The Celtics have put up an early 15-11 record without Jayson Tatum and a lot of new faces.

Jaylen Brown scored 30 points, had 8 rebounds and dished out 8 assists against the Lakers in a 126-105 rout of the Lakers.

Celtics forward Jordan Walsh goes up for one of his 6 rebounds against the Lakers. The C’s forward also had 17 points.

As we approach the first third of the current National Basketball Association season, fans of the Boston Celtics will see a mixed” score in the assessment of this year’s team. Those of the mindset that this is a “lost” year because of the absence of All-NBA first teamer Jason Tatum (recovering from a torn Achilles tendon) need to take a deeper look into the overall performance of this 2025-2026 version of the “Green.”

As Tatum pushes himself to get back on the court as soon as medically possible, his teammates carry on without him. As expected, Jaylen Brown has carried a larger offensive load, averaging close to 30 points a game with 6.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists. Some of his critics feel that his defense has suffered in the process, while others think that his “ISO-Ball” [isolation/one-on-one play] mentality takes away from the “ball and body movement” of offense that is critical to high-level success in today’s NBA and reflected in the team’s 15-11 record [as of this writing].

The Banner does not agree with those assessments. I see the current Boston Celtics team as being in an experimental stage. By that, I mean a team that continues to search for an identity. Coach Joe Mazzulla depends on different lineups to produce different results from game to game. With the trades of Jrue Holliday to the Portland Trailblazers and Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks due to salary cost-cutting, and Al Horford signing a free-agent deal with the Golden State Warriors [more salary-cap issues], Mazzulla finds himself with a “small” team that periodically struggles due to a lack of size.

The insertion of Neemias Queta to the center position has produced positive results [10.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.3 blocked shots] as well as the stellar defensive and offensive play of Jordan Walsh [7.7 points], along with that of current sixth man Anfernee Simon [acquired in the Holiday trade, and averaging 13.1 points]. Payton Pritchard, last year’s NBA Sixth Man of the Year winner, has moved into the starting lineup, joining teammate Derrick White [17.2 points, 5.2 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.3 blocked shots] in the Celtics backcourt. While averaging 16.8 points and 5 assists a game, Pritchard has struggled on defense, at times being targeted by opposing teams. Swingman Sam Hauser has been inconsistent from the 3-point line, which presents problems for the C’s. On nights when he is hitting his shots, all is well and good. On nights when he is not scoring from the 3-point line, the Celts struggle because he is not a great defender.

Other names deserve mention: Luka Garza [back-up center], forward Josh Minot and shooting guards Hugo Gonzalez and Baylor Scheierman have all made contributions when called upon. Minot and Gonzalez in particular. One of the puzzling questions about this team, among others, centers on the lack of playing time for center/forward Xavier Tillman. Acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies, where he was a solid, and sometimes spectacular, player, he now languishes on the Celtics’ bench. His situation has many Celtics fans scratching their heads. He has had some good moments on the floor, but they are scattered and inconsistent, like his play.

But this team will go as far as its leader, Jaylen Brown, will take them. It should be remembered that it was Brown who played the biggest starring role in the Celtics’ march to NBA Championship number 18, winning the Most Valuable Player Awards in both the Eastern Conference and NBA Finals, thus establishing himself as one of the top players in the league.

His elevated play this season has clearly demonstrated that he is the team’s leader. A major question is: What will happen when Jason Tatum returns? It is a question that needs to be asked — NOW!

We previously wrote that the two young Celtics stars will have to learn to coexist while sharing the spotlight. If Jaylen Brown continues to excel, he should not [and more than likely will not] take a secondary role to Tatum when he returns. And for any reader of this article who thinks this is a cause for controversy involving these two star players, remember that this franchise has had great combinations of star players from the days of Bill Russell and Bob Cousy to Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. Those men learned to share the starring roles on the team that built what is known today as the Boston Celtics Dynasty. We have witnessed their collective greatness and the special camaraderie that made their unions so incredibly special.

My advice to Jaylen Brown: Keep leading this current Celtics team, which sits at number two in the NBA’s Atlantic Division behind the New York Knicks.

Advice to Jayson Tatum: Don’t overdo the rehab of your injured Achilles tendon. It will take time to heal. Meanwhile, seeing how hard this Celtics team competes on a nightly basis, I would grade them a B-minus.