Projecting the 20 most promising young duos in the NBA

7. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics)

Jayson Tatum, 21 years old, and Jaylen Brown, 22, took advantage of an unexpected opportunity to earn some valuable playoff experience, which created expectations that may have been too high too early.

When the Celtics’ top two stars — Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward — were ruled out for the 2018 playoffs due to injuries, Tatum and Brown were among those forced to step up.

The rookie Tatum averaged a team-high 18.5 points per game during that playoff run, with Brown right behind him at 18.0 points per game. Together they helped lead the Celtics to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, a close loss to the Cavaliers.

So going into the 2018-19 season, with Irving and Hayward healthy, it was safe to predict big things for Boston and big things for the young duo of Tatum and Brown.

Things didn’t go exactly as planned.

While Tatum’s numbers in the regular season went up slightly, his postseason numbers went down, and he didn’t make the leap to being a bona fide star like many assumed he would.

Brown’s numbers went down across the board.

The Celtics, just one win away from the 2018 NBA Finals, fell way short in 2019. They were eliminated in the second round by the Bucks in a brisk five-game series that wasn’t really close.

Of course, one down season on a team that was by all accounts beset by chemistry problems and leadership issues is no reason to write off Tatum or Brown, who both still have star potential. The duo joined Boston teammates Marcus Smart and Kemba Walker on the U.S. national team at the FIBA World Cup this summer, which could be a chemistry-building exercise in itself that helps the Celtics moving forward.

After some significant roster turnover this summer, expectations have lowered for the Celtics as a team. They’ll still be good, but not favored to win it all.

For Tatum and Brown, however, there’s no reason to believe they can’t bounce back and improve this season and in years to come.