Our 10 biggest Boston Celtics stories of 2022

The calendar year of 2022 has come to an end for the Boston Celtics, the NBA, and their fans. For the Celtics in particular, it has been a year of extremes both good and bad.

The calendar year of 2022 has come to an end for the Boston Celtics, the NBA, and their fans. For the Celtics in particular, it has been a year of extremes both good and bad.

From the mess of a situation the ball club was just starting to dig itself out of to the behemoth they became once they did figure things out, no one could have imagined that a trip to the 2022 NBA Finals and the heartbreak of not winning it all after all they have been through was only part of the wild ride that was the past year.

Losing Bill Russell, Paul Silas, Bill Fitch, and Togo Palazzi, the fallout of an offseason scandal, and the joy of watching the team land on their feet has been a year to remember for more reasons than we can list here.

With all that said, let’s look at the top 10 stories of 2022 on the Celtics Wire as decided by your readership. Happy New Year to you all.

Remembering Boston Celtics alumni who left us in 2022

The Celtics and the NBA community with it lost giants of the game alongside lesser-known but still important parts of the team’s and the league’s history.

The wider Boston Celtics community lost a number of notable alumni in 2022 whose tenure with the storied franchise ranges from among the earliest years of the ball club up to the start of the team’s era of title contention in the 1980s.

The Celtics and the NBA community with it lost giants of the game alongside lesser-known but still important parts of the team’s and the league’s history. It occurred at a moment in franchise history when the organization appears to be entering yet another era where hanging banners is the overt goal of the ball club to continue the proud tradition those alumni helped create.

With that in mind, let’s pay tribute to those Celtics greats who left us in 2022.

Donte DiVincenzo could’ve been a Boston Celtic last season

The Boston Celtics have made some big moves since the NBA trade deadline last year and Donte DiVincenzo was almost one of those guys to end up in the green and white. In-fact it was all but a done deal from reports and even DiVincenzo thought he was moving there.

The Boston Celtics have made some big moves since the NBA trade deadline last year, and Donte DiVincenzo was almost one of those guys to end up in the green and white, per the Athletics’Anthony Slater. In fact, it was all but a done deal.

“I thought I was going to Boston,” said DiVincenzo, a former Villanova standout. “I think I was supposed to go for Dennis Schröder to Boston. I don’t know what happened. Somebody might’ve wanted too much. But that was my impression, that I was going to Boston. The Sacramento (trade) came out of nowhere.”

The deal between the Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks fell apart at the last minute, and DiVincenzo ended up moving to the Sacramento Kings instead.

DiVincenzo struggled on his new team and ended up signing a short-term deal with the other NBA Finals team, the Golden State Warriors, this offseason.

It’s tempting to think of what might have been for Boston had it brought on DiVincenzo, but the trade that brought back big man Daniel Theis — and through it later on, Malcolm Brogdon — would not have happened quite the same if it all, so it’s quite possible this was a better outcome for all.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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How the Boston Celtics used Robert Williams III to unlock their offense

The bulk of media attention has rightfully been trained on his defensive impact in recent years, but his offensive game is worth a second look as well.

Why is starting Boston Celtics center Robert Williams III so dangerous in the way he is used? The Celtics deploy Timelord in an unusual way to warp the spacing of the game on both ends of the court to devastating effect when the oft-injured big man is available to play.

Unlike most modern NBA approaches to spacing, the Celtics’ scheme for Williams helped set up Boston as among the best defenses AND offenses in the league last season. The bulk of media attention has rightfully been trained on his defensive impact in recent years, but his offensive game is worth a second look as well.

And that is exactly what the focus of a recent video breakdown by our friends over at the Alex Hoops YouTube channel is about — how Timelord makes everyone around him more dangerous on the offensive end of the court.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what he has to say about the former Texas A&M player!

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Former Celtics center Bruno Fernando to sign 4 year-$10.9 million deal with Houston Rockets

Fernando will soon have a little more money in the bank to do what he will with.

Former Boston Celtics big man Bruno Fernando will have a little more money in the bank: ESPN senior reporter Adrian Wojnarowski reports the Angolan center agreed to a new deal with the Houston Rockets on Sunday.

He was traded to Houston by the Celtics with veteran big man Enes Kanter Freedom and German floor general Dennis Schroder for old friend Daniel Theis at the 2022 NBA trade deadline. Now, Fernando has agreed on a four-year, $10.9 million deal with the Rockets according to his agents, Andy Shiffman and Mark Bartelstein, according to Wojnarowski.

The big man, Kris Dunn and draft assets came to the Celtics in a three-team deal in which Boston sent Tristan Thompson to the Sacramento Kings in August 2021. Fernando played 20 games for the Celtics.

He averaged a point and 0.8 rebounds per contest over that stretch.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Boston Celtics make the NBA’s ‘Top 100 plays of the 2021-22 season’ video

Given the campaign very nearly ended in a banner for Boston, it probably shouldn’t surprise to see the Celtics represented here.

By virtue of being one of the last two teams standing in the 2022 NBA Playoffs in facing the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 Finals, the Boston Celtics had a hand in more than a few of the most impressive plays from the 2021-22 season.

And unlike some deep postseason runs with record-scratch moments like the time the Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo blocked star Celtics forward Jayson Tatum’s shot in the Orlando bubble, Boston was, by and large, on the right side of those plays. Some of them even managed to get included in the NBA’s “Top 100 plays of the 2021-22 NBA season” highlight clip.

So, while we wait for preseason and live basketball to return to our lives, take a look at the clip embedded below to see which of those plays came in games played by the Celtics.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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NBA’s ‘Top ‘Jelly’ finishes of the 2021-22 season’ video features Boston Celtics

The play in question came against a certain Southeast Division squad.

Much of what got the Boston Celtics off the proverbial treadmill of mediocrity and into the NBA’s 2022 Eastern Conference playoffs as a two seed and an eventual NBA Finals runner-up was not exclusively the result of the skill of the talented roster assembled by the team’s front office.

Much more can be attributed to the way those players learned to play together by midseason under first-year head coach Ime Udoka. There was also a little luck involved, including a ridiculous buzzer-beater against a certain Southeast Division squad that would have delivered Boston a win critical in helping them get as far as they did.

That shot was so wild that the NBA included it in their “Top ‘Jelly’ finishes of the 2021-22 season” video.

Take a look for yourself at which play and what team it was, and get some pretty wild finishes for other teams around the league to watch while we wait for the start of the 2022-23 season.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Boston Celtics part of NBA’s ‘Wildest shots of the 2021-22 season’ clip

There were more than a few circus shots in the 2021-22 NBA season orchestrated by members of the Celtics leaving fans wondering how exactly they pulled it off.

The Boston Celtics transformed themselves from the textbook picture of a team stuck on the proverbial treadmill of mediocrity to one of the NBA’s best ball clubs primarily through improving their defense, trust and ball movement, but there was also a fair amount of luck involved.

Emblematic of that, there were more than a few circus shots in the 2021-22 NBA season orchestrated by members of the Celtics leaving fans wondering how exactly they pulled it off — or if they even meant to in the first place. A couple of them even caught the attention of the national news cycle, and one of them made it into the NBA’s “Wildest shots of the 2021-22 season.”

Take a look at the clip embedded below to see which game it was in against what team while we wait for the 2022-23 NBA season to arrive.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Boston Celtics included in NBA’s ‘Best games of the 2021-22 season’ video

For our case at least, we agree it was one of the best games we have watched in ANY season, including the last.

By most measures one could bring to bear on judging the level of quality of games in the 2021-22 NBA season, the Boston Celtics were by default a frequent option given their league-leading defense in the second half of the season coupled with one of the better offenses in the league.

So much so that both put together carried the Celtics within two wins of a championship, Boston ultimately falling in the 2022 NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors in six games. With that in mind, it probably should not surprise one to see that the league deemed the Celtics the right team to start out their “Best games of the 2021-22 NBA season” video.

You will have to watch the clip embedded below to see for yourself the game in question and against which team, but for our case at least, we agree it was one of the best games we have watched in ANY season, including the last.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Boston Celtics included in NBA’s ‘Best scoring performances of 2021-22’ video

The Boston Celtics really unlocked their ability to keep the ball moving and to trust the other players on the team in 2021-22.

The Boston Celtics really unlocked their ability to keep the ball moving and to trust the other players on the team to make the right play not named Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in 2021-22. And their offensive growth coupled with their league-leading defense under first-year head coach Ime Udoka catapulted the Celtics from the proverbial treadmill of mediocrity to within two wins of an NBA title.

So, it should perhaps not surprise one to see Boston included in the “Best scoring performances of the 2021-22 NBA season” clip recently assembled by the league and shared on their YouTube channel.

Take a look at the video embedded below to see which team it was that the NBA has the Celtics playing against in it along with several other standout performances while we wait for training camp to start in a few more weeks.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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