Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum must coexist for Boston Celtics success

The Boston Celtics received a glimmer of hope on Monday when Jaylen Brown returned to the court after missing the team’s previous 13 games due to a hamstring injury. Is Brown’s return enough to pull Boston out of the rut they’ve found themselves to be in?

Unfortunately for Brown, there’s already been some additional pressure put on his shoulders prior to his return. And considering how well he performed in his return to the court Monday against Milwaukee, that added pressure is going to continue to increase until the Celtics can start winning consecutive games and stop looking like another play-in team.

Jaylen Brown couldn’t have returned at a better time for the Boston Celtics. But is his return enough to help Jayson Tatum turn their season around?

Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston believes that Jaylen Brown (whether it’s fair or not) is the Celtics’ last hope at proving they’re capable of being a playoff contender. If the team still can’t pull it together after Brown gets himself reacclimated, Forsberg says that Brad Stevens has some tough decisions to make.

"“Fair or not, it feels like a healthy Brown — and whatever jolt he can provide — is Boston’s last hope to show they can be something more than a play-in candidate. NBA trade season opens on Wednesday and, if the Celtics can’t get on track, Brad Stevens has tough decisions ahead while plotting the best path forward for a team that might need more than a tow truck to get back on pavement”"

It’s hard to disagree with Forsberg’s analogy about needing to get the tow truck. However, considering this team has more depth than in years past, it’s worth waiting to see what this team can look like when everything finally comes to fruition. I don’t believe the panic button needs to be pushed just yet.

That being said, we saw what this team looked like without Brown in the lineup on both ends of the court. Prior to his injury, the Celtics allowed 98.8 points per 100 possessions with Brown on the court. That mark is still the best on the team even with Brown missing 13 of the last 19 games.

Offensively, we know what Brown can offer the Celtics and he’s able to do it in more ways than one. Just his presence on the court alone is able to improve the spacing on the floor and the way an opposing team can play defense against the Celtics. Brown understands the situation when he sees it.

"“You can’t double us both. Just being out there I think takes pressure off of JT, being able to play without seeing double teams, sometimes triple teams. If I’m out there and you’re doubling him, I’m going to be aggressive. If you double me, he’s going to look to be aggressive. Just playing with a ball a little bit more in my hands and trying to find guys and making the right plays — that’s it.”"

The big question here shouldn’t be if Jaylen Brown can rescue the Celtics this season. Rather, how can Brown and Jayson Tatum rescue the Celtics season together? For years it’s been speculated that Brown and Tatum cannot coexist in Boston and that the only way to upgrade their team is by splitting up their All-Star franchise duo.

However, I don’t believe the issues are directly related to Boston’s All-Star frontcourt, but rather the surrounding pieces that have been deployed alongside them.

It’s not outrageous to say that former general manager and team President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge failed to surround Brown and Jayson Tatum accordingly.

Considering how well Brad Stevens has done in his role as President of Basketball Operations, it’s hard to believe that he won’t bring in any reinforcements to help Brown and Tatum now that he’s able to make the decisions. After all, Stevens of all people has firsthand experience of trying to coach an incomplete Celtics team.

With the NBA’s trading period open, we have to believe that Stevens is making and taking calls in hopes of upgrading his Boston Celtics team for a hopeful playoff run. It’ll be interesting to see what Stevens is able to maneuver during the trading period.