Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum More Important This Season?
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum will both play a big role on the Boston Celtics this season, but we still do not know who will be more important
The Boston Celtics have a lot of talent on the roster this season, and most of it is either new or extremely young. It is still too hard to tell exactly what roles will be played this season, and it is amplified a ton when you look at the second unit.
As of right now, there are a lot of different directions the season’s of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum can go. They both still appear to be candidates for the final roster spot, and both of them have to be on edge, making sure they are contributing enough to have a consistent role.
Last year we saw Brown go through a large transition. It can often take a while for these young players to settle in, and how the seasons starts could have a large bearing on who becomes more important between these two players.
At first glance, it looks like Brown should be an easy choice here. He has shown that he can defend at a high level in the NBA, and with one year under his belt he has established trust in Stevens’ system.
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That being said, Tatum is coming out of college as a better prospect, and one of his great traits is how NBA ready he is. Tatum may already be better at scoring the ball in the NBA than Brown is at anything, and if that is the case he could end up being one of the more important players on the team.
If one of them starts while the other doesn’t, it will be easy to see them as the most important player. That being said, the rotation could be all over the place this season, and just because one of them is starting at one point, that does not mean they will maintain that importance for the rest of the season.
If we can start by assuming that the two of them will have a similar role in terms of how relevant they are in the rotation, then we can start to see who is going to be more important.
You can immediately tell that Brown is going to be the stronger defender and Tatum is going to be the better scorer. At this point, it is still hard to tell what they will need more. The Celtics desperately need defensive versatility in order to play their best lineups, but if Tatum is not scoring at a high rate, then the second unit offense could be a disaster.
When you look at the bench, there are a few different players that could step up on the defensive end. They have young and versatile bigs they like, and Terry Rozier has been capable on that end. If multiple players prove that they can defend at the NBA level, then all of a sudden Tatum’s offense will be more valuable than Brown’s defense, even if the defense is more impactful to the lineups.
Other than Tatum, there is not a single player on the second unit that can already be trusted to even hit their open shots. They have a collection of players who are not reliable shooters, and even if the offense is running at a high rate, there could be a lot of scoring problems.
If both these players stay one dimension, and each get the advantage in the area they are stronger in, then Tatum should end up being more important. The Celtics have more options that can potentially replace Brown’s defense on the second unit, with almost no options to replace Tatum’s offense if he is struggling.
Taking that into account, it is a lot easier to see Brown being a capable scorer than it is seeing Tatum as a capable defender. Tatum has length, and was underrated in that area coming out of college, but there will still be a transition period.
If history is an indication, Tatum will need to prove he can defend before he will showcase his offense, where as Brown will get to fight through offensive struggles, as long as his defense holds up.
Brown also has a lot of offensive upside. It was inconsistent in his first year, but he is an aggressive shooter who does not force bad looks, he might already be the best finisher at the rim on the team, and his athleticism makes him one of the biggest transition threats on the team.
Even if Tatum’s offensive talent may be better than anything Brown can do, it is a lot easier to see his game balancing out, turning him into a great two way player for the team. Tatum cannot be expected to have kind of balance, and that is ultimately why Brown should be more important this season.
That balance is also what makes Brown a great candidate for the starting unit. He can allow the biggest stars to take over the way they need to, while contributing and helping on both ends. Tatum will not have that comfort and balance, and that could impact his place in the rotation.
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These are going to be two of the most exciting players to watch this season, and they will be incredibly important to the success of the team. Even if Tatum looks like the more talented player, this should be Brown’s year to shine and start becoming one of the most important players for right now, and not just the future.