Celtics Have Major Advantage vs Knicks Without Jayson Tatum

There is more context needed than just a general record, as some of the games the team won without Tatum were games they didn't care whether they won or not, and the season was already wrapped up. However, it is still interesting nonetheless that the team has been as successful as they have been without Tatum.

One thing that seemed to be the case in Game 5, without Tatum, that gave the Celtics an advantage is that the team seemed more focused. Especially in the second half, the team had great ball movement and defended well, something they haven't consistently done all series.

Part of the greatness of Tatum is that he is a fantastic player on both ends of the floor when playing at his best, but in this series leading up to Game 4, he was struggling. When Tatum is struggling, which tends to happen time-to-time, the team's offense can halt, and his frustration can seemingly boil over to his defense.

The team's ceiling is clearly higher with Tatum in the lineup, given his raw talent, but the team's floor may be higher without Tatum, especially when Brown and White play like they did in Game 5.

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Both players stepped up in areas that were vacated by the absence of Tatum, with White turning up his scoring output and Brown turning up his passing, rebounding, and defensive intensity.

Overall, the numbers and Game 5 suggest that while maybe the Celtics aren't necessarily better without Tatum, they aren't as bad as NBA fans have made them out to be, and they can still easily outplay the Knicks and come back in the series.

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