The Boston Celtics impressively beat the Orlando Magic without Jayson Tatum to take a 2-0 lead over them in their first-round series. Tatum couldn’t play because he suffered a wrist injury in Game 1 that held him out in Game 2.
The Celtics persevered without the All-Star wing. While praising the Celtics for winning without Tatum, Dallas Mavericks alum Chandler Parsons heavily implied that they don’t need Tatum by comparing his absence to hypothetical absences from other teams.
“It’s exactly what you want to see with this with your best player out,” Parsons said on “Run It Back.” “Take your best player off all these other teams in the playoffs. They’re probably going to lose. Take Nikola Jokic off the Nuggets, the Clippers are winning. Take Cade Cunningham off the Pistons, Knicks run away with that series. (The Celtics) are still so good.”
Tatum missing the game marked the first time the Celtics have gone into a playoff game without him since 2017. It was also the season before Boston drafted him. The Celtics winning the game without him demonstrates how talented their roster is, but Boston will need him to repeat as NBA champions.
Parsons played for the Mavericks from 2014 to 2016, where he put up solid numbers for them. However, that was the last time he was reasonably healthy as a player before his departure. Dallas did not trust Parsons’ knees, and he sadly proved them right, as he appeared in only 100 games over his last four NBA seasons after playing in 127 in his two years as a Maverick.
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