The Boston Celtics came out of the All-Star break with another blowout win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday as they continued their West Coast trip. The win came as the team awaits further updates on injured star Jayson Tatum, who many doubt can return any time soon this season.
However, one person who thinks the Celtics can reach their goal this season regardless of whether Tatum is in the lineup is former ESPN big man Kendrick Perkins, who recently took to First Take to express his thoughts.
“They can go to the NBA Finals without [Jayson] Tatum. … They’re the most dangerous team in the NBA because they have no expectations,” Perkins, formerly of First Take on X, said via Twitter.
Perkins also said that Boston has “the best two-way player in the game in Jaylen Brown, because no other player in the league is doing what he is doing in terms of being top five in scoring and top five defensively in opponent field goal percentage.”
In fact, Brown is getting it done on both ends of the floor this year, although fans of Kawhi Leonard, Victor Wembanyama and many other players will strongly disagree with Perkins’ assessment.
Still, at this juncture, the Celtics are starting to look like a real threat even without Tatum in the lineup. There is a theory that Tatum’s hasty return this season could actually work against Boston’s 2025-26 plans, considering the team’s rhythm would be at least temporarily disrupted, and the fact that the star would have a lot of rust to shake off. Tatum also has not distinguished himself as a postseason performer so far in his career, which continued last year against the New York Knicks.
In any case, the Celtics’ road trip continues on Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns.
#Kendrick #Perkins #Jayson #Tatums #injury #wont #derail #Bostons #NBA #Finals #hopes
