The Boston Celtics are headed back to the NBA Finals. They’ll face the Golden State Warriors, starting the first two games of the series on the road in the Bay. This is the first time since 2010 that Boston has reached the championship round.
Just a few months ago, this would have seemed an emphatic impossibility, but here and now Boston has a bonafide shot at capturing a coveted eighteenth banner. The turnaround we saw from the 2021-22 Celtics was both miraculous and improbable and underscores the importance of coaching, growth, and patience. The NBA season doesn’t end on Christmas Day, after all.
In the early stretches of the regular season, the Celtics were a bad basketball team, full stop. The current exuberance around the Hub is a product of that pent-up frustration. From the jump, Boston’s defense was good, but not great. The offense was pedestrian and easy to unnerve. The roster was bloated and confusing. Was head coach Ime Udoka the wrong hire? Could Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum coexist? The explosive reactions from fans and media may have been misguided, but they were emotionally honest. The Celtics were plain bad in a confusing and irritating way.
In January, however, things began to change. Boston suddenly went from choking dogs to world-beaters. The Celtics racked up wins and climbed the standings at an impressive clip through the second half of the season. The trade deadline brought about a streamlined, smarter depth chart, and the momentum never waned. The defense was for real. Tatum and Brown were for real. The Celtics were for real.
The postseason has seen that same momentum continue relatively unabated. Yes, the ghosts of the earliest days of the regular season still haunt the team from time to time. But this Celtics club has shown resilience and strength throughout the adversity of the playoffs. Neither Kevin Durant nor Giannis Antetokounmpo nor Pat Riley have been able to slow Boston down.
Now the Celtics are headed to the Finals, a nearly unfathomable outcome given the circumstances. In the coming days, we’ll discuss matchups and tactics, probabilities, and predictions. But first, let’s really unpack this Cinderella story, this fever-dream of Celtics basketball.