Welcome to perhaps the most bold edition of the Beantown Rundown yet. After the Boston Celtics were blown off the floor in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Finals series, losing by a score of 128-102 and effectively ending their series in the process, all options are on the table. Everybody is under fire for the C's struggles, but once again, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are on the receiving end of the most blame.

Much of the same stuff is being said after Game 3 by outraged fans, so this won't be a piece focusing on why the team should fire Joe Mazzulla (who I have been thrashing for quite some time now) or why Grant Williams is quickly becoming the biggest laughing stock in the NBA. If you want to read up on that, you can surely find quite a few people on the internet telling you things you probably already knew.

No, when we said bold entering this article, we meant bold, and it involves tackling the elephant in the room that has been getting suggested for months. Tatum and Brown have had their futures tied together since Tatum entered the NBA, but after yet another playoff run that is almost 100 percent certain to have an ugly ending, the Celtics must face a tough truth; it is time for them to split up the duo of Tatum and Brown.

Why the Celtics must break up Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown

There have been calls for the Celtics to break up the duo of Tatum and Brown for quite some time now, but they never truly made sense. A potential trade involving Brown for Kevin Durant that popped up last summer made a lot more sense than many folks were willing to admit, but other than that, talks involving getting rid of either Tatum or Brown primarily involved your favorite Boston talk show hosts throwing everything they can at the wall in hopes something will stick.

So what has changed? Who's to say that I am not exactly like every other Boston sports media member overreacting to a series that isn't even technically over? Why does it suddenly make sense to split up what is arguably the most dominant duo in the NBA as they continue to near the peak of their careers?

Despite the fact that Tatum is only 25 years old and Brown is 26, this isn't exactly their first rodeo in the Eastern Conference Finals, much less against the Heat. This is their third meeting with the Heat in the ECF over the past four seasons, and prior to that, Tatum and Brown also nearly beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in the ECF during Tatum's rookie campaign. Brown also was part of another ECF run the year before that.

You cannot wait for results to magically manifest themselves in the NBA. This Celtics squad, led by Tatum and Brown, have shown time and again that they are not built to win. Tatum and Brown are not killers; they cannot take over a game where the stakes are incredibly high and lead their team to victory. Sure, Tatum scored 51 points against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 to send Boston to the ECF, but there was never really any sort of resistance provided from the Sixers throughout that contest.

On paper, the Celtics are a better team than they were last year, and the Heat are a worse team than they were last year when these two squads met up at the same spot they are at now. And yet this series has been a complete wash. Miami is embarrassing Boston, and neither of the C's two stars have shown any intention of reviving this team back to life.

Is all this on Tatum and Brown? No, absolutely not. Again, Mazzulla is not fit to be coaching a Finals contending squad, and whereas the Heat's role players are stepping up and hitting pretty much any shot they want, the Celtics supporting cast have missed a ridiculous amount of wide open shots through the first three games of this series.

With that all established now, which of the two does it make more sense to move? It may seem obvious to move Brown, but Tatum certainly has his fair share of critics as well. Considering how he just finished fourth in the 2022-23 MVP race, it's increasingly concerning to see him struggle to step up in the postseason.

Despite that, the only right answer to this question is Brown. Tatum has shown much more of a desire to grow as a rebounder and passer, and even though his scoring has been inconsistent at best in the postseason, he hasn't let that totally deter him from trying to win games. With Brown, we have seen against the Heat that is not the case.

Brown was probably outplaying Tatum this postseason up until Game 7 against the Sixers, but that has changed in the blink of an eye. Brown's numbers through three games against Miami (16.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3.3 APG, 37.7 FG%, 10 3P%) are awful, and he has been the biggest disappointment of this series for the C's. In Game 3, Brown was the first guy to give up, as he spent most of the second and third quarters aimlessly firing up threes after making a minimal effort to find a better shot.

All the talk of Brown being the guy Boston should turn to over Tatum is quickly evaporating. Nobody has been good against Miami, but to see their supposed second best player put together the outing he did in Game 3 is embarrassing. This is a guy that wants a supermax deal over the upcoming offseason?

Brown's contract is another piece of the puzzle, as he's going to need an extension at some point. If there's a time to move on from him, this upcoming offseason is the time to do so. You can net another big star or tons of draft capital if you were to move Brown, and for the first time ever, it's actually a decision that makes sense.

The Celtics cannot continue to accept failure. Barring a shocking turnaround, Boston's season will come to an end on Tuesday night, which is far sooner than many fans were hoping for. Tatum and Brown have had more than enough opportunities to prove they can win a title as a tandem, but this loss to the Heat should be the final nail in the coffin. Big changes will be needed this upcoming offseason, which is why it's time to accept the fact that Tatum and Brown need to be split up.