WAKE UP… Stop snoozing on the Celtics
WAKE UP… Stop snoozing on the Celtics
(Mar. 4, 2022)
The Boston Celtics have been a perplexing team to say the least over the past 5 seasons. For most of the 2021-2022 NBA season they just looked like a team muttered in mediocrity. At best, they looked like a fringe playoff team that would probably get eliminated in a play-in game scenario. Even the biggest believers in the Celtics had to at least consider that the Jaylen Brown/Jayson Tatumn tandem just wasn’t going to work out and the Celtics may be better off trading one of the 2 stars for a better fit. However, recently something has clicked in a major way for these Celtics & they look like an extremely dangerous team that nobody wants to face in the second half of the season, let alone the playoffs.
At the start of the season, the Celtics weren’t picked by any experts in terms of being viewed as a legitimate championship contender and deservedly so to a degree…
Just 3 seasons ago (2018-2019), they had what many in media thought was unquestionably a championship roster; featuring stars like Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatumn, Jaylon Brown, Al Horford, Marcus Morris, “Scary” Terry Rozier, and Gordon Hayward. For whatever reasons, this team did not reach their full potential and failed to even reach the NBA Finals. Kyrie Irving among some of the other stars left the Celtics to join a new team following the 2018-2019 season and that team was effectively finished.
Just one season later (2019-2020), with a new squad lead by Jaylon Brown, Jayson Tatumn, and an injury hampered Kemba Walker, the Celtics seemed to be back on their championship trajectory. They made it all the way to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, coming up short losing to the Miami Heat. Despite the hard-fought loss, the Celtics future looked bright right? So we thought.
Just one season later, during the 2020-2021 NBA season, the Celtics seemed to take 2 steps backwards. Kemba Walker looked like even more of a shell of himself from the previous year, to put it lightly. Hell, he barely played in any of the regular season games to begin with the entire year. The Jaylon/Jayson tandem just couldn’t carry the Celtics on their backs and elevate the team the same way that they did the previous year. The Celtics lack of depth, a more competitive Eastern Conference, and an ill-timed injury right before the playoffs to Jaylon Brown, all lead to the Celtics handily getting knocked out in the first round by the Brooklyn Nets in just 5 games.
2020-2021 offseason
Following the 2020-2021 season. Major changes came to the Celtics. Their long-time GM (Danny Ainge) stepped down and their coach for almost a decade stepped down to become the GM (Brad Stevens). Going into the 2021-2022 season, most analysts & experts believed the Celtics were a playoff team, but absolutely no threat to compete for a championship as constructed. For most of the season they looked like a stellar defensive team but were abysmal at times on the offensive end. They constantly blew big leads in the 4th quarter and just looked like a team that wasn’t going anywhere.Some in the media suggested trading away 1 of the stars between Jaylon Brown/Jayson Tatumn, while some fans suggested firing 1st year Head coach Ime Udokah.
Thankfully the Celtics didn’t buy into the BS and knew what they had, as well as what needed to be fixed.
After the Celtics loss to the Hawks on Jan. 28, 2022, they were once again staring mediocrity directly in the face with a record of 25-25.
Since that game, something clicked; the Celtics have looked sharper, more focused, and, frankly just felt different. They have won 13 out of their last 15 games. In most of the games, the Celtics are absolutely mopping the floor with their opponents or at the very least winning convincingly. If they continue to play with the same vigor, I can easily see this team as a 4th or 5th seed that NOBODY wants to play in the playoffs.
I don’t think the Celtics are quite there yet in terms of having the roster needed to compete for a championship this year but, they are extremely dangerous and appear to be knocking on the championship door.
With their young, talented core, and the acquisition of another key piece or two, the Celtics will be positioned to be one of, if not the best team in the East for many years to come.