PHILADELPHIA — The Boston Celtics without Jayson Tatum are still the Boston Celtics. “I mean, you just don’t have him to game plan for,” Philadelphia 76ers head coach said pre-game on Friday night.
Tatum is slated to miss most, or even all, of the 2025-26 campaign. Inevitably, the Celtics will play differently, especially on offense. He was the catalyst for almost everything they did on that side of the ball. Now, he’s not available. That alone is an adjustment.
But for opponents, there isn’t too much of a change to account for that, in particular. At least, not in the eyes of Nurse.
“You pour a lot into his coverages, and who's [matching up with who], and things like that. So you just minus him.”
Celtics game plans without Jayson Tatum aren't all that different
Instead of Tatum, Jaylen Brown will have the ball more. Derrick White’s three-point volume will increase. Payton Pritchard will spend more time running the show on offense. That’s how it’s gone through the first five games of this season.
In tandem, the offense has been different. The style that Tatum dominated is no longer in place. Because the Celtics have lost more than just Tatum.
Kristaps Porzingis is gone. Jrue Holiday is gone. Al Horford is gone. Luke Kornet is gone.
So much time will be spent on thinking up adjustments for Tatum’s absence, mostly because, eventually, he’ll be back. More than likely, none of the other four will be.
As a result, Boston isn’t the same offense it once was. That’s where most of the schematic differences come in from an opponent’s perspective.
“They are adjusting some things with what they're doing,” Nurse said. “Notice that from Opening Night to now, too. I think they're running some different actions than they did Opening Night. So, interesting to see how we can handle those.”
Without Tatum and the rest of the group that left, the Celtics are still one of the league’s best offenses (even with White and Pritchard struggling from beyond the arc).
Heading into Friday night’s game in Philadelphia, the Celtics ranked seventh in the NBA in offensive rating at 118.2. Offensive rebounding and Brown’s hot start have fed into it, but so has the Celtics’ new system.
More screens. Screens from different positions. Brown mid-ranges. The same drive-and-kick plan as last season. An emphasis on transition.
Nurse knows that the Celtics are still the Celtics. Joe Mazzulla understands how to maximize his players’ skill sets, whether it be Brown enjoying the flow of the new offense or utilizing Josh Minott and Neemias Queta’s offensive rebounding.
Tatum being out doesn’t make game-planning for the Celtics a cakewalk.