Not much has gone wrong for the Boston Celtics this season. They own the best record in the NBA at 28-7 and have arguably the best starting five in the league.
The Celtics have plenty of stars who can shine on any given night after making several offseason moves that tweaked a team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season. While Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are still Boston’s leaders, they no longer have to be the go-to players. Their makeup and their outlook strongly resembles the 2008 team that brough home Boston’s last championship.
The Boston Celtics Can Only Hope They’re Like the 2008 Team
Under Tatum and Brown, the Celtics haven’t won a championship. In fact, it’s been 16 years since the Celtics hoisted Banner 17. The last of their 17 titles came in 2008 right after the team brought in veteran stars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in separate trades.
The Celtics did the same this year, acquiring center Kristaps Porzingis and guard Jrue Holiday in separate offseason deals. The moves help take the pressure off Tatum and Brown and have helped spread the wealth around when it comes to scoring.
In 2008, Garnett and Allen teamed with Paul Pierce and a young Rajon Rondo and helped turn a Celtics team that won 24 games the previous year into one that won 66 games and a championship.
The addition of Garnett and Allen gave Boston several options, but that also came with sacrifice. The Big Three had to put aside their statistics and egos to get the best out of the team. That’s happening with the current Celtics.
Tatum, Brown, Holiday, and Porzingis have all seen their numbers dip this year, and that’s OK as long as they’re winning.
“I’m certain none of us are averaging career-highs in points, right?” Tatum said in December, per NBC Sports Boston. “We’ve all taken a dip, but it’s for the better of the team. Our success as a unit is more important, and we understand that. We know what the ultimate goal is.”
Pierce and Garnett Recently Spoke About Their Unselfishness in 2008
Garnett, Pierce, and Doc Rivers recently came together on the on the “All the Smoke” podcast, reminiscing about their time together in Boston.
When he played for the Minnnesota Timberwolves, Garnett knew he had to be the guy down the stretch. When he came to Boston, that all changed, and he talked about that on the podcast.
“We had the belief in all three of us,” Garnett said when talking about taking the last shot. “As long as it was all three of us, probably (James Posey) because Pose has been there. We felt the responsibility to take the big shots and make the big decisions.”
Pierce agreed.
“I remember Doc drew up a play one time, and I had no involvement in it,” he said. “I had made some game-winners, but he drew up the right play.
“I remember it was in Philly and he drew up a play, it was a lob to you (Garnett). I was in the corner and was like, ‘I’m not even in the play.’ But it worked. The most satisfaction to me was my teammates, when I used to see you make a game-winner. The pressure wasn’t on me no more.”
Today’s Celtics are taking a page out of that 2008 team, and hopefully, for their sake, it translates into Banner 18.
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The Boston Celtics Giving Off Serious Vibes of Their 2008 Championship Team