The Celtics have 78 years of history. They were founded in 1946, at the dawn of American basketball, in that prehistoric BAA from which the NBA later emerged. An eternal sporting reference in the state of Massachusetts, they have 17 rings in their showcases, they are a cultural icon in America and have moved the masses, popularizing the sport and turning it into a mass phenomenon in a competition that has not stopped growing. Theirs is the greatest dynasty in history, that of Bill Russell and Red Auerbach, with 11 championships in 13 years, the duels against Wilt Chamberlain and against Jerry West’s Lakers. And they also participated, some time later, in the resurrection of the best League in the world, with its definitive establishment as a franchise to always follow, in a decade in which the North American competition came from many ravages of the competition with the ABA. An unequivocal high motivated by the promotion as commissioner of David Stern, the purchase of the Lakers by Jerry Buss and the birth of the narrative, the one that pitted Magic Johnson and Larry Bird in a rivalry for the annals.
Now, they are looking for a return to the top: they have 17 rings, the same as their archenemies, who equaled the number in 2020 and achieved the sixth since 2000, five with Kobe Bryant, who also revitalized a rivalry against the Celtics in two Finals more, those of 2008 and 2010, with one of lime and another of sand. It was the last ring of the green tide and the only one since 1986, with Bird as the messiah. A wait that is too long and a gargantuan crisis for an entity of such dimensions. Along the way, the disintegration of the squad that gave the last championship (Kevion Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo…) gradually went to other places or underground, which allowed the Celtics to accumulate rounds of the draft with which to shape his new project. One that, finally in 2024, is a favorite without edges or issues on the side. Without doubts and with a lot of optimism. But, now, he has to do something that is as true as a temple, that sooner or later everyone in the NBA: win. Which is not easy. It never is.
The Celtics have won 64 games in the regular season, their highest number since they won in 2008 (with 66) and two more than a year later (62) when Garnett’s injury prevented a repeat. A lot has happened since then: no one from that squad is still active, Doc Rivers has gone from being a respected coach to one vilified by public opinion and Danni Ainge, who formed the current team from the offices, had to leave (he is now in the Jazz) after many seasons of immobility and being permanently a candidate to make transfers that then never happened. Brad Stevens, who spent eight seasons on the bench once the Rivers era ended, moved to the board and signed Ime Udoka. But the scandal arising from the coach’s relationship with a worker led to a departure that was never very well explained. Joe Mazzulla, then an assistant, took first the interim position and now the official position. And the Celtics are the best team in the NBA and they have their final exam ahead of them, the one that has always stuck in their throats despite having studied until the last day.
Something always happens
The Celtics have accumulated 11 consecutive appearances in the final phase, all corresponding to a process that has gone through several stages but that has had the common denominator of accumulating a huge number of ghosts in the face of achieving the title. In all these participations there have been: three first rounds, one Conference semifinals, four Conference finals and one NBA Finals. They have always competed, they have almost always competed for the title and they have come close to it on several occasions, with Stephen Curry snatching away the possibility of a title that they cherished in 2022 and that the generational star prevented with an exhibition in the last quarter of the fourth game, which would have meant a practically definitive 3-1. That is where no one could avoid the catastrophe and the moral decline that the point guard’s display entailed meant that the greens did not win again in that series, which they lost 4-2 at the TD Garden, between Curry’s tears and a dynasty that was closing. beautifully a perfect circle.
It has not been the only time that they have stayed close: in the first part of the project, it was LeBron James who wrecked the attempts of a still young team, called for great things and whose defeats then did not invite any urgency. which does not exist now either, although the feeling is beginning to push in some way: 4-1 in 2017, with Isaiah Thomas as a hero but injured in that series. And, against the Cavs, they fell again the following year, in a spectacular playoffs without Kyrie Irving or Gordon Hayward, out of circulation. The 10-0 at TD Garden became 10-1 by the grace of the King, and the Cavaliers emerged in the seventh game when they trailed by 15 points in the first half. LeBron, who had 46 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists in the sixth game, scored 35+15+9 in the seventh. And it was his long shadow, which ended up hammering the last attempt of the team coached by Doc Rivers in 2012, which prevented a team that played with Terry Rozier as the starting point guard and Jayson Tatum (20 years old at the time) and Jaylen Brown (21 ) as forced leaders, who until then showed an unusual maturity for such precocity.
Things faded later, with Kyrie wreaking havoc and tarnishing their reputation first, his high-profile exit and other Conference Finals, in the bubble that prevented them from enjoying a traditionally key home field advantage in the East later. But what this team has shown is that it knows how to be reborn from what many think are its ashes. It has also been one of the hallmarks of these Celtics, who tiptoed through the end of Stevens with a first round that ended a season to forget , they certified that things were not going to go better with Kemba Walker and they put an end to some crazy years with the arrival of Udoka. Beyond the coach’s personal ups and downs, the greens then took a wonderful leap forward. And the mark left by the coach has remained in the squad, which is now directed by the person who was then his subordinate in a continuous and ascending line at the same time.
A golden opportunity
The Celtics have not only won 64 games, they have also been the second-best offense in the NBA and the fifth-best defense. They have been a hammer that has beaten them left and right, without conceding anything to their rivals. And with some summer moves that have finally been the right ones, Stevens through: Marcus Smart, a cultural icon in Boston, was finally traded. And, meanwhile, the Bucks let Jrue Holiday escape to sign Damian Lillard and in a rather incomprehensible way. The point guard arrived in Boston. And he has applied himself as great in his position, one that has always brought headaches to the current project. Jrue is that type of player essential to winning the ring, who does more the less responsibilities he has, who never gets in the way and always contributes. And his presence has allowed the ball to flow better than ever, without Jaylen insisting on leading the distribution (it has never been his greatest virtue) and movement and circulation are one of the best weapons of this team.
This, together with the arrival of Kristaps Porzingis, necessary due to the age of Al Horford (37 years old) and the constant physical problems of Robert Williams who has ended up in the Blazers, has finished forming a squad with bench depth and that has avoided (this is always important) major injuries. The Latvian has gone above 20 points per game, Tatum has reached 26.9 and is not going to win the MVP because in many decided games he has rested early, which has prevented him from adding to the statistics. Jaylen Brown has reached 23, Derrick White has reached 15 and Jrue has reached 12.5. That, with Payton Pritchard consolidated in the second unit (9.6 in 82 games, only 5 as a starter) and essential contributions from Al Horford, Sam Hauser or Xavier Tillman who arrived in February and has given a lot of air to the inside game of the Celtics, especially in the absence of Porzingis, always well regulated in minutes (less than 30) and games (57, with some discomfort) by the team’s coaching staff.
And more: the Celtics have been the seventh best team in the NBA in field goal percentage, second in three-point percentage, second in two-point shooting percentage, seventh in free throw percentage, second in rebounds and in blocks, in addition to the one who loses the fewest balls per game and the second who makes the fewest personal fouls. And, of course, the best net rating in the best League in the world, also demonstrating spectacular dominance: they have won 19 games with a difference of more than 20 points, of which six have been over 30, one 40 and three exceeding 50. The only problem with this, if anyone wants to have doubts, is that they have lost 13 of the 35 games that have been resolved by less than 10 points. In those resolved in 5 or less, the record decreases to 10-9. Something that can be important, we’ll see how important it is, at the moment of truth.
And that will be where the Celtics have to emerge, who want to put the finishing touch to a fantastic project with the achievement of the promised ring. That, and putting an end to the ghosts of the past, the most recent being the last Conference finals, when they came back from 3-0 down to the Heat but rowed to die on the shore, in the seventh, in which Tatum injured his ankle on the first play and finished with 4 of 13 field goals, while Jaylen made 8 of 23. Their pulse trembled and they perished, but they were one step away again. Of course, now they are mature, the memory of defeat can become strength and they have a perfect squad to win the championship if they manage to resolve things and move forward with the pride inherent to an eternal franchise and the desire to win that they are demonstrating . From Bill Russell to Larry Bird. From Larry Bird to Kevin Garnett. And from the 2008 ring to, we’ll see, the 2024 ring. The final prize and the return to the top. It’s what these Celtics want, look for and desire. And they are in the best moment for it. Yours.
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2024-04-16 10:27:15
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