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Boston Celtics: Adversity on horizon for next two weeks

By Jason Haskins

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 08: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics takes a shot over Davis Bertans #42 of the Washington Wizards in the second quarter at TD Garden on January 08, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 08: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics takes a shot over Davis Bertans #42 of the Washington Wizards in the second quarter at TD Garden on January 08, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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Teams are often judged on overcoming adversity, or lack thereof, and the Boston Celtics will get the chance to rise to the occasion in coming weeks.

Winners of four straight, things are about to get interesting for the Boston Celtics over the course of the next ten days or so.

Already down three players due to COVID-19 protocols, Jayson Tatum was added to that list on Saturday. According to reports, he tested positive for coronavirus and must sit out the next 10-14 days.

Tatum joins Tristan Thompson, Robert Williams III, and Grant Williams as players for the Celtics who will miss time. The latter three missed Friday night’s 116-107 victory over the Washington Wizards, a game in which Tatum scored 32 points.

On the season, Tatum is Boston’s leading scorer at 26.9 ppg. He’s also averaging 7.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per contest.

After completing the NBA 2019-20 season within the bubble — with little to no positive cases — the NBA is on the precipice of a dilemma. The Philadelphia 76ers are already looking at playing games with only a roster of seven to nine players. Now, we have the Celtics with a shrinking active roster.

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Does the NBA continue to play games with depleted rosters while continuing to risk the health of their players? Or should the league pause and reset in a bubble format for the time being?

Safety for players and staff should be of the utmost importance. A new season was rushed to begin with and now the product on the court could start to suffer (which is always secondary to players health, of course).

The NBA could have easily decided to have held the first 2-3 months of the 2020-21 season inside the bubble. It’s not like fans can be present, so why not keep the earlier precautions in place? Or perhaps the league could have waited until March and played an abbreviated season once again.

At this point, even pausing the league for a month, resetting the bubble, and starting up again in February would be a wise choice.

For now, teams like the Celtics, 76ers, and others are being asked to adjust with the players they do have.

How the Boston Celtics will adjust

To begin with, fans are going to see a lot more of Tacko Fall and Semi Ojeleye in the coming weeks. For Fall, it will possibly be his first real chance at seeing extended playing time in his young NBA career.

And with Tatum now sidelined, it means we could see even more scoring from Jaylen Brown.

Brown is having an outstanding start to this season, averaging 26.3 points per game. He’s shooting 53.9 percent from the field and also pulling down 6.2 rebounds per game.

That is, of course, if he isn’t forced to the sideline as well. Brown is among those listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Miami Heat.

Impressive as he’s been, Brown will likely be called upon to shoulder more responsibility in all departments on the floor. So, too, will this be asked of Marcus Smart.

Smart is the team’s third-leading scorer at 12.2 ppg. He’s been doing a little bit of everything and is dishing out 6.4 assists. The facilitator role has fit him nicely but in the interim, Smart might have to return to a “score first” mentality.

He is very capable of doing this, as we’ve seen in the past. While I mostly like what he’s doing so far this season — there are exceptions to his smart play — he might have to pull a couple of 25-point games for the Celtics to be successful in the next few weeks.

There is good news on the horizon. Kemba Walker could very well be back in the mix soon. Walker has not played yet this season but has recently been cleared to practice. There’s a hope he could be back in the lineup as soon as January 15.

And of course, more court time is likely on the horizon for rookie sensation Payton Pritchard.

It’s going to take a little bit extra from the entire roster, from Brown on down, for Boston to be successful in the coming weeks. The schedule is somewhat kind, with home games against Miami, the Orlando Magic twice, and the New York Knicks. A road trip to Chicago is mixed in there as well.

After those five games, back-to-back games with Philadelphia are on the agenda.

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The next two weeks might be a bit of a struggle, but Boston still should emerge with a winning record from this stretch of games. Of course, even if they don’t, there will still be plenty of season left.

Health is the important thing. Plus, the valuable and meaningful minutes played by some of these younger guys will come in handy later in the season. Not how it was imagined to happen, but in this unusual season, it needs to be something we learn to accept.

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