Jayson Tatum is heading into a situation with very little cushion.
He has already been back on an NBA floor since rupturing his Achilles tendon in 2025, even logging six playoff appearances. But the broader picture is harder to ignore: he played only 16 regular season games and then missed Game 7 of Boston’s first-round loss to the Philadelphia 76ers because of a left knee injury. Over the last 18 months, Tatum has appeared in just 22 NBA games, and now the Celtics are asking him to step into a far heavier offensive load than the one he has carried before.
That’s the challenge facing Boston in 2026-27. Tatum has spent most of his career operating with a deep group of shot creators around him, with Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday chief among them when the Celtics won their first championship in 16 years. But after trading Holiday in 2025 and Brown in 2026, Boston has built something different - a roster that projects to lean on Tatum as the lone high-volume scorer.
There is talent behind him, but the safety net is thin. Paul George brings skill, but he’s also 36 and has averaged 16.7 points on 43.4 percent shooting over the past two seasons. He’s played only 78 games in that span, and he has missed at least 26 games in four of the past five seasons.
Payton Pritchard could make a real offensive leap, though he has never averaged more than 17.0 points per game. Derrick White is also coming off a 2025-26 season in which he was inefficient in a bigger scoring role. Put it all together, and Boston looks light on players who can consistently create their own offense.
Tatum is the only Celtic to average at least 20.0 points per game in either of the past two seasons, which says plenty about how much will be on his shoulders if nobody else expands their game.
The Celtics are also going to ask him to do more than simply score. His usage rate has sat between 29.0 and 31.9 over the last six seasons, so he’s hardly been short on touches.
The difference is that much of that burden was shared with Brown. Brown’s usage rate over the same span ranged from 28.2 to 35.1, and he averaged 24.9 points per game.
Brown was also Boston’s better fourth-quarter scorer in both 2022-23 and 2024-25. Tatum led the team in that category in 2023-24, but he did it while shooting 39.7 percent from the field and 31.0 percent from deep. In 2025-26, White was the Celtics’ next-leading scorer in fourth quarters behind Brown and Tatum, and he shot 38.8 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from three in those situations.
Now the Celtics need Tatum to close games, steer the offense, and do it efficiently. They need him to be the scorer and the playmaker who can carry them across four quarters. That is a heavy ask for any player, let alone one working through his first full season since a potentially career-altering injury.
If Pritchard breaks out, George finds something close to his old form, or White gets his efficiency back, life gets easier for Tatum. For now, though, Boston is leaving him with no margin for error.
In Other News...
Celtics Fans Keep Seeing Damian Lillard Buzz For One Reason
Damian Lillards name has been popping up again in Celtics circles, and this time it has less to do with actual team movement than with the internet doing what it does best. Recent Google search trends have shown a spike in interest around the idea of Lillard being traded to Boston, fueled by a viral trade proposal that got plenty of attention even though it was only a proposal.
For Celtics fans hoping there is more behind the buzz, the reality is less dramatic for now. There are no confirmed reports suggesting Boston is pursuing Lillard, and no indication Portland is looking to move him either. Lillard remains under contract with the Trail Blazers, complete with a player option and a no-trade clause, which makes any serious speculation about a Celtics fit a lot more complicated than a trending search result would suggest. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Just Got An Ugly Early Warning Fans Will Want To See
ESPNs Summer Forecast has already put a spotlight on a future Celtics season that would count as a letdown by Boston standards, placing the club fifth among the teams most likely to underperform in 2026-27. The discussion centers on the trade of Jaylen Brown for Paul George, a move framed less as a simple talent swap than as a stylistic gamble, with the piece weighing how the two wings might translate in Joe Mazzullas system.
What makes the warning sting is the fit argument around it. The forecast suggests Georges game could mesh with Bostons preference for three-point shooting and a slower pace, but the projection still leaves plenty of unease about whether the Celtics would actually gain enough on the margin to avoid a step backward. It is the kind of early-season-of-the-future alarm bell that does not settle much, but it does make the long view around Boston a little harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Jayson Tatum Just Gave Celtics Fans An Awkward New Talking Point
Jayson Tatum is heading into his 10th NBA season after working his way back from Achilles injury rehab last year, and the Celtics offseason already has a few fresh storylines attached to it. Boston has also reshaped the roster, trading Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George as it gets ready for training camp, so every Tatum appearance is drawing a little extra attention from fans trying to gauge what comes next.
One of those appearances came during his international fan camp run, including a stop in China, where a video made the rounds showing Tatum missing several free throws before finally knocking one down. It was the sort of harmless offseason moment that can take on a life of its own when a star is under the microscope, especially with Boston entering camp with new pieces, a new look, and plenty of curiosity about how the next version of this team will come together. [Read more 🡒]