Boston Celtics were given a victory by the Miami Heat. But the C’s will need their superstar to play like one during the next three games if they want to become the first club in NBA history to rally from a 0-3 deficit in a playoff series.T

The secret to Boston accomplishing the impossible is Jayson Tatum. The 25-year-old contributed in the crucial Game 4 on Tuesday, finishing with a game-high 33 points (14-22 FG), 11 rebounds, and seven assists. His 33 points, 25 of them came in the second half.

Will Tatum be able to maintain that momentum through Game 5 and beyond? On Wednesday’s Early Edition, Chris Forsberg from us and Chris Mannix from Sports Illustrated each offered their opinions.

Forsberg added, “You haven’t seen a Jayson Tatum game where he plays like he did in Game 7 against the Sixers. “At any time in this series, you haven’t seen the Jaylen Brown game. I believe that is what you are holding onto. Tatum is definitely capable of it, but I don’t think you can just assume that it will be consistent throughout.

It will come in waves, and he must perform admirably in crucial situations. And that, in my opinion, is when things get really tight. Because you have to go punch for punch at some point, and Tatum needs to be fantastic in that situation, if Jimmy (Butler) is going to be Jimmy in crunch time.

Brown has had a very difficult time playing in the first four games of the series. The two-time All-Star has a modest scoring average of 16.8 points, but he only shoots 39 percent from the field (12 percent from three), and he also commits 12 turnovers a game.

It goes without saying that the Celtics’ prospects of a comeback would be much improved if both Jays were operating at full capacity. However, the role players must also play their part, as Mannix points out.

I’m more concerned about the other guy than Tatum. Will Grant Williams take the lead and have a significant impact in Game 5? Will Derrick White play a significant game? For however long the Celtics are in this series, I have a good feeling Jayson Tatum will play well, Mannix said. However, someone other than Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown must step up for them to win games.

In Game 4, Williams (14 points) and White (16 points) both excelled. But moving forward, Brown and Malcolm Brogdon, the 2022–23 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, must find their rhythm. In the series, Brogdon has scored 8.5 points on 35.3 percent of his field goal attempts.

On Thursday night, they’ll try to get out of their slump and send the final game of the series back to Miami. Game 5 at TD Garden will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET.