The mood in TD Garden on Monday was bleak. Not just because the Celtics fell behind 3-1 in their series with the Knicks, but because Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury changed everything. Boston wasn’t just fighting for its playoff life-it had suddenly lost its franchise player for the rest of this run, and maybe all of next season.
So going into Game 5, the talk wasn’t about Xs and Os. It was about what comes next. Would this force a retooling? A lost year? Were the Celtics, once favorites, suddenly looking at a fast exit and an uncertain future?
Then the game tipped off-and everything changed.
Depth over despair: Celtics dominate without their star
Jaylen Brown and Derrick White didn’t just show up-they made a statement. Brown dropped 26 points and dished a career-high 12 assists. White exploded for 34 points, knocking down seven threes and swatting three shots on the other end. This wasn’t “hang in there” basketball. It was a 127-102 demolition job.
Payton Pritchard (17), Jrue Holiday (14), and Al Horford (12) all chipped in, but the biggest surprise came off the bench: Luke Kornet, stepping in for a still-recovering Kristaps Porziis, delivered 10 points, nine rebounds, and seven blocks in 26 minutes. It was the kind of plug-and-play performance that only a team this deep can pull off.
Boston’s success without Tatum isn’t entirely new. The Celtics are now 10-2 without him this season. According to Cleaning the Glass, they’ve actually outscored opponents by 8.7 points per 100 possessions when he’s off the court. That number jumps to 10.5 when Brown and White are leading the charge together.
And White? Quietly, he’s been one of the league’s best two-way guards. His ability to stretch the floor (fourth in total threes made this season), defend multiple positions, and initiate offense makes him the glue in Boston’s system. He averaged 21.6 points per 75 possessions when Tatum sat, with a scorching 60.8 true shooting percentage.
Porziis still doesn’t look fully right-he sat out the second half Wednesday-but even without his rim protection and shot-making, the Celtics found ways to dominate.
Game 6 in New York won’t be easy. The Garden will be loud, the pressure real. But if Boston gets anything close to this version of Brown and White again-and maybe a little more from Porziis-this series is very much alive.
No Tatum? That hurts. But don’t count this team out. Not yet.
Read the full article here
