I didn't see an appreciation thread for this team, so I wanted to post something here to commemorate their achievement this season. Also I thought it right to be accountable for my posts about this team when it wasn't going so well.
Despite all of the complaining - some certainly from me - this was one of the most enjoyable rides I've had as a fan. Out of nowhere, this team put together one of the hottest streaks in the history of the sport. They weren't just unbeatable in the second half of the season, they were dominant. Their offensive and defensive performance fed off of each other and they clicked like only great teams do. It was actually, opposed to earlier iterations of this team, a blast to watch.
These young players who we've argued about in threads for years grew into their roles. Tatum became a significantly better distributor, realizing that he could be an offensive engine without scoring. Jaylen upped his game as a secondary scoring threat and also shared the ball more. Marcus won defensive player of the year and was a much improved point guard compared to what we believed his potential. Time Lord, though still injury prone, became, what, a top ten center in the league? Talent-wise, he's likely better, as one of the best rim protectors out there (who can also switch reasonably), one of the best lob threats, and good passer for his position.
It may seem silly, but despite the agonizing finals loss, I was more invested in this team than the 2008 championship team. There's just something about these guys who were drafted by the Cs, watching them mature, seeing them hit walls and find ways to climb over them, and then witnessing them realizing their potential by coming through in big spots. There were no shortcuts taken. This was the result of years of organizational strategy and commitment. It was gratifying in a way that watching free agents or traded-for superstars isn't.
So here's a list of shit that I was wrong about:
- Ime Udoka - at the start of the year, with the team floundering, I really suspected whether this was the right guy for the job. I saw the early stage infighting as a sign that he couldn't control the club. Turns out, he has the exact kind of personality to extract the best from this team, and likely he'll learn from the Warriors loss
- Payton Pritchard - I've been very low on him, perhaps because of residual scars from Ainge continually drafting undersized guards. He's still extremely limited on offense, making him pretty useless when his shot isn't falling. But man oh man, did he crash the glass in the playoffs and out-hustle teams for clutch rebounds. And his defense, while not a strength, wasn't exploited nearly as much as I feared in the playoffs. Giannis, Butler, etc would take him into the post and not encounter easy shots. It was kind of remarkable. By the Warriors series, I wanted to see more minutes for him than White or Grant just because he would bring some more space to the offense.
- Jaylen Brown - His offense sometimes felt "regular season-y" in that his shooting would ebb and flow and he's not the most reliable driver. Though these warts really showed themselves in Warriors and Miami, there were several games where he was the only guy who showed up on O. Can he be our second option going forward if the Cs are going to win a 'chip? IDK, I think he'll need to tidy some stuff up, but he's hitting his prime and this run was encouraging.
- Jayson Tatum - It's never been about the talent. He can hit shots that maybe 5-7 other players in the NBA can hit and the he has the physical tools to defend like a similarly limited set of players. I went to Clippers-Cs earlier this year - the Brandon Boston game - and it made me question whether he's mentally ready to be a leader. The lack of on-court assertiveness, the complaining about fouls, it all added up to a guy who could score like a superstar but not necessarily be one. I'm not sure if he's there yet, but you don't lead a team to winning two game 7s on the road, sweeping the Nets, etc. without some growth in that area.
- Marcus Smart - I knew we had to do the extension, but I didn't love it for where Marcus was at. I thought he slowed on defense last year and his on-again off-again relationship with offensive skills seemed too unsteady to be our 1A PG. He was a superb version of himself this year. The defensive player of the year award may be controversial, but he was the lynchpin for the league's top defense and he seemed to settle himself into a comfortable role in the offense. There's always going to be things to nitpick in his game - Marcus will be Marcus. He's good value at his number and, for a team of fairly unexcitable players, the guy who's setting a tone every game.
- Grant Williams - Like Pritchard, he's an annoyingly undersized Ainge draftee. He's gotten a lot of shit for his inconsistency and he was steadily ripped for several seasons for not being Matisse Thybulle. IMO, I don't love the player type, but he was crucial in the Milwaukee series. You cannot say that for many of the guys drafted around him, particularly Thybulle. Grant is a role player who's good in very specific matchups and when his shot is going down, he's a beast. He should not under any circumstances drive or play-make, but he'll be worth his extension as a bench big with some versatility.
And the biggest thing I was wrong about -
- The Golden State Warriors - I mused in these threads, to the point of losing a $50 JF bet, that I thought they were the worst of the remaining teams toward the end of the second round. i thought too much was on Curry's shoulders, they wouldn't have enough offense around him, and they had some defensive liabilities like Poole and Thompson. Heading into the finals, I thought the Celtics would be too deep with two-way players, giving GS a taste of their own medicine. Well, I was way fucking off on that. I believe the Warriors were facing a better team; they just outworked them. They knew what a Finals is like, how to mentally engage each game, and they overwhelmed the Celtics with activity and persistence. Curry outplayed Tatum by a significant margin, Brown was outplayed by Wiggins, and the bench players for the Warriors met the moment in a way that the Celtics bench couldn't. They were a deserving champion and I think they wouldn't beaten anyone from the East.
Here's to a fucking great season that surpassed all of our expectations. If at the beginning of the year someone said, "The Celtics will lose in six in the NBA Finals", we would've all done cartwheels. The exciting thing about this team is that Tatum can still add stuff, so can Brown. TL can get stronger. Grant can become more reliable. Udoka can grow as a coach. It's not unreasonable to believe they'll be back in the Finals next year, older, wiser, and ready to turn their potential into winning basketball on the championship stage.
Despite all of the complaining - some certainly from me - this was one of the most enjoyable rides I've had as a fan. Out of nowhere, this team put together one of the hottest streaks in the history of the sport. They weren't just unbeatable in the second half of the season, they were dominant. Their offensive and defensive performance fed off of each other and they clicked like only great teams do. It was actually, opposed to earlier iterations of this team, a blast to watch.
These young players who we've argued about in threads for years grew into their roles. Tatum became a significantly better distributor, realizing that he could be an offensive engine without scoring. Jaylen upped his game as a secondary scoring threat and also shared the ball more. Marcus won defensive player of the year and was a much improved point guard compared to what we believed his potential. Time Lord, though still injury prone, became, what, a top ten center in the league? Talent-wise, he's likely better, as one of the best rim protectors out there (who can also switch reasonably), one of the best lob threats, and good passer for his position.
It may seem silly, but despite the agonizing finals loss, I was more invested in this team than the 2008 championship team. There's just something about these guys who were drafted by the Cs, watching them mature, seeing them hit walls and find ways to climb over them, and then witnessing them realizing their potential by coming through in big spots. There were no shortcuts taken. This was the result of years of organizational strategy and commitment. It was gratifying in a way that watching free agents or traded-for superstars isn't.
So here's a list of shit that I was wrong about:
- Ime Udoka - at the start of the year, with the team floundering, I really suspected whether this was the right guy for the job. I saw the early stage infighting as a sign that he couldn't control the club. Turns out, he has the exact kind of personality to extract the best from this team, and likely he'll learn from the Warriors loss
- Payton Pritchard - I've been very low on him, perhaps because of residual scars from Ainge continually drafting undersized guards. He's still extremely limited on offense, making him pretty useless when his shot isn't falling. But man oh man, did he crash the glass in the playoffs and out-hustle teams for clutch rebounds. And his defense, while not a strength, wasn't exploited nearly as much as I feared in the playoffs. Giannis, Butler, etc would take him into the post and not encounter easy shots. It was kind of remarkable. By the Warriors series, I wanted to see more minutes for him than White or Grant just because he would bring some more space to the offense.
- Jaylen Brown - His offense sometimes felt "regular season-y" in that his shooting would ebb and flow and he's not the most reliable driver. Though these warts really showed themselves in Warriors and Miami, there were several games where he was the only guy who showed up on O. Can he be our second option going forward if the Cs are going to win a 'chip? IDK, I think he'll need to tidy some stuff up, but he's hitting his prime and this run was encouraging.
- Jayson Tatum - It's never been about the talent. He can hit shots that maybe 5-7 other players in the NBA can hit and the he has the physical tools to defend like a similarly limited set of players. I went to Clippers-Cs earlier this year - the Brandon Boston game - and it made me question whether he's mentally ready to be a leader. The lack of on-court assertiveness, the complaining about fouls, it all added up to a guy who could score like a superstar but not necessarily be one. I'm not sure if he's there yet, but you don't lead a team to winning two game 7s on the road, sweeping the Nets, etc. without some growth in that area.
- Marcus Smart - I knew we had to do the extension, but I didn't love it for where Marcus was at. I thought he slowed on defense last year and his on-again off-again relationship with offensive skills seemed too unsteady to be our 1A PG. He was a superb version of himself this year. The defensive player of the year award may be controversial, but he was the lynchpin for the league's top defense and he seemed to settle himself into a comfortable role in the offense. There's always going to be things to nitpick in his game - Marcus will be Marcus. He's good value at his number and, for a team of fairly unexcitable players, the guy who's setting a tone every game.
- Grant Williams - Like Pritchard, he's an annoyingly undersized Ainge draftee. He's gotten a lot of shit for his inconsistency and he was steadily ripped for several seasons for not being Matisse Thybulle. IMO, I don't love the player type, but he was crucial in the Milwaukee series. You cannot say that for many of the guys drafted around him, particularly Thybulle. Grant is a role player who's good in very specific matchups and when his shot is going down, he's a beast. He should not under any circumstances drive or play-make, but he'll be worth his extension as a bench big with some versatility.
And the biggest thing I was wrong about -
- The Golden State Warriors - I mused in these threads, to the point of losing a $50 JF bet, that I thought they were the worst of the remaining teams toward the end of the second round. i thought too much was on Curry's shoulders, they wouldn't have enough offense around him, and they had some defensive liabilities like Poole and Thompson. Heading into the finals, I thought the Celtics would be too deep with two-way players, giving GS a taste of their own medicine. Well, I was way fucking off on that. I believe the Warriors were facing a better team; they just outworked them. They knew what a Finals is like, how to mentally engage each game, and they overwhelmed the Celtics with activity and persistence. Curry outplayed Tatum by a significant margin, Brown was outplayed by Wiggins, and the bench players for the Warriors met the moment in a way that the Celtics bench couldn't. They were a deserving champion and I think they wouldn't beaten anyone from the East.
Here's to a fucking great season that surpassed all of our expectations. If at the beginning of the year someone said, "The Celtics will lose in six in the NBA Finals", we would've all done cartwheels. The exciting thing about this team is that Tatum can still add stuff, so can Brown. TL can get stronger. Grant can become more reliable. Udoka can grow as a coach. It's not unreasonable to believe they'll be back in the Finals next year, older, wiser, and ready to turn their potential into winning basketball on the championship stage.