Time For Tatum & Brown To Grow
Yes, Gordon Hayward will miss most, if not all of this season, but we can not dwell on this the entire season. Hayward is in my prayers and I hope he makes the right decision on when to come back. What I want to go over is how Tatum and Brown will really benefit from the boost in minutes they will receive.
With Hayward out for what I think will be the entire season, Jayson Tatum will receive more minutes then he would have.. Tatum did not play well in the first half of last nights game, but can you blame him? A 19 year old rookie going on the road against one of the best teams in the NBA, anyone would have some jitters. With everything considered, Tatum looked really impressive. I know it is only the first game, but he looks like he can really make a difference. If you think he can give you 14 points a game, then keep dreaming. Tatum is going to have a lot of ups/downs this season and will struggle. That is almost a guarantee for any young rookie in his first year. How ever, this is not a bad thing at all. He really needs to work on his long range game and overall defensive performance. It will be fun to watch this kid grow and get a ton of experience in his first season as Celtic.
Jaylen Brown will be the second leading scorer on this Celtics team, and it will be exciting to watch. Like Tatum, do not expect Brown to drop 25 like he did last night every night. Brown will not become one of the unsung leaders of this very young team. I absolutely love that he is not scared to take shots. Most young players in the NBA will pass up shots because they are scared of missing, but Brown is just the opposite. I want to see him continue taking his shots and not caring if they all do not fall. Like Tatum, Brown will have his downs this season and do not be surprised when it happens.
The ball movement also looked better than last years. The Celtics had a lot of open shots last night and that was all due to how well they moved the ball around. The problem the Celtics had last season was that IT was the only person who could score points. We shall see as the season progresses but it seems like Brown is not scared of taking shots ( like I stated above). Last night he took more than Irving and struggled from beyond the arc, but continued to play his game.
Sorry I have to do this, BUT If the Celtics had Hayward last night, then they easily win that game. He would have dropped around 20 points and made some of the shots that Tatum missed. However, we can not dwell on “what could have been” all season. This will be a great year for Tatum and Brown to grow and really work on their games. With both being under the age of 21, the sky is not even the limit.
Written By: Connor Strayer (@Big_C19)