Jayson Tatum’s playoff impact has become one of the strongest reasons to believe Boston can make another championship push.
Over the last five postseasons combined, Tatum has posted a league-best +439 net rating while on the floor. That’s 125 points ahead of the next-best mark, a +312 from Thunder big man Chet Holmgren. Plus/minus can be a shaky measure on its own, but over that kind of stretch, the gap is hard to ignore.
The pattern has been the same for Boston: when Tatum plays in the playoffs, the Celtics look like a powerhouse. Even in last season’s mess - while he was working back from a torn Achilles and the team collapsed after a 3-1 lead - Boston was still +7.2 per 100 possessions with Tatum on the court.
That’s because Tatum gives the Celtics answers everywhere. He can create, defend, and slide into different roles without much drop-off. There just aren’t many holes in his game, and that versatility has shown up again and again in the postseason.
The real question for Boston is what happens when he sits.
The Celtics’ title chances may hinge on winning those non-Tatum minutes, the stretches that hurt them in each of the past two seasons. They figured it out in 2024, and that was a major reason the run turned into a dominant championship finish.
Boston’s current approach is built around making those bench stretches work again. Jaylen Brown is gone, in part because he couldn’t consistently carry those minutes even with superstar money attached to his name. Now Brad Stevens and the Celtics are leaning on a deeper group that fits together and has bought into Joe Mazzulla’s system.
There’s also reason for optimism in what this roster showed last season. The group actually played better when Brown was off the floor, and if that kind of production returns with Tatum taking on the Brown role and players like Paul George and Mitch Robinson added to the mix, Boston has a path back to the level it reached during the 2024 title run.
It’s not simple, but the Celtics have earned the benefit of the doubt. Their front office and coaching staff believe this is the right formula, and the numbers support that view. If it carries over to the court, Boston could blow past expectations again.
In Other News...
Celtics Have A Low-Risk Point Guard Option Worth Watching
Ryan Nembhard has popped onto the Celtics radar as a possible low-risk point guard addition, the kind of move that often surfaces around this part of the roster cycle. The 23-year-old was recently traded to the Charlotte Hornets and is expected to be waived, which could open the door for Boston to take a closer look at a player who already has some NBA experience and a track record as a distributor.
Nembhard spent time with the Dallas Mavericks on a two-way contract and made enough of an impression to set a rookie assist record, a useful calling card for a team that could use added depth at point guard behind its main group. Boston already has several players tied up on two-way deals, so any decision here would have to fit the teams flexibility and its appetite for another developmental guard worth monitoring. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Face A Costly Payton Pritchard Decision Soon
Payton Pritchard is entering a stretch that could shape both his future and Bostons rotation planning, with the guard eligible to sign an extension starting Oct. 1. After a breakout season that stood as the best of his NBA career, Pritchard has become a far more important piece for the Celtics, and the price of keeping him around has moved well beyond the bargain-bin range.
Boston has already extended contracts to other players recently, and there is an expectation around the team that Pritchard will get serious consideration as well. The question now is whether the Celtics are ready to commit to a deal that could reach roughly three years and $67 million, a costly number for a player they clearly view as part of the next stretch of their roster. [Read more 🡒]
Jayson Tatum Put On Blast As Celtics Loyalty Debate Heats Up
The Celtics long-running image as a tight-knit core has taken a small but messy hit in the court of opinion, with DeMarcus Cousins taking aim at Jayson Tatum on a podcast over what he sees as a lapse in loyalty toward Jaylen Brown. Cousins criticism centered on the idea that Tatum did not contact Brown after Brown was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, a move that naturally marked a difficult stretch in Browns career and put their relationship under the microscope.
Tatum has publicly spoken highly of Brown, but Cousins suggested those comments came off more like polished public relations than a reflection of real support. For Boston, the debate lands in familiar territory: the franchise has spent years selling the strength of its stars' bond, and any hint of distance between the faces of the team tends to draw outsized attention, especially when it comes from a former NBA veteran willing to say the quiet part out loud. [Read more 🡒]