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A few final thoughts after the NBA Finals…
— People who acted like the Celtics would have been in trouble with a tougher road in the playoffs seem to ignore the fact the club finished 14 games better than anyone in the Eastern Conference and seven games better than anyone in the West.
And there is willful ignorance in painting Dallas as “just a fifth seed in their conference.” The Mavericks were significantly different after trade deadline moves for Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington helped alter a defense that was sorely lacking.
They won 16 of 18 games down the stretch before sitting Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving and losing their last two.
Bottom line: the Mavs roster that finished the season and needed six, six and five games to KO the Clippers, Oklahoma City and Minnesota was a fifth seed in name only. Dallas was far better than that.
The Celtics just made the Mavericks look bad, which is kind of what the best team in the league is supposed to do
Eighty wins in 101 games should be enough of a proving ground for anyone to recognize.
Jaylen Brown’s D = Finals MVP
Shoutout to the media voters who clearly recognized Jaylen Brown‘s defensive efforts in selecting him as Finals MVP.
The Mavs scored fewer than 100 points against the Celtics in every game but last Friday’s anomaly — this after averaging 111.4 against a Minnesota group that had the best defensive rating in the NBA.
When Doncic was asked after Game 5 what the Celtics did to slow down his club down, he said, “They were physical a lot.”
Go back and watch Brown body up Doncic, frustrating him and curtailing his will and energy elsewhere.
All that said for Brown, it probably would have been poetic if they’d found a way to split the 11-member panel and have him share the award with Jayson Tatum. (Have one member abstain? Give one vote to the center court leprechaun logo? I don’t know.)
Jayson Tatum Earns Due Credit
In a pre-Finals column, I called out the chowderheads — many of them former NBA players — who claimed Tatum needed to step and post superstar scoring numbers. I countered that he simply had to attack a defense that would be set up to contain him and then make the right play.
Countless times Tatum made his move, attracted additional defense and burned the Mavs with passes that either led directly to buckets or set up the next pass that put the opponents out of position and led to an easy score.
Jayson Tatum averaged 4.9 assists in the regular season and 7.2 in The Finals. He took fewer 3-pointers and more 2-pointers in the playoffs.
He did what he was supposed to do — what he needed to do, even if it ticked off those who see only the flashy stats — and for that he should be recognized.
Celtics Defense Holds Up
How about a word for Malcolm Brogdon, who called out the Celtics after the Game 7 conference finals loss to Miami?
Asked how big an issue the club’s wavering defensive identity was, the soon-to-be-former Celtic said, “It was THE issue. I think this was a team in the last year that prided themselves on defense. I think defense was our calling card. This year offense was our calling card. I don’t think you win championships with a high… with a better offense than you have a defense. I thought we have the talent defensively. But in any given night we would let go of the rope and have a lot of breakdowns on that end.”
The 2023-24 Celts were fairly unstoppable when they moved the ball, but defense — especially in critical situations — was very much the foundation.
Celtics’ Jrue Holiday Theft Still Baffles
Defense was a major concern here after Marcus Smart was sent away in the deal that netted Kristaps Porzingis. When asked in the next three months about the Celtic prospects, my stock reply was, “Tell me how many games Porzingis will be able to play, and tell me what the defense is going to look like without Smart playing point guard/Rottweiler.”
Any doubts diminished dramatically when the Celts traded for Jrue Holiday. I do think there could come a day when they wish they still had Rob Williams, but Holiday was something this team needed on so many different levels.
Front office people around the NBA are still stunned that Milwaukee could trade away Holiday without considering that he could wind up in Boston. The Bucks wanted Dame Lillard to pair with Giannis (he requires but one name… see: Elvis), but they gave up a key part of their defense. And they gave up the Eastern Conference when Portland sent Holiday to Boston.
“Milwaukee had to know Boston had been after Jrue for a long time,” said one league executive. “It wasn’t a well-kept secret, because it wasn’t a secret at all. I still can’t believe the Bucks didn’t see that coming.”
Pressure Packed Champs
As is the case with each year’s champion, the NBA is preparing a documentary of sorts. I sat for an interview before Sunday’s practices and was asked about the pressure on Celtic players to win a championship, in light of the team’s history.
This edition may have felt some pressure because of the Finals loss two years ago and the Miami debacle last season. But as far as the franchise’s history, I think the need for championships may be more of a matter of seeing former players come back and be celebrated … and thinking, “Hey, I want that. I want to be in THAT club.”
So perhaps more an enticement than a burden.
Of course, the players’ view will be altered for 2024-25. Far from the this-team-just-can’t-win drivel, Monday night’s confetti shower rearranges the stage. Not to get too caught up in semantics, but, given reasonable health next season, what once was a reach is now an expectation.
That’s some extra weight to carry. Ask the Nuggets. But the Celtics should have the advantage of bringing back the same rotation. (Ask the Nuggets about missing local guy Bruce Brown.)
The Celtics are champions largely because Brad Stevens improved the roster and the players learned to trust themselves. To win again, they’ll have to realize it’ll be even more of a grind — and be up for that challenge.
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