The Boston Celtics extended their winning streak to seven games on Sunday with a thrilling 112-111 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Here are three instant overreactions from the C's win, which brings them to 37-15 on the season:
1. Jayson Tatum has become the C's clear No. 1 option.
Verdict: Not an overreaction
At one point this season, Tatum was considered the second or maybe even third option on a Celtics team with plenty of mouths to feed. That was around the same time Tatum appeared to be on the outside looking in for All-Star voting.
A lot has changed since then. Tatum officially is an All-Star, and he's looking like Boston's clear go-to guy.
On Sunday, he extended his 20-plus point streak to nine games with a 26-point, 11-rebound performance. The Celtics offense started humming when it utilized the clever "get Tatum the ball" strategy. Whenever Tatum was on the bench, his absence was noticeable.
We noted in Friday's overreactions that Tatum is the Celtics MVP, so we're sort of repeating ourselves here. Regardless, the 21-year-old is on some kind of run.
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2. Marcus Smart for Defensive Player of the Year
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Verdict: Overreaction
Marcus Smart is the heart and soul of the Celtics. His scrappy play is key to Boston's success. That was evident again Sunday when he sealed the win with a clutch steal in the game's final moments.
After the game, he received support from teammate Kemba Walker, who endorsed him for Defensive Player of the Year.
Walker's simply being a great teammate here, but he's also overreacting.
I'd put both Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard and Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert ahead of Smart in the DPOY category. Don't sleep on Tatum, either, who's been exceptional defensively all season long.
3. Time to pump the brakes on Romeo Langford hype.
Verdict: Not an overreaction
We tried telling you to avoid getting too excited about Langford's impressive outings vs. the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks.
It was a great way for Langford to show us what he's capable of one day becoming, but the rookie had a bit of a reality check on Sunday. Langford looked overmatched and out of place for pretty much all of the six minutes he was on the court. He had zero points and racked up three quick fouls in that timespan.
This isn't to say Langford won't be a key contributor at some point, it's just that all the hype was a bit over the top for a couple of nice games vs. subpar teams.
Don't miss NBC Sports Boston's coverage of Celtics-Rockets, which begins Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. with Celtics Pregame Live followed by tip-off at 9:30 p.m. You can also stream the game on the MyTeams App.
