Last night, the Celtics were closed out in Game 7 against the Miami Heat in embarrassing fashion after clawing their way back from being down 3-0. External optics of this series aren’t awful. A team was down 3-0 and gave what appeared to be a valiant effort, but that wasn’t the case. Throughout the Celtics entire playoff run, Boston played with low energy and minimal cohesion. Atlanta took them to six games and Philadelphia took them to seven games when talent wise, neither of those teams could hold Boston’s jock.

Against Miami, Boston ran into a team who wasn’t just hot, but were tougher and gelled more than the Celtics. Even in the Celtics wins against the Heat, the Heat still had better energy and juice. It was almost like the Celtics ran into a team that mimicked the 2016-2017 Celtics team that was led by Isaiah Thomas, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart. That team brought underdog energy, even as the one seed, to every game they played. It’s difficult to watch a team you root for step on the court in the most important moments with a lifeless demeanor, but that’s what we saw from the Celtics in the playoffs this year.

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum Need To Be Held Accountable

On the biggest stage, you need your brightest stars to shine. For Boston, that did not happen. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum wildly underperformed this series and didn’t give Boston’s role players much to work with. Yes, Derek White, Rob Williams, and Al Horford exceeded expectations, but for them to be the best and most cohesive unit on the floor, Tatum and Brown have to step up.

Last night, Brown and Tatum played the most minutes of any Celtics player. Brown scored 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists in 43 minutes while shooting 8-23 and 1-9 from three. He also turned the ball over 8 times. For his counterpart Tatum, he tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds on 5-13 shooting and 1-4 from three. When you look at those stat lines compared to the Heats top scorers, it makes the loss feel worse. Jimmy Butler dropped 28 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals shooting 12-28 and 3-7 from three. Butler also added a +11. Miami’s other top scorer was forward Caleb Martin. Martin totaled 26 points and 10 rebounds shooting 11-16 and 4-6 from three with a +14.

While it may not have shown up every game on the stat sheet, Jimmy Butler out toughed the Celtics star tandem. He acted as a better leader making it so guys like Caleb Martin, Gabe Vincent, and Kevin Love could shine. Butler is perfectly fine taking the back seat and setting up his teammates to score. Tatum needs the ball in his hand and taking shots to be successful. The same goes for Brown.

What Is Jaylen Brown’s Future In Boston?

When it comes to the future of the Celtics two stars, one will certainly be in Boston next year while the other is a bit less certain on his future. Jayson Tatum signed a five year, $163 million dollar deal in 2021 and could become a free agent in 2026. Tatum is also eligible for a five year, $318 million dollar deal next June. It feels certain that Tatum will be back and will be in a Celtics uniform for the foreseeable future, but what about Jaylen Brown?

Brown is eligible for a max deal for five years, $295 million dollars, but did his play warrant this deal. In the regular season, Brown played very well. He averaged 26.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.1 steals and shot 33.5% from three. Those numbers are nice, but you have to factor in playoffs. It’s great that Brown can perform in the regular season, but you need him to keep that play up once the playoffs role around. In this season’s playoffs, Brown averaged 22.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 3.3 turnovers. While the numbers are similar, a lot of the games made him look helpless. He struggled to dribble and facilitate on offense and his shots didn’t fall in big games.

If I’m Brad Stevens, I cut ties with Brown and approach free agency one of two ways. One way would be to throw the money you had for Brown at a big star guard like James Harden or D’Angelo Russell. The other way could be for Stevens to add multiple players to take over Browns role. This could include Lonnie Walker IV, Gabe Vincent, Malik Beasley, or Bruce Brown Jr. I have a feeling Stevens will try to re-sign Brown, I just don’t think that’s wise.