Late in Game 4 of the Boston Celtics-New York Knicks series, things went from bad to worse for the Celtics as Jayson Tatum went down with an injury. Later, Tatum was diagnosed with a ruptured Achilles and received surgery the next day. Needless to say, this is devastating news for Tatum, and everyone is wishing him a speedy recovery.
The Celtics are currently down 3-1 in the series, and Tatum’s injury certainly makes things harder. With that in mind, who needs to step up for the Celtics to extend the series, or even accomplish the improbable?
3 Celtics Players Who Must Step Up After Jayson Tatum’s Devastating Injury
3. Jrue Holiday
This third spot is a tough one to pick, and it could be several players. While Jrue Holiday is having a highly impactful series, especially containing Jalen Brunson on defense, his offensive production is somewhat underwhelming. For the series, Holiday is averaging 9.5 points on just 28.6 percent shooting from three. Holiday’s spot-up shooting is key to the Celtics’ three-point-centric offense; his poor shooting is paired with Boston shooting 33.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Undoubtedly, Holiday’s main value is due to his incredible defense. However, the Celtics will need more offensive production to extend this series. Holiday’s shooting will be crucial as noted, but also look for him to be more aggressive on offense and have more responsibilities as a shot creator. Notably, Holiday has a combined nine shot attempts in the last two games. These numbers will increase without Tatum. The Celtics are at their best when Holiday is scoring at a high level, and they’ll need him to do that to extend the series.
2. Kristaps Porziņģis
Kristaps Porziņģis is battling a mysterious illness that has significantly hurt his conditioning. While it’s understandable why he’s struggling, Porziņģis has undoubtedly hurt the Celtics in this series and throughout the playoffs. Frankly, he’s been unplayable. In this series, Porziņģis is averaging just five points and four rebounds while shooting 27.8 percent from the field. Al Horford has started in place of Porziņģis for the past three games, however, both bigs will likely start with Tatum out.
The Celtics’ offense has struggled this series, posting an 111.6 offensive rating, which is a 7.9 decrease from the regular season. Additionally, they are shooting just 41.4 percent from the field. Porziņģis’ lack of production has been one reason for the Celtics’ offensive struggles. For the Celtics to stand a chance in the series, Porziņģis must step up and provide the Celtics with more scoring. Porziņģis’ defense and rebounding will also be crucial with Tatum’s absence. While the Celtics need Porziņģis to step up, it feels unlikely given his poor play throughout the playoffs.
1. Jaylen Brown
Similar to Porziņģis, Jaylen Brown has been dealing with a knee injury, which is clearly impacting his play. However, unlike KP, Brown has shown solid flashes in the playoffs, including a 36-point outburst against the Orlando Magic in Game 2 of the first round and an awesome first half in Game 2 of the Knicks series. When Tatum is out, Brown tends to pick up the slack, including his stellar Game 2 against Orlando. The Celtics will need Brown to give the Celtics efficient first-option level production without Tatum, and he’s shown the ability to do so throughout his career.
Brown has averaged 20.5 points in this series, but he is shooting just 37.7 percent from the field and is averaging 3.5 turnovers. He will need to up his level of scoring and efficiency while making better decisions. Brown has proven to be an elite playoff performer at times throughout his career, and improving his play feels likely. If the Celtics extend the series, expect Brown to be a key reason why.
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