As Jayson Tatum prepares to return to the lineup for the Celtics, there is a growing group of NBA prognosticators who believe he will need to sideline Jaylen Brown for the team to be successful. Although the Celtics lost to the Hornets last night, they are still in second place in the Eastern Conference. They are 41-21 this year, two games ahead of the New York Knicks in the loss column.
on the latest episode of 7pm in BrooklynNBA Hall-of-Famer and nba on nbc Studio analyst Carmelo Anthony gave his opinion on the conversation surrounding Brown's return, saying that Tatum needs to take a back seat 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've held down the fort for you and the entire organization. JT has to be very mature about this situation. This is no ego, no pride. We got a chance to come back and win a championship. So I have to put my pride and ego aside for the next 3 months and let JB continue to steer the ship."
Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix made a similar comment on Wednesday, saying, "I think [Jayson] Tatum knows that by coming back he is stepping into Jaylen Brown's team. Brown is a top five, top six MVP candidate this year. He has put this team on his back aggressively. And Tatum will have to find a way to fit in.
In 55 appearances this season, Jaylen Brown has averaged 28.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5 assists per game, while also recording a steal per contest. He is 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 to full strength, the Celtics will be a formidable team regardless of who rules 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 period, Tatum continued to develop into a high-level playmaker, someone who was able to generate scoring opportunities for his teammates while also being offensive for himself.
Tatum will certainly demonstrate his fit with the team when he returns to the lineup on Friday against the Mavericks.
