The Boston Celtics are on a roll, as they have won eight of their past nine games in the wake of their blowout 111-89 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night. Even without Jayson Tatum, the C's sit in second place in the Eastern Conference, and folks across the league are beginning to look at them as a serious title contender.
With Tatum appearing to close in on a return to the court, the Celtics could become even more dangerous in due time. The thing that many people are realizing, though, is that they are already one of the top teams in the league. With that in mind, NBA insider Brett Siegel bumped the C's all the way up to the No. 4 spot in his latest power rankings for ClutchPoints.
"Boston's only loss since Jan. 30 was to the Knicks at home before the All-Star break," Siegel wrote. "Other than this one blemish, the Celtics have picked up wins over the likes of the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, and Houston Rockets. In this span, the Celtics are allowing just 97.3 points per game to their opponents and own the best defensive rating in the league."
Jaylen Brown has continued to play at an MVP level for Boston, but what is perhaps more impressive is the play of his supporting cast. Unexpected contributors like Neemias Queta, Bayloer Scheierman and Hugo Gonzalez have earned key roles in the rotation this year thanks to their impressive two-way play.
All eyes are on Tatum and his potential return, but for the time being, Boston is focused on winning as many games as possible with its current crop of players. The Celtics will be back in action on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET when they square off against the Phoenix Suns.
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