“Face of the NBA? They can always debate. But it’s like, I check off all the boxes.” Earlier this year, Jayson Tatum made his claim to be the next face of the league. Well, he certainly has all the accolades for it—an NBA championship, multiple All-Star selections, and the leader of a historic franchise. But when your team has zero problems winning games without you, it puts a huge question mark on your credibility as a superstar. That’s exactly what’s happening with Tatum.

Just like they did on Sunday, the Celtics made light work of the Magic tonight to protect home court and take a two-game lead in the series. Only this time, they did it without Tatum. Yes, the forward was sidelined nursing a wrist injury after landing awkwardly from a mid-air collision with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Wendell Carter Jr. in Game 1.

While the postgame X-ray came back negative, Tatum was diagnosed with a right distal radius bone bruise following an MRI. And the Cs decided it was better to let him heal completely instead of rushing his return. In his absence, Jaylen Brown took charge and dropped a 36-point double-double. This was arguably JB’s best performance since his concerns with right knee impingement.

Yes, the reigning Finals MVP has been dealing with it for quite some time, which has also affected his performance. “I haven’t really had issues with my knees ever in my career, so I’m just trying to find a good routine to make sure I’m prepared and ready to go every night. But it’s definitely been a challenge mentally and stuff like that.” He said last month. But tonight’s performance showed that Brown might have finally overcome those struggles.

Sure enough, his teammates followed suit as Kristaps Porzingis also dropped a 20-point double-double. The remaining three starters combined for 37 points. Even recently crowned Sixth Man of the Year, Payton Pritchard, continued his dominant form and finished with 14 points and four rebounds. With so many players balling out, the Celtics never felt the absence of Tatum. And their dominant showing had every fan resonating a similar sentiment.

NBA World urges Celtics to keep Jayson Tatum on the bench after dominant Game 2 win

Seeing the Boston team thrive without Tatum, many fans began wondering if they even need the forward to succeed. Comments like “The conversation bout Jayson Tatum needs to be had” and “Tatum never even plays well in the playoffs might as well keep him on the bench” began flooding in. Well, claiming that JT doesn’t play well in the playoffs is completely inaccurate. He averages 23.9 points and eight rebounds in his postseason career, which includes his early years when he was still coming into his own.

In recent years, JT has been far more dominant. During last year’s title run, he averaged 25 points and nearly ten rebounds, playing a crucial role in Celtics’ success. Despite that, fans are convinced that the team doesn’t need him to win, at least for the Magic series. One netizen wrote, “If we are being honest Tatum could sit the series and Celts still sweep” while another said “No Tatum? No problem.”

Well, more than a knock against Tatum, these comments seem like a compliment for the Celtics’ depth. Tonight’s performance proves that they are not reliant on one player and anyone can step up on any given night to be the hero.

A perfect recipe for a championship team. Amid the what ifs, one netizen pinpointed the actual benefit of benching Tatum in Game 2, “Tatum got his rest, and Brown showed why he’s the co-star, to Orlando we go!” Now that he is well rested, Tatum will likely return fully healthy for Game 3 in Orlando, which will be a massive boost for his team. Maybe it will even help them close the series out on the road and move on to the next. Do you think the Celtics need Tatum to win this series?