With Jayson Tatum sidelined, Jaylen Brown will be asked to shoulder load of keeping Celtics' season alive

Boston Globe

14-05-2025

Coming back without Tatum makes a near impossible task that much more challenging.
Advertisement
The Celtics haven't had to play many games without Tatum since he arrived in 2017.
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
Over eight seasons, Tatum has missed just 51 regular-season games.
Related
:
He had never missed a playoff game until this season when he sat out
When Tatum sat in the regular season, the difference was typically noticeable. The Celtics are 392-193 when Tatum's on the floor and 29-22 when he's not.
The Celtics, however, built their team around two talented wings in Tatum and Jaylen Brown. They're the only team in the league with two players signed to supermax contracts. Tatum signed a five-year $314 million contract last summer. Brown signed a five-year $304 million deal in 2023.
Advertisement
With Tatum out, the task of leading the team now falls on Brown.
Since Jayson Tatum arrived in 2018, Brown has only played 39 games without him.
The Celtics are 22-17 in those games.
Related
:
It goes without saying that Brown has to do a lot more of the heavy lifting when Tatum's not on the court.
His minutes tick up (from 32.5 per game when he and Tatum are both available to 34.5 when Tatum's out). But his usage rate — the metric that attempts to show how involved a player is in the team's overall offensive production — jumps from 26.7 to 32.8.
He shoulder's all the burden of a heavier responsibility on offense.
He scores more (27.3 points per game without Tatum compared to 20.3 with him).
He shoots more (20.6 field goal attempts without Tatum to 16.0).
He shoots more 3-pointers (7.2 attempts to 5.7) and he gets to the free throw line more (5.8 to 4.1).
He hits the glass more (7.2 rebounds per game without Tatum to 5.6).
He creates more scoring opportunities for teammates (3.9 assists to 2.8) while keeping his turnovers relatively low despite having the ball in his hands more (3.4 turnovers to 2.2).
Still the Celtics winning percentage drops from 66 percent when Tatum and Brown are both available to 56 percent when Brown's by himself.
The Celtics will need a big game from Jaylen Brown to continue their series with the Knicks.
Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
Brown was at a loss for words immediately following Monday's loss. But he accepted the challenge ahead.
'That's all that can be said,' Brown said. 'Get ready for the next one. Get ready to fight, get ready to come out on our home floor and do what we need to do. That's the goal, that's still the goal. We've got enough in this locker room, so I believe in my guys.'
Advertisement
The Celtics account for two of the 13 times teams have come back from 3-1 deficits.
In 1968, the Celtics beat the 76ers in Game 1 of the Eastern Division finals, then lost the next three. Bill Russell averaged 27 rebounds over the final three games to help the Celtics climb out of the hole, and Boston went on to win the title that year.
In 1981, the Sixers had the Celtics down 3-1 again in the conference finals and rallied back.
The only options in front of this year's Celtics team are to either climb out of the 3-1 hole or start facing the realities of a harsh offseason ahead.
Whichever path they take, it will be without Tatum on the floor.
'We've still got basketball to play on our home floor,' Brown said. 'So we come out and play Celtics basketball.'
Julian Benbow can be reached at