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Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are enjoying a surprising season. Led by Jaylen Brown, the Celtics are second in the Eastern Conference, 5.5 games behind the Detroit Pistons and half a game ahead of the New York Knicks.
The Boston Celtics weren’t supposed to be among the better teams this season. Jayson Tatum suffered an Achilles injury during the 2025 Eastern Conference semifinals. The Celtics lost Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Luke Kornet and Al Horford via trade and free agency. Those departures and Tatum’s injury led people to view the Celtics as a play-in tournament-level roster heading into the 2025-26 season.
In a recent interview with Noa Dalzell of CelticsBlog, Brown revealed that a preseason meeting between him and Joe Mazzulla helped lay the foundation for the Celtics current success.
“Before the season started, Joe had an idea of what he wanted, how he wanted to coach the team,” Brown said. “I had an idea of how I wanted to lead the team, and we kind of had to meet in the middle before the season even started. We had an idea of how we were going to both work together. Because if we don’t work together, if it would have been me not buying into Joe, none of this would work. Me being able to be on the same page with Joe has allowed us to be in the position that we’re in now.”
Clearly, the meeting worked. Brown is playing at a borderline MVP level, and Mazzulla’s coaching is getting the best out of the entire roster.
Brown Is Looking Forward To Tatum’s Celtics Return
A lot of people have questioned how things will look once Tatum returns to the rotation, given Brown’s impressive season as the Celtics’ primary offensive option. When speaking with the media during All-Star weekend, Brown was quick to remind the world of the success he and Tatum have had in Boston.
“I mean, those conversations have been happening from since we got drafted pretty much,” Brown said. “So in any human relationship, in any type of team, there’s always going to be some stuff that you have to work on and improve and work through. But in terms of winning, me and him both have done that at a high level for a very long time. So I’m looking forward to that.”
Tatum will be far from his best when he initially gets back on the court. It could take months for him to return to his former All-NBA level. So, things will look clunky to begin with. But, given their track record, it would be foolish to bet against the duo figuring things out.
Tatum Expected To Make Celtics Return Soon
In a recent episode of “The Hoops Collective” podcast, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon shared his belief that Tatum will be back on the court in the near future.
“I get trying to temper expectations…but the fact that the guy is playing 5-on-5 with two months remaining in the regular season, and the Celtics are where they are in the standings, it’s not hard not to anticipate that Tatum is going to come back at some point this season,” MacMahon said.
If Tatum has enough ramp-up time, he will be a key contributor in the postseason. For a team that’s already one of the best in the Eastern Conference, his presence could act as a turbo charge. It’s an exciting time to be a Celtics fan.
Adam Taylor is a basketball reporter covering the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and Miami Heat for Heavy. He holds bylines for CelticsBlog, USA Today and Yardbarker. Adam also covers the WWE and AEW. He has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from Open University. More about Adam Taylor
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