Coming into the 2025-26 season, there was no bigger storyline than what the Boston Celtics (4-5) would look like without Jayson Tatum.

After tearing his Achilles in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Knicks, the five-time All-NBA forward underwent surgery to repair the tendon within 24 hours. And while that incredibly fast turnaround time could mean a fast recovery for the 27-year-old, it doesn’t guarantee a return for this season.

For all intents and purposes, there should be no real expectation of Tatum returning to the basketball court until the fall of 2026.

With Tatum out, the path has been cleared for fellow All-NBA talent Jaylen Brown to show he has what it takes to be a true No. 1 option for a team with enough talent to compete towards the top of a wide-open Eastern Conference.

He’s already won both an Eastern Conference Finals MVP and Finals MVP - we know the guy can ball. But never in his career has he been asked to be the guy to elevate everyone else around him. Never has Brown been asked to be the solo maestro of the orchestra. This season is a true test of his abilities to be a real face-of-the-franchise type of player. Can he be a Batman, or is he destined to be an overqualified Robin?

In the early going, it’s been a mixed bag. While his individual stats have been fantastic, ranking ninth in the league in points per game (27.7) while averaging 4.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists, the team has not been able to find consistent winning through nine games. 4-5 is not a death sentence, but it’s not all that great, either.

Even before they rolled the balls out, I had predicted the first month of the regular season to be a gauntlet for this team. In my preseason blink test column, I had them at 5-4 through nine games. I still feel secure in my 43-39 prediction, but I’m certainly less confident than I was before opening night when losses like the one we saw on Monday night to the Jazz are happening.

I know members of the Celtics media who believe in Joe Mazzulla with their whole heart subscribe to the “water finds its level” theory when it comes to Boston’s early season three-point shooting woes. And I co-sign with that theory, to a degree. I don’t think this team is a 31.9% three-point shooting team. But in the absence of Tatum, I’m not so sure they’re the 36% three-point shooting team they were the last two seasons, either.

Tatum slashing-and-kicking to guys like Derrick White and Payton Pritchard is clearly hitting differently than Brown slashing-and-kicking to the same duo. Both players are struggling mightily through nine games from three, with White at 27.2% and Pritchard at 22.4%. Those numbers need to improve moving forward if this team wants a top five seed in the East. Does Brown need to find these guys in better spots? Does he need to take matters into his own hands even more - maybe a lower volume of shooting helps each player be more effective? Maybe Mazzulla needs to find more minutes for Anfernee Simons, who's up at 37.9% from three off the bench?

Whatever the case may be, the Brown-led Celtics are not performing close to the level of the Tatum-led Celtics. And to be fair to Brown, he doesn’t have key supporting cast members Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday and Luke Kornet. I think we all need to do a better job of reminding ourselves of that as the season trucks along. Brown’s job is more difficult than Tatum’s ever was. This is the most roster turnover Boston has had in a long time, and they’re still feeling those growing pains early.

With all of this season, I’m going to be a semi-easy grader on this progress report. Brown is playing some of the best basketball of his career, but the team is under .500. And in basketball, W-L record is almost more of a superstar stat than it is for QBs in the NFL. Those five losses for the Celtics are dragging down his GPA.

9-Game Progress Report Grade: B-

He’ll have an opportunity to improve that grade on Friday night, as the Celtics play their second NBA Cup game of the year on the road in Orlando (3-5). As of publishing, OddsTrader has Boston as a 5-point underdog at BetRivers. You can get them on the moneyline at +160, and the total is set at 224.5 (FanDuel).

Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.