You know, one would think that the significant overachievement of this year’s Boston Celtics team would be enough for the fanbase to just sit back and enjoy. In fairness, the silent majority is doing just that, enjoying the high-level hoops they’ve been blessed with in what was supposed to be a “gap year.”
The loud minority, however, is online typing away on Twitter and Reddit in an effort to reopen the Pandora’s Box of Celtics discourse -- who is more important, Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown?
Brown’s play during Tatum’s recovery from Achilles surgery has been inspiring. He’s taken on the added responsibility of leading the team by himself and is thriving. His near 30 points per game on 50.1% from the field and 37.2% from long range provide a reliable source of offense for the 23-13 Celtics.
Boston’s gotten great production from the supporting cast as well, making for these improbable first few months of the season.
They’re playing so well, unfortunately, that there are people out there who are questioning whether or not they’ll even get better when Tatum is cleared to return.
Jayson Tatum will fit regardless of whatever rust he has upon return
Sure, there’s reason to be wary of high expectations for Boston’s injured star. It’s inevitably going to take him some time to get his sea legs back after being sidelined for so long. Even though he might ot immediately be All-NBA Jayson Tatum, he’ll still be Jayson Tatum.
Opposing defenses are still going to have to respect him as an offensive threat, which will inherently make things easier on Brown, who has faced the full attention of opposing teams all season long.
On top of that, Tatum does far more than just put points on the board. He rebounds, he defends, he makes plays for his teammates. These are all valuable skills that don’t have to coincide with elite offensive creativity. There should be no question that he can deliver on these to some extent in a smaller role if needed.
Let’s even get crazy and remove all restrictions. Imagine Tatum is immediately 100%.
In that case, then he gets to play alongside the best version of Brown that we’ve maybe ever seen. These guys won a title together. They’ve played almost their entire NBA careers together. To think that they won’t be able to coexist because Jaylen Brown is playing at a borderline MVP level is nonsense.
The either-or argument has always been hilarious with these two, too. The beauty of the way the Celtics are constructed is that they don’t have to choose. They have both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown under contract for the foreseeable future. Not only that, but Brad Stevens has done a tremendous job of giving them quality teammates to play key roles around them.
Tatum, no Tatum, the Celtics are going to be just fine this season. The bored fans online just need to sit back and enjoy the elite basketball that this year’s team continues to deliver.