The Boston Celtics are in for an interesting 2025-26 season after the injury to Jayson Tatum during the NBA Playoffs.
Tatum suffered an Achilles injury against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals and is now expected to miss an entire year.
The Celtics have since been one of the busiest teams in the league this offseason, rebuilding the team for when he returns from injury.
The new-look roster now includes Anfernee Simons and Chris Boucher, with Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis departing in trades.
But despite all the changes, Jaylen Brown remains with the franchise, and he will have to shoulder even more responsibility next season.
2008 NBA champion with the Boston Celtics, Kendrick Perkins, expects Brown to take his game to another level in Tatum’s absence.
Perkins wants the former Finals MVP to average more points per game than his career-high of 26.6 in the 2022-23 season.
“It means that he can enter the conversation and we can start talking about him when you talk about Jayson Tatum and Ja Morant, and show that he can be a number one option,” he said.
“I believe this is a moment for JB to go out there and show that he can be a 28-30-point-per-game scorer, and I believe he’s ready for the mission.
“We know vocally he’s a leader, but go out there this season for a full 82 games and display it on the floor.”
Of course, Brown putting up 30 points every game will help the Celtics next season, but it could create an awkward dynamic when Tatum returns the following year and wants to be the leading scorer again.
Some people assume the Celtics will completely drop off next season and miss the playoffs after retooling the roster over the summer.
However, Perkins refuses to write off his former team from making some noise in the postseason with the solid role players around Brown and an excellent head coach.
“Look, I wouldn’t just count this Celtics team out. I don’t think they’re going to be in the lottery. I believe this team is going to make the playoffs through the Play-In Tournament.
“We have to remember, over the last three seasons, their home record, which has been the best in the NBA, has been 97-23.
“So, you take a Payton Pritchard, a Sam Hauser, and a Joe Mazzulla, who feeds off adversity, and you get this Celtics ball club that’s going to be hungry and doubted. They’re going to be right there in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference.”
