Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics have both been playing fantastic basketball lately. Tatum has 58 points over his last two games and just won NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week, while the Celtics have won seven of their last nine games.

They’re both building strong momentum as the regular season winds down. Tatum is starting to look more like himself, while Boston is favored to win the East after authoring several signature wins in March.

However, Boston legend Robert Parish still isn’t sold on them just yet. On Tuesday’s episode of “Run It Back,” he was asked if he thinks the Celtics have what it takes to win the championship this year.

 

“Where Jayson Tatum is now (health-wise), the Celtics will struggle with Detroit.” 👀

Robert Parish believes Boston needs Tatum to be fully healthy to win a championship 🗣️@RobertParish00 | @MichelleDBeadle | @boogiecousins | @ChandlerParsons | @TeamLou23 pic.twitter.com/65o0EzzVl9

— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) March 31, 2026

 

“It’s possible. I think Tatum’s gotta get healthier,” Parish said. “Where Tatum is now, I think they will struggle with Detroit, they will struggle with Cleveland, and New York always gives them problems because of the physicality that the Knicks bring to the game.”

Parish emphasized that Tatum needs to get healthier for Boston to go all the way.

“They need a healthy Jayson Tatum, and I know he’s not gonna be 100 (percent) because there hasn’t been enough time off since the injury and the rehab,” Parish added. “And let’s not forget, not only is Jayson Tatum rehabbing physically, he’s still rehabbing the mental part of it too… And sometimes the mental (side) is tougher to get right.”

Tatum has acknowledged the psychological challenges he’s faced since returning as well, but he seems to be in a pretty good headspace overall. Time will tell how he looks and feels in a few weeks when the playoffs start, but Parish is right that the Celtics need him to be himself if they want to win their second Larry O’Brien Trophy in three years.

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