Fear no team: Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics are an NBA playoff power

If defense wins championships, the Boston Celtics should be in the driver’s seat to at least complete for an NBA title.

In a historic turn-around, the Celtics have gone from a classic underachiever to a 50-win team and threat for a banner run and they have done it with Jayson Tatum playing like an MVP, Jaylen Brown settling into his role as a No. 2, a defense that has been the best in the NBA and timely bench performances from players like Payton Pritchard and Derrick White.

Still, there are a trio of teams in the Eastern Conference in the way of Tatum and the Celtics completing a season that fans will long remember.

Boston Celtics should only focus on beating whoever their opponent is

With one game to go, the Celtics can finish the season with the No. 2, No. 3 or No. 4 seed.

A No. 3 or No. 4 seed assures they play either the Chicago Bulls or Toronto Raptors in the first round of the players, which clearly gives them the advantage despite the absence of Robert Williams.  But, if they draw the No. 2 seed, that could match them up with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets in the first round.

That is a scenario Boston Celtics fans don’t want to see, but with the way this team has been playing, they really can’t and shouldn’t fear no team.  With the way Tatum balls it out against the Nets, it is a series the Celtics could and should certainly win no matter how dominant Durant is.

So, the question is…if the Bucks do everything not to win their season finale, should the Celtics do the same to avoid the No. 2 seed?

It’s an intriguing question, but a team with players like Marcus Smart and Al Horford supporting the rising duo of Tatum and Brown shouldn’t care or fear any team in the NBA and I do mean any team.  Whether it is Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks, the No. 1 seed Miami Heat or the Nets, the Celtics can play with those teams and beat those teams.

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Boston Celtics have to beat the best to be the best

Also, no matter the seedings, they will have to beat at least two of those teams to advance to the Finals.  Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka, who has changed the identity of the team, says his team won’t be worried about manipulating seedings.  Their focus is on winning.

"“Our (concern) is winning, health and playing the best basketball at the right time,” Udoka said back in late March.“There’s too much closeness to try to maneuver, manipulate things and pick and opponent.  You can go from (No. 1 seed) to four and then five, six, seven can flip in a night so we’re not concerned with that.”"

That is the attitude the team has taken since the start of January and that approach has paid off nicely for the Celtics, a team that went from competing for a play-in spot to potentially clinching the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

In referencing something the great Ric Flair said, to be the best, you must beat the best.  If Jayson Tatum is to become a top 5 player in the NBA, which he is proving, he must be the deciding reason why this Boston Celtics squad gets through all of those teams, including Durant and the Nets in the first round or whenever they should battle.

So, fear no team, the Celtics have the defense and fire power to make banner No. 18 happen this year!