The clearly best team of the season has also snatched the NBA title. The Boston Celtics have left their mark on a still young era and are far from finished. They should finally get the recognition they deserve. A commentary analysis
First of all, there’s no doubt that Boston is the deserving champion of the NBA. The Celtics won 64 of 82 games in the main round and went on a 16-3 playoff run. In other words, an overall record of 80:21. The fact that such a team is being discussed as deserving champions sounds like a bad joke at first. But Joe Mazzulla’s team has faced just such a discussion in recent weeks.
After a very strong offseason with trades for Kristaps Porzingis, who hit the ground running in the main round and then largely failed to materialize in the playoffs, and Jrue Holiday, the front office in Boston did an excellent job. Former coach and current general manager Brad Stevens gave his coach Mazzulla a team that was supposed to win the title. And that’s exactly what the Celtics showed in the regular season, as they were the best team of the season with said 64 wins.
Before the playoffs, Boston was considered the favorite to win the title. But if you listened to some of the discussions in the USA, you got the feeling that some mid-tier team was lucky to get through round after round. The 4:1 in the first round was only possible because the Miami Heat had to play without Jimmy Butler. The 4:1 against Cleveland was only possible because the Cavs’ best man, Donovan Mitchell, was missing during the series. And the sweep in the conference finals against Indiana? Nothing special, as Tyrese Haliburton was the opponent’s brain from game three onwards. The fact that the new champions’ third-best player, Prozingis, missed almost the entire playoffs didn’t really matter.
And then there was the well-known argument that the West is much better than the East anyway. So what Boston achieved in the East was nothing special. And there were also important players missing from potential opponents, for example the Bucks had to do without Giannis Antetokounmpo. So there was a lot for this Celtic squad, but no appreciation
The final was against Dallas. The representative from the West. The division that is so much stronger than the one in the East. So a real test for the Celtics. And none of the Mavs’ key players were injured, so there was no such argument this time. And Boston also dominated this series, narrowly missing out on a 4-0 sweep against the Texans. But it’s much nicer to become champions in your own arena anyway. And so Jayson Tatum & Co. swept the Mavericks out of the arena with 106:88 in the fifth game. The 18th championship was perfect, the Celtics are now the sole record holders ahead of the Lakers.
Satisfaction for Tatum too
And speaking of Tatum. He also had to listen to a lot. Is he not good enough for the title? As the best player, can’t he lead a team to the title? Fiddlesticks! “What are they going to say now?” the Celtics’ number 0 yelled into a microphone on the court after the title. Of course he also noticed what was written about him. And of course he is very satisfied. Alongside his congenial colleague Jaylen Brown, who became Finals MVP, the Celtics have finally been rewarded. In recent years, they have always come close.
To get to the point again: The Celtics may not be one of the best teams in NBA history in terms of roster, but they definitely played one of the best seasons in league history. There is no doubt that this title is well deserved. And any discussions about an easy path to the title or anything like that are frankly pretty ridiculous. It was clearly the best team with clearly the best team basketball that won the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Period.
The road is far from over
And the road ahead for these Celtics is far from over, as all the key rotation players also have a contract for next season. In addition, both Jays, Tatum (26 years old) and Brown (27), are in the prime of their careers and still have plenty of good years ahead of them. So the Celtics will also be a force to be reckoned with next season. The bookmakers have Boston clearly ahead in terms of the NBA title.
That won’t matter to the Celtics. As, presumably, will much of the discussion or criticism. But one thing is to be wished for this team: That it now gets the appreciation it deserves.
