NBA

Bob Ryan: Celtics are “teasing us again” with win streak

The Boston Celtics are winning right now. They just beat up on the Indiana Pacers, they avenged their loss against the New York Knicks, and they ground out a win over the Orlando Magic. That’s four of their last six.

Better yet, the two main pillars of the team look phenomenal. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown just combined for 67 points against the Pacers. It was a complete performance from the team, but more importantly, from the team’s stars.

Despite this, not everyone is ready to host a victory parade.

On the latest segment of The Garden Report on CLNS Media, Ryan expressed his frustration with the team. Instead of being excited about the win streak, he feels teased.

“They’re teasing us again. They’ve won four out of five. And the big two have apparently smoked the peace pipe somehow, and they’re playing better.”

Before January hit, the Celtics only notched one three-game win streak all season. It’s been an extremely bumpy road, to say the least, but maybe, just maybe, they’re beginning to figure things out.

Not according to Goodman. While Tatum and Brown have managed to lead the team to some wins recently, Goodman isn’t buying it.

“I don’t think it’s all that sustainable because we’ve seen them play together for so long now. It’s not like these guys just started playing together at the beginning of the season.”

The Celtics have been a .500 team for the past two seasons, and a lot of people have been quick to blame the Jays. However, as much as Goodman stated his disappointment in the team, he was quick to admit that it’s not all the fault of Tatum and Brown.

“Again, I don’t necessarily blame it all on the two of them, because I think if they had a point guard like a Lonzo Ball, it wouldn’t rear its ugly head nearly as much as it does.”

Lonzo Ball signed with the Chicago Bulls this offseason, but a lot of Celtics fans were itching for him to come to Boston. When that didn’t happen, the C’s named Marcus Smart their starting point guard and signed Dennis Schroder to a one-year deal to round out their guard rotation.

With the trade deadline less than a month away, a lot of fans are getting antsy. They’re ready for change. Well, the way Goodman sees it, the Celtics have three options moving forward.

“To me, there are three options here. Number one is, you wait it out ‘til the end of the year if you’re Brad Stevens. And you see if you can make some moves, clear some cap space, and sign another big boy… And you have a big three of sorts. Number two is you see what you can get for Marcus Smart and Robert Williams…. Number three is, you trade Jaylen Brown. It’s not what I would do first or second, but obviously, he’s going to command more.”