DHL Dan CCLXXXIX - No Limits

In this week's Picked Up Pieces column, Shank lets the Boston Celtics general manager hype their championship chances just a wee bit:

‘I don’t put a ceiling on us ever’: Celtics president Brad Stevens not surprised his team is playing so well this season

Picked-up pieces while hoping Olympic hero Jack Hughes restores his two front teeth …

⋅ Do the Celtics have a chance to win the NBA championship this season?

“I don’t put a ceiling on us ever,” answers team president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, the man who tore down, then rebuilt Boston’s roster after Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles and the Celtics were bounced from the playoffs last spring.

A lot of us (me, for one) figured the Celtics would hover near .500 this season and be candidates for the lame, postseason play-in tournament.

Wrong. They are a legitimate NBA contender. They’ll go into Sunday night’s home game vs. the 76ers with a record of 39-20, second only to the Pistons in the Eastern Conference. Tatum is clearly coming back and this dreaded “bridge season” suddenly presents a real opportunity to return to the NBA Finals.

Well, that's if Tatum makes a comeback this year; I'm not sold on that.