How the Boston Celtics are Thriving Without Jayson Tatum

After Jayson Tatum tore his achilles during the NBA playoffs last season and the Boston Celtics traded Kristaps Porzingis during the offseason, many people expected the team to take a huge step backward. How could the team possibly survive losing two of its best players?

Crazy enough, the team has done just that, as it has a 19-12 record and is 3rd in the Eastern Conference standings.

On top of this, the Boston Celtics have one of the best offenses in the NBA, and this is why the team has been so successful despite losing two extremely valuable players during the offseason. Today, we're going to dive into why their offense has remained so dominant.

Jaylen Brown Looks Like a Star

Without Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown has had to step up in a big way. This season, he has a usage rate of 36.2%, the highest mark in his entire career, and he is handling this increased offensive load extremely well.

In Tatum’s absence, Brown has elevated his scoring output as he’s averaging 29.4 points per game on 59.5% TS%, including 50.2/36.9/78.3 shooting splits. This is by far the most points he has ever averaged in his entire career, and he’s doing it on slightly above league-average efficiency.

I have been thoroughly impressed by Brown’s ability to score inside the arc. He is a good long-distance shooter, but his scoring is at its best when he’s working inside the three-point line. For example, he is shooting 72% at the rim as well as 51% on long twos and 49% on all mid-range shots. He’s been one of the better interior scorers in the league this year.

Another thing that Brown has done well this season is stepping up as a playmaker. Below, I’ve broken down a few plays that showcase his ability to create shots for his teammates.

Brown is currently averaging 7.1 assists per 100 possessions, and he has an assist rate of 25.1%. Both of these marks are career highs, and by pretty much every single metric, he is producing his best playmaking season ever.

Just to be clear, Brown is not a dominant on-ball creator who can initiate a heliocentric offense to the level that guys like Luka Doncic can. Still, he’s more than capable of running an offense, and I think this is abundantly clear when you look at how he’s producing on plays where he’s operating in isolation or as a pick-and-roll ball handler.

He’s been fantastic on both of these playtypes, and his efficiency as a pick-and-roll ball handler is legitimately elite. His combination of scoring and playmaking has been very good this year, and it has allowed him to be very impactful on offense.

The Celtics’ offense improves by 6.4 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor, and his offensive impact metrics have been very good

The Rise of the Role Players

The Boston Celtics have become so good at finding quality role players over the years. They did this with everyone's favorite white boys, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser, and now they've done this with Neemias Queta, Luka Garza, and Jordan Walsh.

Neemias Queta replaced Kristaps Porzingis as the Celtics' starting center, and he has done a great job filling this role. He's been quite impactful on both ends of the floor, but on offense specifically, he's been great as a play finisher and rebounder.

He's not initiating any actions, so his scoring and playmaking aren't impressive. Still, he's shooting 74.5% at the rim, and he's been wildly efficient as a roll man on pick and rolls. He does the small things well on offense, and this allows him to be very efficient as a scorer. This stuff is valuable, even though he isn't handling the ball much

On top of this, he's averaging 6.2 offensive rebounds per 100 possessions, and he has an offensive rebound rate of 14%. His offensive rebounding numbers are excellent, and he's one of the better offensive rebounders in the entire league.

Luka Garza and Jordan Walsh have also been great in their roles, but in a different way than Queta. Both Garza and Walsh have been low-usage stretch bigs for the Celtics, and the results have been fantastic as they are both shooting over 70% at the rim and 40% from three. They are the two most efficient scorers on the team, and they both provide value as offensive rebounders.

All three of these players have been pivotal for the Celtics' offensive success this year. Without them, there's no way the team would be as efficient as they have been.

The team ranks in the top ten in both effective field goal percentage and offensive rebound rate, and these guys have played a huge role in that. Their efficiency as play finishers and offensive rebounders has made them positive impact players offensively.

Below are a few plays from these players that showcase how they are dominating in their roles.

Elite 3PT Shooting

The last thing I want to discuss that makes the Celtics' offense so dangerous is their three-point shooting, as they are one of the best three-point shooting teams in the NBA.

Right now, the Celtics are attempting a league-leading 44.6 threes per 100 possessions, and they are shooting 36.4% from behind the arc. The team ranks in the top ten in both categories. It's easy to see why they have been so effective shooting threes: they have four players shooting at least 40% from three, and eight players with a three-point percentage above league average.

The Celtics really shine when they shoot off the dribble. They average a league-leading 15.6 pull-up threes per game, and although they make just 35% of them, they still lead the league in made pull-up threes per game. This is really important because it puts a ton of pressure on opposing defenses. If a team can shoot off the dribble at a high level, then the defense has to play up on pick and rolls, off handoffs, and off screens, and this opens up the rest of the court.

Below are two plays that show why the Celtics are so dangerous shooting from behind the arc.