The Celtics collapsed in the fourth quarter against the Bulls with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on the court. That's slightly unusual, because the Celtics usually save their crumbling for when Tatum or Brown are on the bench.
That's the biggest reason why the Celtics are off to an abysmal start. They're dominated by two young All-Stars, both of whom are flawed.
Marcus Smart blamed Tatum's and Brown's lack of passing for Boston's late-game woes, and the feisty point guard has a point. Tatum and Brown are averaging fewer assists than they did last season. Overall, the Celtics' offense has slipped to 19th in the NBA.
But the fact is, the Celtics are outscoring their opponents by 9.3 points per 100 possessions with both stars on the court, as the Athletic's Jay King points out. That may be hard to believe after watching Tatum go 1-for-8 in the fourth quarter, but in the words of our analytic overlords: numbers don't lie.
The problems come when Tatum or Brown head to the bench. Boston is getting destroyed by 20.4 points per 100 possessions when Tatum is playing without Brown, and by 9.3 points per 100 possessions when Brown is playing sans Tatum. The Celtics have a -59 point differential in 130 minutes without Brown in the lineup.
Those numbers are a harsh commentary on Tatum, who doesn't seem to make his teammates any better. But the other guys need to take responsibility, too. Smart, for example, missed an open three in the fourth last night — following a nice pass from Tatum.
While Brad Stevens didn't oversee structural changes to the roster in his first season as president of basketball operations, the Celtics seemingly improved their depth. But so far, their secondary parts haven't stepped up. Dennis Schroder was supposed to carry the second unit, and he's shooting just 36 percent from the floor.
Smart is missing his late-game shots, per usual.
The Celtics are facing a myriad of crises: poor leadership; a stagnant offense; a new head coach who seemingly can't reach his players. Right now, relying on Tatum and Brown is their only hope, as sad as it may seem.
