Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are one of the league’s most talented young duos. Both have been having solid seasons on an individual level. Jayson Tatum is currently averaging 25.2 PPG, 8.6 RPG, and 3.8 APG on the season, while Jaylen Brown is putting up 24.0 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 3.1 APG.
Despite their fantastic individual numbers, the team success hasn’t been present for them, as the Boston Celtics are currently 10th in the Eastern Conference. That was definitely far from the season they expected. Some have even suggested that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown need to be separated, and there have notably been reports that stated Brown could be traded in the future.
Bill Simmons of The Ringer has recently suggested that the problem for the Boston Celtics isn’t either of their stars. Rather, the issue is the team’s lack of a legitimate pass-first point guard.
What should the Celtics do to turn around their season?
Bill Simmons tells @TermineRadio & @Jumpshot8 why they don’t need a complete overhaul #BleedGreen pic.twitter.com/DLkx9YawCv
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) January 22, 2022
The fundamental question for me is: if you gave them a real point guard could they be really good. That’s A. Fundamental question B is: It’s not like they haven’t succeeded with these guys. They made the Conference Finals with these guys.
You can’t look at it like you did with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins… these guys have had success. The roster’s pretty weird… I know you could say this about 20 teams. But if you gave them a real point guard… If you put Chris Paul on the Celtics… even a poor man’s version of Chris Paul on the Celtics and that person was like my job is to make this work. Would that person make it work? I think the answer is yes.
Because we don’t have the right roster for these guys, doesn’t mean to me you have to panic and trade Jaylen or Tatum.
Dennis Schroder is known more for his scoring rather than his playmaking, and there’s no doubt that Bill Simmons has a point about getting a floor general. Simmons’ words are similar to sentiments expressed by Celtics’ great Bob Cousy, who stated disappointment at the Celtics’ season, but added that a point guard could help solve their issue.
The Boston Celtics could still make the playoffs through the play-in tournament route, and there’s no question that they have the talent to do so. Hopefully, we will get to see Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in the postseason, as they generally perform well in the playoffs.
