Why Ex-NBA Player Believes ‘Balance’ Is Key To Celtics’ Recent Success

Opponents might stop a few Boston Celtics on any given night but can’t shut down them all.

That’s what former NBA player Antonio Daniels has concluded about the current Celtics, judging by the comments he made Tuesday on Sirius XM NBA Radio. Daniels hailed the Celtics’ wealth of scorers as unique in the NBA and critical to their fine performances to date in the 2020 NBA playoffs.

” … What makes them so good is their depth and their balance,” Daniels said. “You can go through 29 teams (in the NBA) outside of the Boston Celtics. Find another team where you have four guys on that roster that can get you between 20 and 30 in the same night. You’re not going to find it. You may have somebody from Milwaukee (who can do that), you may have Giannis (Antetokounmpo) and Khris Middleton, but then you’ll have balance across the board as far as someone that can you ten (points), somebody that can give you 11 or someone that can get you 13. But as far as being a constant threat on the floor at all times, this Boston Celtics team … man.”

That’s well-put by Daniels.

Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown have been Boston’s three-headed monster throughout the postseason, averaging 24.4, 21.9 and 19.9 points per game, respectively.

If Gordon Hayward returns from injury as his former self in the current days, you can add a 17.5 points-per-game scorer to Boston’s arsenal, which probably would reinforce Daniels’ point.

The Celtics lead the Toronto Raptors 3-2 in their Eastern Conference semifinals series. Game 6 will tip off at 6:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

It will be interesting to see which Celtics player rises to this particular occasion.

Thumbnail photo via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images