The Boston Celtics will be without their best player for most of next season because of a horrendous injury. Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles in the second round against the Knicks, putting him at risk of missing all of next year.
That injury could end up taking the Celtics out of contention to play for a championship. With Tatum gone for most of the year, a lot of NBA pundits aren't sure they have enough juice to win it all.
Despite the injury, the Celtics should still be considered a team that can make the playoffs next season
Why the Celtics are still a playoff team next year even without Jayson Tatum
Even without Tatum next year, the Celtics should still be a good enough team to make the playoffs on what should be a relatively weak Eastern Conference. Other than two or three really good teams, the rest of the East is weak.
A big reason why the Celtics should be considered a playoff team next season, even with all of the changes that are likely coming, is because of the play of Jaylen Brown.
Brown put up some really good numbers without Tatum on the court, averaging 27.3 points, eight rebounds, and 7.7 assists in the playoffs without him. He also did that with an injured knee.
Without Tatum, Brown becomes the Celtics' top option next season. He has shown that he is more than capable of taking up that responsibility.
Brown has been underrated by those outside of Boston for quite a while now. For some reason, he doesn't get the credit that he deserves on offense. He has an opportunity to earn that respect next year.
Even if the Celtics won't be a top-four team in the East without Tatum, the 5-8 slots are going to be wide open next year. It would be shocking if the Celtics fell completely out of the playoff picture.
This season, Brown averaged 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. He shot 46.3 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from three.
