Why Celtics Have Changed Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum’s Workload

The Boston Celtics own an overall record of 52-14 and have already clinched a playoff berth with 16 games remaining in the regular season.

The C’s have had the luxury of having Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis averaging more than 20 points a game, which has allowed Boston to overcome situations when one of the three has a bad night or is out of the lineup for injury.

Head coach Joe Mazzulla has been very methodical about when the trio, Tatum and Brown especially, have been on the court and when they have rested throughout the game. However, in recent weeks, Mazzulla has steered away from a regimented substitution schedule and allowed the game to dictate his decisions.

“Obviously, if one of them is playing really well, you want to keep that,” Mazzulla said, per The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach. “(Against the Suns on Thursday) we changed the pattern so we could keep the matchups that we wanted later in the half, later in the quarter. So it’s just a thing that, at first, is in the best interest of them. And then the next best thing is how can we make sure we’re taking advantage of the matchups having the right lineup?”

Brown is averaging 33.4 minutes and 23.1 points per game compared to Tatum’s 35.8 minutes and 27.0 points per game. According to Himmelsbach, Brown has attempted more shots per game so far in March than Tatum. Mazzulla said the shot selection is matchup-driven, not planned by the Celtics.

“Jaylen’s impact comes in transition with his speed and his physicality and his ability to create defense to offense with his on-ball defense and pressure,” Mazzulla explained. “And so a lot of those shots are really in transition because of his ability to run. And Tatum’s come in the half court where he likes to play chess and take advantage of pick-and-roll matchups where they’re handling or screening.

“So the amount (of shots) doesn’t really matter much. The process of getting them (matters). And I think since the All-Star break throughout the second half of the season, they’ve both been really fighting to get the best possible (shots) for them and their teammates through what the game is giving them.”

The Celtics will take their four-game winning streak to the Nation’s capital to face the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on Sunday. Boston leads the season series 2-0 heading into the St. Patrick’s Day matchup.