Kendrick Perkins names biggest difference for C’s after rough start originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The red-hot Boston Celtics aren’t just racking up wins, they’re steamrolling teams. Wednesday night’s game vs. the Utah Jazz was the latest example.
Boston cruised to a 125-97 victory for their fifth consecutive win and 23rd in their last 27 games. All five wins during that streak have come by double-digits, four by at least 20 points.
The scorching stretch has the C’s only 1.5 games behind the first-place Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference standings. Now 46-28 on the campaign, it wasn’t long ago they were struggling to stay above .500 and in the top 10.
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There are a number of reasons for Boston’s dramatic turnaround, but former Celtics center Kendrick Perkins identified what he believes has been the biggest difference-maker.
“It’s one person that I’m looking at, and that’s Jayson Tatum,” Perkins said Thursday on ESPN’s Pardon The Interruption. “Jayson Tatum is finally playing with tenacity. Jayson Tatum is finally playing aggressive. Jayson Tatum is not settling for those sidestep 3-pointers. He’s actually attacking and getting downhill.
“Jayson Tatum is actually showing some emotion. We see the kiss of death now, we never saw that from Jayson Tatum before. And all of a sudden, guess what? You see your best player doing that, and all of a sudden you see other guys start to follow whether that’s Marcus Smart, Al Horford, Rob Williams, it’s just a different energy and the tone was set by Jayson Tatum.”
Tatum has taken another leap in his development over the last couple of months. Since the Celtics began their 23-4 run on Jan. 23, Tatum is averaging 29.8 points per game. The 24-year-old has earned Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors twice in March and three times this season.
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So far this month, Tatum is averaging 33.6 points through 11 games. The Celtics are 10-1 in that span.
While Tatum’s play has been pivotal for the C’s, there are plenty of other contributors to their recent success. Marcus Smart has been outstanding as the starting point guard, Jaylen Brown is playing at an All-Star level, Robert Williams is a force at the rim and a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, Payton Pritchard is automatic from 3, the list goes on.
The Celtics will look to keep it going when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday. Only eight games remain before the playoffs.
