Boston Celtics: Ranking their projected starting five
No. 1 starter for the Boston Celtics: Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum now has the reigns as Boston’s franchise player. After making his first All-Star appearance, and Third Team All-NBA for the 2019-20 season, he’s taken that big leap that he needed to in order to really be considered as one of the elite players in the NBA.
During the Celtics’ playoff run, Tatum averaged 25.7 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists over seventeen games. That’s superstar numbers. There’ve been obvious comparisons between Tatum and Celtics legend Paul Pierce. Tatum has the potential to be a better player, and that’s saying something.
The 22-year-old will have to continue to play at the level he showed so often last year if his team are to have a chance of getting that long-overdue title that Boston fans are dying for. He’s the number one option in this lineup and will be for future Celtics teams.
No. 2 starter: Jaylen Brown
With Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics have their core pieces to remain a top team in the NBA for years to come. Whilst Jaylen took major strides in his fourth season in the league, look for him to take that next step and join his teammate as an All-Star this year.
Brown averaged 20.3 points per game last season, cementing himself as an upcoming star in this league. He showed improvement in every area – from efficient shot taking to rebounding to locking up key opposing players like Pascal Siakam – the major factor in the Celtics’ series victory over the defending champion Raptors.
When the playoffs came around, Brown only seemed to get more and more into his stride, as he averaged 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, helping the Celtics reach yet another conference finals.
Now that Brown’s contract is tied up for the next four seasons, it’s time to focus on his future in Boston. Going forward, he has the talent to become a perennial All-NBA player. It’s hard to say that for sure with such an overload of talent in the league at this moment, but Brown is certainly in the right place and the right city to exceed any expectations fans will now have of him.