Just a season ago, the Boston Celtics were the heavy favorites to repeat as NBA champions. Now, they are facing legitimate concerns about even making the postseason. Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury threw away any hopes for winning a title. But ESPN insider Brian Windhorst believes the season will still be salvageable thanks to Jaylen Brown.
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The writing was on the wall that the Celtics couldn’t keep their core for too long. The implications of the NBA’s second apron make it impossible to have a team with a ridiculously high payroll.
As a result, they traded Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers for Anfernee Simons. The Celtics weren’t done there. They also parted ways with Kristaps Porzingis in a move strictly to dump salary.
This series of events opens the door for Jaylen Brown to be the undisputed number one option for the entire season. Although many are writing off the Celtics, Windhorst can’t bring himself to do so.
“There are some teams in the East that are just weak,” Windhorst said on The Hoop Collective. “So you’re gonna get some win whether you’re relative or not.”
That doesn’t just mean Boston is going to receive a playoff berth on a silver platter. He cites their remaining All-Star as a potential savior of their season.
“I suspect Jaylen Brown, assuming his knee is okay, is going to have a mssive season. I think he’s going to just carry them to a bunch of wins,” Windhorst proclaimed.
Throughout Brown’s nine years with the Celtics, he has never received the keys to drive the car. It has always been a joint pairing with either Tatum or Kyrie Irving during his brief pit stop in Boston.
The last time Brown made an All-NBA team was in the 2022-23 season. He averaged a career high 26.6 points along with 6.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. The 6-foot-6 wing was performing at that level while sharing the court with Tatum.
Of course, the absence of Tatum will result in Brown becoming the main focus of opposing defenses. Windhorst doesn’t view that as a significant problem. Mainly because the league hasn’t been able to see Brown play to his fullest potential.
“I think he sees this as an opportunity this year to show everybody what he can do,” Windhorst said.
It’ll be intriguing to see what Brown looks like as a number one option. Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has high hopes for Brown as well. His expectation of the four-time All-Star is why he is so confident the Celtics will remain a playoff team. A sentiment Windhorst shares.
“When they gave an offseason update on their team, [Stevens] said, ‘We’re still a playoff team.’ And I think that’s true,” Windhorst noted.
Aside from Brown, the Celtics still have quality players such as Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and the recently acquired Anfernee Simons. They should be among the top eight teams in the Conference. Once they make it that far, with the amount of experience under their belt, anything is possible in a seven-game series.
