Chowder and Champions
Fansided

NBA Power Rankings, Week 10: Celtics are a mediocre travesty

By Tarringo Basile-vaughan

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - FEBRUARY 21: Kemba Walker #8 of the Boston Celtics drives against Nicolo Melli #20 of the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at the Smoothie King Center on February 21, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - FEBRUARY 21: Kemba Walker #8 of the Boston Celtics drives against Nicolo Melli #20 of the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at the Smoothie King Center on February 21, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Boston Celtics come in at No. 15 this week in the Week 10 NBA Power Rankings and quite frankly, they are lucky to be ranked that high.

Honestly, given the way this team as performed against mediocre competition, they are lucky to still be ranked ahead of a team like the Charlotte Hornets (No. 16) who are ironically being led by former Celtics cast-offs Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward.

As tough as it is to see those players performing well somewhere else, it is also nauseating to see Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets rise up to No. 2 right behind the hot Utah Jazz (No. 1).

The irony behind all of those three former players doing well for those new teams is each of them were considered part of the problem in Boston.

More from Chowder and Champions

With Kyrie, it was leadership.  With Rozier, it was his readiness to get more minutes and with Hayward, it was his injury issues.  All of that combined seems to be what is irking fans about Kemba Walker this season.

Boston Celtics struggles start with Kemba Walker

It is not that there is a lack of leadership with Kemba, it is the injury concerns and his obvious struggles with scoring consistency so far this season.  While both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have missed games also, a team with those three All-Star caliber players should not be a 15-15 team.

A team with those three stars should not look like a team that can beat any team in the NBA in one quarter and look like a team who can lose to anyone in the league in the next quarter.  To summarize it all, the 2020-21 Boston Celtics are an emotional rollercoaster, and it starts with coaching as Brad Steven has to endure some of the blame, and it starts with their veteran star.

NBA.com’s John Schuhmann notes how Kemba’s up-and-down struggles are hurting the Celtics:

"“Kemba Walker’s roller coaster season continues. After scoring 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting in the Celtics’ win over Atlanta on Friday, Walker was just 5-for-21 in New Orleans on Sunday afternoon, going 1-for-9 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Seven of those misses were from 3-point range, but where Walker has struggled as much from mid-range. He’s 18-for-55 (33 percent) on pull-up 2-pointers, down from 47 percent last season. Over the five weeks since Walker made his season debut, the Celtics have been much more efficient with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on the floor without him (129.0 points scored per 100 possessions in 124 minutes) than they’ve been with all three scorers on the floor together (109.9 per 100 in 181 minutes).”"

The question going forward is not if the Celtics will do something to add to the makeup of this team, it’s more of a question of when and who.  Could it be Kemba Walker?  At this point, Celtics president of basketball operations has to highly consider it.

Boston Celtics hyped up performer of the week: Jayson Tatum

The Celtics emerging star had a pretty good week despite his team’s struggles.

While he did lack some efficiency shooting the ball, Tatum scored 35 and 25 against the Atlanta Hawks in a two-game set at TD Bank Garden and then 32 points against the New Orleans Pelicans in an overtime loss.

Through he couldn’t get his team over the hump in two of those games, Tatum’s clutch performance against the Pelicans down the stretch had Celtics Twitter stirring.  Not only did he give his team the lead with a clutch shot with seconds left in the game, but he also hit a floater on the last shot in regulation to send the game to overtime.

Again, Tatum couldn’t propel his team to victory, but he added to his resume of clutch shots early in his career.

What’s next for the Boston Celtics

The Celtics travel to Dallas to take on Luka Doncic and the Mavericks on Tuesday night.

With the Mavericks struggling as well, this would be a game for the Celtics to get back in the win column, stay above .500 and feel good about themselves moving forward.

Next. Celtics rumors: 3 trade targets to replace Kemba Walker. dark

If Boston loses this game, it will not only add to the tension in the locker room but put more eyes on Brad Stevens as the head coach.  Is it time for a change?  How the Boston Celtics perform this week will likely answer that question.

Home/Boston Celtics