The Boston Celtics are coming off a recent pounding at the hands of their bitter rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers. Thursday night saw Boston losing 117-96 as they have one more stop on their four-game road trip.
Their recent trip to Los Angeles broke a two-game win streak in a somewhat off month of January.
Sitting at the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference, the question still looms if this current roster is the one to take them to the promised land.
With teams like the Milwaukee Bucks — currently No. 4 in the East — surging up the ranks thanks to a five-game win streak, and the two-game win streak New York Knicks at the Celtics heals occupying the No. 3 spot, the pressure is on to answer these questions as the Feb. 6 trade deadline is in sight.
Recently, a role player on the Houston Rockets has been linked to Boston to add depth and experience to the C’s roster via a trade.
Tate, injured for parts of the 2024-25 campaign, is starting to return to his former self, but is hard to do that in Houston due to their depth. A perimeter defender who is only making $7.6 million this season, it seems like he can seamlessly fit into Boston’s system.
Tate averaged 11.3 points per game in his rookie season and 11.8 points as a sophomore for the Rockets. A mix of injuries and focusing on other rotational pieces has caused for a steady decline in his scoring output as he is only averaging 3.6 points per game in his 24 contests this season.
A career 0.9 steals per game and 4.3 rebounds per game average is something that can help the Celtics as they make their Playoff run. Tate also shoots the ball at a 49% average over his five seasons.
Whether the Celtics are in a minor rough patch that they will soon exit, or if major changes need to be made, bringing in Tate can prove valuable in either situation.