The Boston Celtics beat the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night, 124-107, further cementing their place as the top team in the NBA.

During the game, the Celtics played against one of their old teammates, Dalano Banton.

Banton came to the Blazers a few months ago and has some done some great work since the move.

On Sunday, he scored 28 points and 9 assists, a powerful showing.

After the game, Bobby Manning and Josue Pavon spoke on Celtics on CLNS and asked if the Celtics made a mistake by trading Banton away.

“I’m gonna go yes on it being a mistake,” Manning said but added that it’s “a small one. It’s not gonna kill them.”

 

Since moving to the Blazers several months ago, Banton has gotten a lot more time on the court.

He was playing just 7.1 minutes per game during his time in Boston but is now on the floor for 28.4 minutes.

And his output across the board has sky-rocketed up.

Banton is now averaging 16.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game, compared to his 2.3 points, 1.5 rebounds, and .8 assists during his time with the Celtics.

It’s clear that Banton has thrived with the Trail Blazers, but would that have been possible in Boston?

Because of the deep roster that the Celtics have, he would have never been given the sort of time that he has in Portland.

Therefore, he would have never been able to develop into the player he is becoming.

The Celtics will be fine without Banton but now that people are seeing him do so much with his new team, they can’t help but wonder what would have happened if he had stayed in Boston.