How Celtics Fared In Games Without Jayson Tatum This Season

The Celtics’ season went on the brink after Monday night, but the primary concern was on Jayson Tatum.

Boston’s superstar suffered a lower leg injury in the final minutes of Game 4’s loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Tatum writhed in pain for minutes and was placed in a wheelchair, and players from both sides expressed hope that the 27-year-old didn’t suffer the worst-case outcome.

However, the Celtics must move on quickly as they face a 3-1 series deficit. One point of slight optimism fans pointed to was that Joe Mazzulla’s side went 9-2 without Tatum in the regular season and playoffs this season. But how legit were those wins? Let’s dive into the context of the nine wins without Tatum and how much credit Boston actually deserved.

Dec. 4: Detroit Pistons
The Celtics beat Detroit 130-120 at TD Garden, and this is simple: Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis led the way with key contributions from Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard.

Dec. 12: Pistons
Rinse and repeat, minus the Hauser contribution.

March 5: Portland Trail Blazers
Portland was very bad this season, but 40-plus-point performances from Derrick White and Pritchard should at least be acknowledged.

March 10: Utah Jazz
Wins over tanking teams should not be given any extra credit.

March 18: Brooklyn Nets
The same logic goes for teams that rolled out unserious rotations.

March 26: Phoenix Suns
Boston earned a dominant 132-102 win over a fringe playoff team. Once again, Brown and Porzingis led the way.

April 6: Washington Wizards
Again, wins against tanking teams are good but shouldn’t merit any extra attention.

April 13: Charlotte Hornets
This was the last game of the regular season. Pritchard, Hauser and Luke Kornet were the only rotation players who played.

April 23: Orlando Magic
Tatum missed Game 2 of the first round after he suffered his wrist injury. Orlando made nearly every game tough for the Celtics in the series, but Boston made the key plays to earn a 109-100 win without Tatum.

So out of the nine wins, only four could be argued as legitimate. It was already obvious after Game 4, but the clear thread of the wins was Brown and Porzingis stepping up in Tatum’s absence, and that will need to happen if the Celtics hope to make a series comeback.