Column: Boston Celtics Failed Fans Without Jayson Tatum

BOSTON — If Wednesday night was supposed to prove the Boston Celtics could survive without Jayson Tatum, then mission failed. Miserably.

The Celtics blew a winnable home opener, falling 117-116 to a Philadelphia 76ers team that trotted out a hobbling Joel Embiid and an untested rookie as its offensive engine. Philadelphia looked like a team trying to find itself. Boston looked like one that already quit.

This isn’t one of those “it’s early, don’t panic” losses. It’s a warning shot.

The Celtics spent the summer tightening their wallets, trimming veterans, and spinning their Achilles-struck superstar’s absence into an excuse for mediocrity. Tatum’s injury, yes, changes the ceiling. But a real contender adjusts. Boston simply deflated.

A failure of preparation — and priorities

Start with the roster. The Celtics chose to save money instead of maintaining depth. Jrue Holiday? Gone. Kristaps Porziņģis? Gone. The front office called it “strategic cap management.” Everyone else calls it what it is: cutting costs and lowering expectations.

And for what? To run a team that collapses in crunch time against a Philadelphia squad that needed Tyrese Maxey and rookie V.J. Edgecombe to score 74 of its 117 points. Maxey roasted Boston for 40, Edgecombe added 34, and both looked like they were in a layup line while the Celtics’ defense stood frozen in disbelief.

Embiid, meanwhile, limped to four points in 20 minutes. Let that sink in. Boston lost to a team whose MVP center contributed about as much offensively as the mascot.

The numbers don’t lie

Boston shot 45 percent from the field, hit 11-of-43 from three, and went flat when it mattered most. They led by 11 in the third quarter. Then, with four minutes left, the wheels came off. The Sixers closed on a 15-2 run, capped by a Kelly Oubre three that sucked the air out of TD Garden.

Payton Pritchard had two clean looks to win it in the final seconds. Both missed. The arena fell silent except for the thud of reality.

Brown and White each finished with 25 points, doing their part to keep Boston afloat. But they were soloists in a band with broken instruments. Without cohesion, every possession turned into improvisation — no structure, no backbone, no urgency.

Tatum is great. He’s not a religion.

Here’s the problem with Boston’s approach: it treats Jayson Tatum like a savior rather than a centerpiece. He’s an All-NBA talent, one of the league’s most complete forwards. But he’s not LeBron in his prime. You can’t punt on an entire season just because your star’s hurt.

Championship teams are built on accountability, not dependency. Miami lost Jimmy Butler for stretches and stayed afloat. Milwaukee survived without Giannis. The Celtics? They appear content to drift until Tatum returns. That’s not strategy. That’s surrender.

The fan equation

Meanwhile, the organization keeps charging championship prices for a development-league product. Tickets, concessions, parking — all premium. The product on the floor? Discount-rack effort. Fans deserve better than corporate caution disguised as prudence.

Boston likes to remind the league it’s a “banner-chasing” franchise. The banners are supposed to represent ambition. Lately, they feel like museum pieces, reminders of a time when the team actually cared about competing every night.