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Celtics PRIDE podcast: Tatum’s MVP candidacy and Boston’s contender status

Jayson Tatum is having an MVP-level second half of the season. Could that propel the team to a championship?

Boston Celtics v Denver Nuggets Photo by Ethan Mito/Clarkson Creative/Getty Images

In the past week, the Celtics held Golden State to just 32 points in the first half, and during a stretch where the team seems to be legitimately dominating their competition, Adam, Josh and Mike try to answer the question: is this team historically good?

But first on this episode of the Celtics Pride podcast, Mike reacts to Adam’s ‘superstar’ theory from the last episode, and questions whether Jayson Tatum can become the top-5 player during these playoffs that Adam believes is necessary to win a title. This prefaces a new segment on the show called “The Jayson Tatum Gush-fest”, which aims to use facts and stats to celebrate Tatum’s ascendance.

A lot of fans are wondering if this team’s current play is a fluke after the first half of the season, but the Pride Guys would rather look at how good this team actually is. Mike chimes in with some historical comparisons, using net rating to explain why the Celtics not only have a chance to win the championship this year, but also should be considered immediately as the 2nd best team in the league behind the Phoenix Suns. They truly are on another level.

Josh looks at this year’s team in awe from the perspective of how good several individuals are on the defensive side of the ball, using hustle stats to show that the Celtics have guys who are elite at charges taken, loose balls recovered, deflections, steals and blocked shots. But the most important aspect of this team being on another level is how perfect their role players fit their roles to compliment their two stars.

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Remember to rate, review, and subscribe to the CelticsBlog podcast feed (we’re “Celtics PRIDE”) and follow us on Twitter @celticspridepod. A @celticsblog pod.

Hosts: Adam Motenko, Josh Motenko (@coachmotenko) and Mike Minkoff (@mikeminkoffnba)

Email: at celticspridepodcast@gmail.com

About Celtics PRIDE Podcast: Co-Hosts Adam Motenko, his identical twin brother Josh Motenko, and their friend Mike Minkoff couldn’t stop talking about the team. Now they supply your need for Boston Celtics content with their regular podcast on CelticsBlog.

They will talk nerdy to you, dissect the players on and off the court, and bicker like only opinionated New Englanders can. It’s like if CelticsBlog made a BasketballJones / Dunc’dOn lovechild.

You will get the coach’s perspective, the capologist’s view, and a healthy dose of advanced and traditional stats that breakdown everything that happened and could happen with the #1 dynasty in the NBA. If you often find yourself reminiscing about the players you grew up watching, or you just need reminders about what “being a Celtic” means to you, this is the podcast for you. This is Celtics PRIDE!

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