This is a culmination of an 11-year- long journey. This journey goes back to the summer of 2013. Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens had a vision for how the next great Celtics team would look and I don’t think Danny gets enough credit for the foundation he laid that Brad took and ran with. It feels so good that he and now Brad have built this team organically and not just threw a super team together.
Brad Stevens literally hasn’t missed since he took over for Danny. The trade of Kemba Walker-for-Al Horford. The Derrick White trade. The Porzingis trade. The Jrue Holiday trade. Sam Hauser. Payton Pritchard. He was a great coach, but an even better executive.
We’ve seen the maturation of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown right in front of our eyes. They had to grow up together in the league with big expectations on their shoulders, go through the struggles of losing multiple playoff series, and come back each year with improvements in their games and in their leadership qualities.
Jayson Tatum gets so much shit from the local and national media, but he’s doing right now and really this whole season something that a top 5 player very rarely does. He has prioritized winning over individual stats and awards. It is so refreshing to see that in today’s world of individualism and me-first athletes. Sure, his shot has not fallen in this series but what is he doing? He’s making his teammates BETTER by setting them up with his passing. He’s rebounding well. He’s playing defense. Oh and by the way, despite the narratives out there about his point production he’s leading the team in the playoffs in points, rebounds, and assists. You know who’s done that since 1980 on a title-winning team? Bird, Hakeem, Duncan, LeBron 3 times, and Jokic. That’s it. Pretty good company to be in.
Jaylen Brown has taken his game to another level since being snubbed for All-NBA. He has worked his ass off over the past few offseasons to become a complete player. Him hitting clutch jump shots with the game on the line is so gratifying to see. If you told me this back in his rookie year, I wouldn't have believed you. You can tell that he took his performance in Game 7 last year really hard and has been a man on a mission this year. He has tuned out the noise of being in constant trade rumors for this player or that player and just blossomed into what I consider a top 15 player in this league if not better than that.
Jrue Holiday has been the consummate professional all season. He could have taken this a different way and wanted to be a bigger focal point offensively. He does whatever the team needs on a given night and makes everyone a better player. I think his presence on the team has made a major difference. He is exactly what we envisioned Marcus Smart should be, but what he never really could be.
Kristaps Porzingis has been the ultimate cheat code. He took this team to a completely different level with the mismatches he creates on the offensive end and has been one of the best rim protectors in the league at the same time. What a luxury to have someone like KP to be the 3rd or 4th option on any given night.
I want this title for Al Horford just as much as anybody else in the organization. He signed with the Celtics on my wedding day(7/2/16) so my wife was not exactly happy with me yelling this to everybody at our reception! But he’s the consummate professional. He has as much to do with the maturation of Tatum and Brown as anyone. Him coming back to the franchise was IMO the biggest move of the Stevens era. It brought back someone who Tatum and Brown looked up to and got the team on the right path again after Kyrie set this team back a couple years.
Joe Mazzulla has been maligned, but this year I feel like he’s got a great feel for when this team needs encouraging and when they need a kick in the ass. Schematically, he’s been awesome this playoffs especially this series in how they’re defending Luka. He deserves a ton of credit for how the guys respond to him.
This win gets us an 80-21 season, 16-3in the playoffs overall, and starts the conversation of this team being among the great teams in the history of the league.It cements Tatum and Brown as the best duo in the league, it gives Horford a long-coveted ring, and most of all it gives this team the fucking respect it deserves nationally.
Brad Stevens literally hasn’t missed since he took over for Danny. The trade of Kemba Walker-for-Al Horford. The Derrick White trade. The Porzingis trade. The Jrue Holiday trade. Sam Hauser. Payton Pritchard. He was a great coach, but an even better executive.
We’ve seen the maturation of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown right in front of our eyes. They had to grow up together in the league with big expectations on their shoulders, go through the struggles of losing multiple playoff series, and come back each year with improvements in their games and in their leadership qualities.
Jayson Tatum gets so much shit from the local and national media, but he’s doing right now and really this whole season something that a top 5 player very rarely does. He has prioritized winning over individual stats and awards. It is so refreshing to see that in today’s world of individualism and me-first athletes. Sure, his shot has not fallen in this series but what is he doing? He’s making his teammates BETTER by setting them up with his passing. He’s rebounding well. He’s playing defense. Oh and by the way, despite the narratives out there about his point production he’s leading the team in the playoffs in points, rebounds, and assists. You know who’s done that since 1980 on a title-winning team? Bird, Hakeem, Duncan, LeBron 3 times, and Jokic. That’s it. Pretty good company to be in.
Jaylen Brown has taken his game to another level since being snubbed for All-NBA. He has worked his ass off over the past few offseasons to become a complete player. Him hitting clutch jump shots with the game on the line is so gratifying to see. If you told me this back in his rookie year, I wouldn't have believed you. You can tell that he took his performance in Game 7 last year really hard and has been a man on a mission this year. He has tuned out the noise of being in constant trade rumors for this player or that player and just blossomed into what I consider a top 15 player in this league if not better than that.
Jrue Holiday has been the consummate professional all season. He could have taken this a different way and wanted to be a bigger focal point offensively. He does whatever the team needs on a given night and makes everyone a better player. I think his presence on the team has made a major difference. He is exactly what we envisioned Marcus Smart should be, but what he never really could be.
Kristaps Porzingis has been the ultimate cheat code. He took this team to a completely different level with the mismatches he creates on the offensive end and has been one of the best rim protectors in the league at the same time. What a luxury to have someone like KP to be the 3rd or 4th option on any given night.
I want this title for Al Horford just as much as anybody else in the organization. He signed with the Celtics on my wedding day(7/2/16) so my wife was not exactly happy with me yelling this to everybody at our reception! But he’s the consummate professional. He has as much to do with the maturation of Tatum and Brown as anyone. Him coming back to the franchise was IMO the biggest move of the Stevens era. It brought back someone who Tatum and Brown looked up to and got the team on the right path again after Kyrie set this team back a couple years.
Joe Mazzulla has been maligned, but this year I feel like he’s got a great feel for when this team needs encouraging and when they need a kick in the ass. Schematically, he’s been awesome this playoffs especially this series in how they’re defending Luka. He deserves a ton of credit for how the guys respond to him.
This win gets us an 80-21 season, 16-3in the playoffs overall, and starts the conversation of this team being among the great teams in the history of the league.It cements Tatum and Brown as the best duo in the league, it gives Horford a long-coveted ring, and most of all it gives this team the fucking respect it deserves nationally.
