The Boston Celtics have reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010, beating the Miami Heat in 7 games. After 39 games, the Celtics had a 18-21 record. But they went on a tear in the second half of the season and took the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference. They swept Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving (a former Celtic), and the Brooklyn Nets in round 1, beat Giannis Antetokounmpo’s reigning champion Milwaukee Bucks in 7 games in the Eastern semifinals, and in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, barely beat Jimmy Butler’s Heat 100-96 to make the NBA Finals.
This is the first Finals appearance for many Celtics, including Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, and many others. In 2018, the Celtics made the conference finals, where they were defeated by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 7 games. They had a much different core back then, led by Irving, Gordon Hayward, Tatum, Brown, Marcus Smart, and Terry Rozier. That was a young team that was learning, and no one gave them a chance to win that series. But the loss still hurt. Brad Stevens, the Celtics head coach back then, told his players that “the pain is part of the path.” Now, the Celtics have let go of most of the players that were on that 2018 team, and they’ve made the Finals under mostly young players. “Finally,” said Marcus Smart.
Game 7 was a very tough game, maybe a little too tough. They had a 13-point lead with 3:35 to go, but then they didn’t score again for another 3 minutes. The Heat went on an 11-0 run and had a transition opportunity in the last minute. Butler shot a 3-pointer instead of going to the rim. Brown thought to himself, “Man, what the h***?” Horford said the moment was “nerve-wracking.” But the ball went out, and the Celtics returned to the NBA Finals, where they will be playing the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors have returned to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2019. In the 2019-20 season, they finished with the league’s worst record. This should be an entertaining Finals, but will the Celtics get their 18th title and break the tie for most championships ever, or will the Warriors continue their dynasty and win championship #7? We’ll see.
Source: Jay King’s “Jayson Tatum, Celtics reach NBA Finals as survivors of life cycles, chaos, pain
