Morning Sports Update
“If I had to vote today, Jaylen Brown gets my vote for MVP.”
Kendrick Perkins on the state of the Celtics: The Celtics entered the 2025-26 season with expectations that were revised downward due to offseason departures and Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury rehab. Yet through 53 games, the Celtics sit second in the Eastern Conference and appear poised for another postseason run.
The team’s ability to keep winning despite not being at full strength has not only wowed fans (and intrigued experts) but also put Boston in a rare position: A high-flying team with championship experience that has reduced expectations. It’s a point that former Celtic (and ESPN analyst) Kendrick Perkins made on Tuesday.
In a discussion over Tatum’s potential return timeline — a subject that escalated this week after the 27-year-old returned to playing in 5-on-5 situations, albeit in a limited way — Perkins noted that the superstar’s return won’t actually impact his view of the current team’s postseason image.
“If Jayson Tatum comes back, I wouldn’t put them as the favorite,” Perkins acknowledged, “but I would say this: Even without Jayson Tatum, the Celtics are the most dangerous team in the NBA.
“They’re the only team that’s like a top-three seed in their conference with no expectations,” he added. “That’s a dangerous team. They’re playing with house money.”
In addition, Perkins lobbied for Jaylen Browns’ MVP case.
“If I had to vote today, Jaylen Brown gets my vote for MVP. He is the best two-way player in the game. He’s the only player in the NBA that is top five in scoring and top five defensively when it comes down to opponent field goal percentage. That is MVP status. I don’t want to say this to slight Derrick White or be disrespectful to what Payton Pritchard is doing, but Jaylen Brown is doing more with less, so he would get my MVP vote.”
Trivia: Who was the last high school player drafted by the Celtics before the practice was ended by the NBA in 2006?
(Answer at the bottom.)
Hint: 2007 NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion.
Scores and schedules:
Tonight, the Celtics host the Bulls at 7:30 p.m.
At the 2026 Winter Olympics, Team USA (with a big boost from Vermont athletes) continued to tally a string of medals. Notably, Ryan Cochran-Siegle — whose mother, Barbara Cochran, won gold in slalom at the 1972 Olympics — won a silver medal in Super-G for the second straight Olympic Games.
More from Boston.com:
The Maine Celtics, plus a conspicuous cameo: Jayson Tatum continued his rehab with a 5-on-5 scrimmage at the Auerbach Center on Tuesday.
Drake Maye’s message to Patriots fans: The young quarterback has his eye on the future.
On this day: In 1970, the Celtics beat the Knicks 125-118 in overtime thanks in large part to John Havlicek’s triple-double (30 points, 13 assists, 11 rebounds). The Bruins also won, downing the Blues 3-2 thanks to third-period goals from Fred Stanfield and John McKenzie.
Daily highlight: Having already gone viral before the Olympics for her incredibly skillful assist while playing for Minnesota, Abbey Murphy dished a perfect no-look pass to Hannah Bilka for a satisfying goal in Team USA’s 5-0 group-stage dismantling of rival Canada at the Winter Olympics.
Trivia answer: Gerald Green
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