The Detroit Pistons lead the Boston Celtics by 5.5 games as we head into All-Star break, a position neither team was supposed to be in, and the Celtics could have a huge addition coming in the form of All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum.
No one picked the Pistons to have the best record in the league at the break, but here we are, as OKC lost last night, giving Detroit the highest winning percentage in the NBA.
The Celtics weren’t supposed to be this good either, as most had them pegged to take a “gap year” with Tatum expected to miss the entire season.
Instead, Jaylen Brown has played like an MVP in Tatum’s absence, and the Celtics have ridden defense and 3-point shooting to a surprising record.
The Pistons have beaten the Celtics in three of four games this season, but Boston is sending strong signals that they will have a different team by the time the playoffs roll around.
The Celtics have sent a loud warning to the Pistons
Boston added Nikola Vucevic at the deadline, and while he’s certainly not a superstar, he’s the type of upgrade you wouldn’t make if you didn’t think you had a shot at the title.
This should tell us something: The Celtics think Jayson Tatum is returning sooner rather than later.
If Boston didn’t think Tatum had a realistic chance at coming back this season, then it’s doubtful they would have taken on a veteran like Vucevic, who is a clear upgrade from the rag-tag group of centers they were running out.
They likely would have called it a day, tried to cut some payroll and held on for next season. The addition of Vucevic is a clear sign that the Celtics think Tatum is coming back and that they still have a chance to win a title this season.
Vucevic has killed the Pistons over the years, but he’s also a terrible defender, so it’s not like he’s going to be the difference if Detroit has to play Boston in a playoff series, but it’s more about what he represents, which is a team tweaking a weakness to give themselves a better shot when Tatum returns.
If Jayson Tatum comes back at full strength at some point this season, he will easily be the biggest addition to any Eastern Conference contender and make the Celtics a far more formidable opponent than the one the Pistons have played so far.
Tatum is the wild card who could disrupt the East, and the Celtics are a team the Pistons have to take seriously, as they have the most room and chance to improve their roster before the playoffs.