5 NBA teams stuck between excellence and mediocrity

PORTLAND, OREGON - JANUARY 14: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers and Domantas Sabonis #11 of the Indiana Pacers react to a jump ball call by the referee in the fourth quarter at Moda Center on January 14, 2021 in Portland, Oregon. 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 Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 22: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics reacts to the loss to the Brooklyn Nets during Game One of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series on May 22, 2021 at Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.The Brooklyn Nets defeated the Boston Celtics 104-93. 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 Elsa/Getty Images) /

5 NBA teams that are too good to blow things up, but too bad to win an NBA championship this season: Boston Celtics

Okay this one, I acknowledge, is a little different. Unlike the other four NBA teams previously mentioned, the Boston Celtics have a potential superstar on the roster in Jayson Tatum. Perhaps you could also put Jaylen Brown in that category, given his two-way ability.

There’s just something off about this team. On paper, they should be good enough to compete for the Eastern Conference Finals, but so far, under new head coach Ime Udoka, they’ve stumbled to 12-10. More concerningly, there have been obvious chemistry issues that culminated in some fiery post-game comments from Marcus Smart earlier this season.

We all just expect Tatum will become that ‘number one player on a championship contender’ type of player, but as the season progresses, I’m not sure that’s happening anytime soon.

We do have to appreciate that he and Brown are still so young, but it’s still disappointing to see the regression this team has made after making the Eastern Conference Finals three times since the 2016-17 season.

The Celtics squandered a potential dynasty in the making, now looking like nothing more than a team making up the numbers come playoff time, should they get there.