this point. It's kind of hard to tell at this point. He looks a little out of shape. You know, he's good. He's still got everything else. He looks really good. Just looks a little out of shape. I think that'll sort itself out. But, like, having that guy back along with all the stuff that Jalen has discovered. Look, gap years, they're great. You know, I. Anyway, I just wanted to. I wanted to make that distinction. And I think now that. I think that one of the things that's going to be really helpful for the Celtics as they start looking down, as they start looking ahead to actual pressure situations and pressure scenarios, is the fact that they've been prepared for this. Like I was just saying in the last segment, they've been prepared for this all along. They've been brought, you know, slowly along in all these pressure situations. They've been here before. They've been to the conference finals. They've been to the finals. They've won the finals. They're ready for the pressure situations, except now they're better now. Like, their main guys are just better at what they're doing, and that's all thanks to a gap year. Take your gap years.

[John Corrales]

When it comes to calling them bad

[Tom Westerholm]

things, Jalen, that's the worst thing you've done all year, crapping on gap years.

[John Corrales]

When it comes to Jason, I. I go back to the good place where Michael says, no, actually, at any given time, anything can be up to 104, perfect. That's how you get Beyonce. And I just want to add. And Jason Tatum, that's that this season, that applies to Jason. He. I Think this season he might be 104 perfect after, after everything. Because. Only because he can't. There's no way he's gonna get to 100%. Like, he, he has to be at 100% right now. There's gonna be like another 4% on top of that for him to kind of get his legs and all that stuff. But everything else seems to be 100%. But anyway, that's, yeah. Neither here nor there. The gap year, actually, I do believe what you're saying. Like, gap year is the, the. And I do want to be clear about this with Jaylen, because it's, to me, the entire point of this concept that I have that you apparently had too. We, and we didn't, we didn't do this ahead of time. Like, we just did not.

[Tom Westerholm]

We came on this podcast, we were like, dude, what do you want to talk about?

[John Corrales]

Yeah. And so it's, it's the, I think look, Jalen is about to turn 30. I think there's a little bit of clarity in life.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yes.

[John Corrales]

Each, each time you turn a number, you, you know, I'm, I'm past 50 and I, you know, when I was 40, I thought I knew it all. And then you turn 50 and you're like, nah, you didn't know anything. And then I'm gonna turn 60 and be like, man, you thought you had things figured out at 50. And I, I, I firmly believe that. It's like the second before you die, you go, oh. And then that's it, it's over. You're like, oh, I finally get it. And that's like the, the Anyway, whatever. But, but it's a basketball career is like a lifetime, a mini lifetime. I've said this a bunch.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yes.

[John Corrales]

In the, in the 10, 12, however many years you have, you are a baby when you're drafted. Right? Everybody's just talking about you like you're a little kid. In fact, I say, hey, that kid's pretty good. You know, I say Ugo gondolas all the time. That kid's pretty good. Then in your 20s, I said, though,

[Tom Westerholm]

you should be allowed to call them kids until they're 20. I do think that's like a 19 year old is still a kid. I'm sorry.

[John Corrales]

Yeah, sure. But also in my, in my 50s, they're all kids to me. You know what I mean? So I think, I think there's a point where I'm old enough where everybody's a kid. Yeah, yeah. But the, in your 20s, how many 20 year olds do you know? That are complete, just morons. I was a when I was 20. We're all morons. You're supposed to be a when you're 20.

[Tom Westerholm]

Correct. But when you're taking your gap years. Yes.

[John Corrales]

Yeah, right, right. But these guys in their 20s, you know, mid-20s, they're supposed to be super mature. Jason Tatum's 27. You look at him like he's middle aged. Right. You're supposed to have that.

[Tom Westerholm]

He acts like he is. Yeah, 100.

[John Corrales]

But if somebody in his 20s is immature. Of course you're immature. You're in your mid-20s. But if you're an athlete and you're immature in your 20s, you're like, oh my God, what's wrong with this guy?

[Tom Westerholm]

Yep.

[John Corrales]

And then when you're in your 30s, people talk about you. You like you're old. And then when you retire, everybody gives you a eulogy. You're dead. You like that? That's a lifetime condensed into 10 years.

[Tom Westerholm]

It is.

[John Corrales]

So, so anyway, the, the whole point of this is that Jalen is now turning a corner into this. Like when you're in your 30s, it's, you start to, you know, as an NBA player, now you're in your 50s. And now in your 50s, let me tell you, there's a little bit of clarity. You're like, okay, A realization starts to hit you. Like, man, I don't have a whole lot of time left. There's a lot of stuff that really isn't that important that I used to think is important. And you know what? I'm going to be a little bit more authentic to my, my true self and all of that stuff. And so Jalen is hitting that as a pro. He's like, you know what? Maybe some of the things that I worried about my first two, three years, it's not so important because I know who I am. I understand who I am. I'm going to be. I'm fine. I'm fine. Made all my money. I made all my money. 13,000 points and counting. You won a championship. You legacy cemented seven going up into the rafters. Start writing your first draft of the hall of fame speech. It's all right there for you.

[Tom Westerholm]

The old fitted for that orange hideous looking jacket thing. Like, dude, you got it. Yeah.

[John Corrales]

Start mapping out the route you want to take to Springfield. Start, like, maybe get a, maybe buy a place now so when you get there, you'll have it. I don't know, like, you know what's going to happen. You have that clarity. All you got to do now is Play good basketball and go win is literally the only thing left to do. Jalen doesn't need to score 50 points. He doesn't need to score whatever he's. He's going to naturally, because he's good, score a bunch and get a bunch of assists and. And defend. He's just going to naturally do that. Now. I hope he has this. I think he has this clarity of just. The only thing left to do is win a couple of championships. More just. Here we are, buddy. Jason Tatum is coming back, and we're all sitting there worried about, oh, how's he going to react? When Jason Tatum's back, I think the reaction is, oh, thank God Jason Tatum's back. Now we can go out and play basketball with Jason Tatum and go win a championship. In a year that nobody thought, what would a championship do this year for the Celtics? I don't expect it. Still, I don't expect it. They're good teams on the other side, but, man, even getting to the finals with this team, the gap year and, like, you can throw that in everybody's face. People will look at this as if you want a championship. It's that clarity that you can go out there and just be you. There's nothing left to prove other than winning a championship. And I think getting to this point, having that first, like, understanding of, like, man, Jason does a lot of stuff here. Being this number one guy is a lot of stuff. You master it. You. You process it. Jason's back. Now you get to split it. I think. I think everything that's gone through this gap year, this beginning of this. This season, has led them to a place of kind of like a happy place, kind of like this nirvana, kind of like this. We're here. We get it now. We're not worried. The moment isn't bright at all. The lights aren't bright at all. So let's just go. Let's. You know, it's like that thing where he's like, hey, you want to win? Like, yeah, I want to win.

[Tom Westerholm]

All right, let's.

[John Corrales]

Let's go win. Let's go. That's it. That's it. I. I think everything this season has been beneficial and has led them to this moment.

[Tom Westerholm]

You know why? Because it's a gap year. Gap years are great.

[John Corrales]

Telling you, man, Gap has missed a real opportunity,

[Tom Westerholm]

especially this podcast. Money, please. Can we have some money?

[John Corrales]

We get some Gap money, please. Come on. Not the Gap cash that you keep sending me in my emails, because I can't. I can't figure out $20 on. 50, $30 on. No, just give me real money.

[Tom Westerholm]

Just give me money.

[John Corrales]

Money now. Money me now. Yeah. All right, well, that's gonna work, I think.

[Tom Westerholm]

I think that's gonna work. I think we're gonna get them.

[John Corrales]

I think. I think so. I think so. Gap. Call me. Oh, God. All right, Tom. Appreciate it, man.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yep.

[John Corrales]

Always a fun conversation with Tom Westerholm. You know, tell me what you think in the comments. It's. It's a little. Kind of all over the place, a little scattered, but I think I. I hope I made sense. I think I made my case, and, you know, I hope. I hope I'm right. I hope I'm right because it just. It's. It's kind of like turning a corner. And I'd love to see. I'd love to see, like, three, four, five more years of Jalen with this kind of freedom. I think that could really be something special over however much time he has left as a. An NBA player, as a Celtic, whatever. All right, let me know what you think in the comments, and then I would love it if you shared the podcast. Tell everybody that they should be listening to and watching the Lockdown Celtics podcast here on the Lockdown Podcast Network. It's your team every day. Having the right people in your corner for life's biggest milestones makes all the difference. Like a friend who's there when you're house hunting or checking out a new ride, State Farm is there too, helping you choose the coverage you need.

[Tom Westerholm]

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[John Corrales]

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[Tom Westerholm]

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[John Corrales]

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