As Jayson Tatum gears up to return to the lineup for the Celtics, there's been a growing chorus of NBA prognosticators who believe that he has to defer to Jaylen Brown for the team to be successful. Although the Celtics lost to the Hornets last night, they're still second in the Eastern Conference. They're 41-21 on the year, two games ahead in the loss column of the New York Knicks.
On the latest episode of 7 PM in Brooklyn, NBA Hall-of-Famer and NBA on NBC studio analyst Carmelo Anthony gave his take on the conversation around Brown's return, echoing that Tatum needs to take a backseat to his All-Star teammate.
“For so long JB has sacrificed everything. Now it’s like JT, what are you going to sacrifice? But now I held the fort down for you and the whole organization. JT has to be very mature about this situation. It’s no ego, no pride. We got a chance to come back and win a championship. So let me just put my pride and ego aside for these next 3 months and continue to let JB steer the ship.”
Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix made a similar comment on Wednesday, saying, “I think [Jayson] Tatum knows coming back he's stepping onto Jaylen Brown's team. Brown is a top five, top six MVP candidate this year. He has put this team on his back offensively. And Tatum's gonna have to find a way to fit into that.”
In 55 appearances this season, Jaylen Brown is averaging 28.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 5 assists per game while also recording a steal per contest. He’s shooting 48% from the field and 34.8% from beyond the arc. Brown has been a driving force behind the success of the Boston Celtics, helping keep them firmly in the championship conversation.
Still, if Jayson Tatum returns at full strength, the Celtics will be a formidable team regardless of who takes the reign each game. Over 72 games during the regular season, Jayson Tatum averaged 26.8 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists per contest while shooting 34% from three-point range. During that stretch, Tatum continued to develop into a high-level playmaker, someone capable of creating offense for himself while also generating scoring opportunities for his teammates.
Tatum will certainly showcase his fit on the team when he returns to the lineup against the Mavericks on Friday.
