Talent Won't Get Boston to the NBA Finals. Mental Toughness Will. Are They Up to the Challenge?

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown's talent will keep Boston in the thick of things in Game 7. But they will have to play with a heightened level of mental toughness to win Game 7 on the road.

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For most Boston Celtics fans, how they view Boston's Game 6 loss, it tends to be either them choking in the biggest game ever for this team, or another indictment that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown can't be the 1-2 punch for this team to win an NBA title.

There's a lot of truth to what the two dominant camps of thought are when it comes to the Green team.

Both have shown their brand of leadership isn't what we've come to expect from championship contenders.

Rather than fly off the handle after pissing away a golden opportunity to get to the NBA Finals, they were both calm in their reflection of what happened in Game 6 and sincerely hope to be better in Game 7.

"We have to come out and find a way to win," Brown said. "I thought I made a lot of right plays (in Game 6), but not enough for us to win."

Uh, yeah.

We knew that.

The duo had a nice game statistically.

Tatum had 30 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the field. He also had nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals along with the usual far-too-many turnovers (seven).

Brown didn't shoot as well (5-for-13) or score (20 points) as Tatum did. But there were definitely more positives with their play.

However, they took just one shot apiece in the fourth quarter, a dismal showing from your top two scorers, let alone your top two scorers in a close-out game at home with a chance to move on to the NBA Finals.

"It was the way of the flow, how the game was going," Tatum said when asked about the late-game disappearance. "Being out there, the feel of the game drawing a lot of attention...kind of how the game was going."

Three words.

Not Good enough.

That goes for his explanation for what happened down the stretch.

It also applies to his overall play which again was good, but not enough to secure the victory.

The good news for the Celtics is that all is not totally lost. They have a chance at redemption on Sunday with the winner moving on to the NBA Finals while the loser will have a summer full of the "If only we..." blues.

When we talk about Tatum and Brown, those conversations tend to center around their immense talent.

Success at this level can't happen if the talent isn't elite.

We know this.

But to take that next all-important step to move toward the final stage of competing for a championship involves something far greater than talent or on-the-floor technique.

It requires a level of toughness we have seen flickers of from Tatum and Brown, but not nearly enough to feel confident that is an ingrained part of their DNA.

Because of that, there is warranted skepticism about their leadership and ability to push this franchise into the final stage of winning it all which is to get to the NBA Finals.

There is little doubt that both will play well in Game 7 and put their immense talent on display. But if that showcase in skills lacks the ability to not just make tough plays but lead those behind them into delivering the kind of performance that absolutely oozes toughness - the kind of display we saw from Miami's Jimmy Butler and his crew, in Game 6 - this series will be over.

And the very foundational pieces this organization has set in place for future success, Tatum and Brown, will have to be re-evaluated.

While both are still relatively young, youth and inexperience can no longer be the default excuse so many want to throw out there when they don't live up to the lofty standards that are in play when it comes to their play.

They need to be better, especially in the closing moments of must-win games.

That's exactly what we have on Sunday, a game that has the potential to do more than keep their season alive but also redefine their growing legacy.