BOSTON – Construction of the podium for the awards ceremony was nearing completion, and even as a group of smiling, sweaty warriors hopped around it, Jayson Tatum couldn’t bring himself to leave the ground. The most successful season of Tatum’s five-year NBA career had ended on her most frustrating night: 13 points in 6-for-18 shooting in a 103-90 loss in Game 6. As Golden State celebrated, Tatum peered up at the Jumbotron as if to he still has a few minutes left on the clock.
“It’s difficult to get to this point and not achieve what we wanted,” Tatum said. “It hurts.”
There have been more successful Celtics seasons than this one; 17 that ended in championships. But few have been more unforgettable. A team that looked lifeless in November and December rose from the ashes in February and March. Inner turmoil gave way to close-knit chemistry. An elite coach developed from a rookie coach. A budding superstar took the next step.
Small consolation, of course. But as recently as mid-January, this Celtics team looked like it was going nowhere. “Starting the season,” said Jaylen Brown, “nobody thought we were here.” The defense was mediocre. The offense was worse. The team regularly gambled away leads in the fourth quarter, prompting Ime Udoka to publicly flog them for it. The idea that this team could come within two wins of a title was ridiculous.
“Stitches come up short,” Brown said. “But there is a lot to learn and the future is bright.”
It is. Off-season changes are minimal. Improvements, if they come, will be internal:
- In Tatum. Tatum’s progress this season can be measured statistically – he averaged career-high points, rebounds and assists – and by how he’s grown into a leadership role. He outclassed Kevin Durant in the first round, saved the Celtics with a 46-point performance in Game 6 against Milwaukee, and had 26 points and 10 rebounds in Game 7 against Miami. Tatum looked physically exhausted in the finals, but there’s reason to believe he’s close to joining the NBA elite.
“It’s hard to get to that point,” Tatum said. “It’s even harder to get over the hump and win it… it’s tough. You have to take it to another level to do what we want to do.”
- In Brown. Injuries and COVID-related issues infected the first two months of Brown’s season. In the last four he withdrew. Like Tatum, Brown accepted Udoka’s challenge to improve as a playmaker – averaging more than four assists per game after the All-Star break and six per game in April – and complemented Marcus Smart at full-back. Brown is an ideal co-star opposite Tatum, who is comfortable in a supporting role.
Scroll to Next
“Man, we still have a lot to learn as a group, individually,” Brown said. “As much as we’ve grown, turned our season around, we still have a lot to learn about the game of basketball. I learned so much in that playoff run. After missing out on this year’s playoffs after wrist surgery last year, I was just grateful for the opportunity.”
- At Smart. The Celtics were sloppy in the Finals — 22 turnovers in Game 6 was a series high — which will inevitably have Boston scouting the market for a more sophisticated playmaker. But the Celtics are a Finals team because of Smart. He’s the defensive backbone, the main reason Boston leads the NBA in defensive efficiency, opposing field goal percentage, pick and roll defense, and virtually every other defensive metric. Smart averaged 3.2 turnovers in the finals – his highest of any series – and his perimeter shooting needs an overhaul. But Smart, 28, will only grow into the role.
“We’re seeing what we’re capable of,” Smart said. “We’ve got a taste for it. We want it all. I know for sure that we will come back as a different team. We will get to work.”
And that may be all it takes. Improvements in clutch time minutes where the Celtics finished 29th in winning percentage (37.1%) and went 3-9 in games decided by three points or fewer in the regular season. In the Finals, Golden State beat Boston in eight of the last ten quarters. improvements in revenue adjustment; Tatum finished the postseason as the top scorer but also made more turnovers (100) since the league began tracking them in 1977.
“We’ll all be slaving away in the summer,” said Udoka. “Improve in a way. I think the biggest part for us is the IQ range. This is where we saw a big difference in agreement between us and Golden State, just the little things that only experience can teach you. For us, that is the message.”
The squad is likely to return largely intact. Robert Williams has established himself as an elite and consistent defender this season. Grant Williams’ three-point shoot came off. Al Horford has enjoyed a resurgence at 36 and Celtics officials are confident Horford, who has a partially guaranteed contract for next season, will be back. The bench needs help — the Celtics got five points from unit two in Game 6 — but Brad Stevens will have a $6.4 million mid-level exception and three healthy trade exceptions to play with. Internally they are high on sniper wing Sam Hauser.
“This is just the beginning,” said Udoka. “A foundation has been laid. We can start next year, so to speak. Let’s get well and all be on the same page.”
The Celtics felt the loss. Maybe literally. Geographically, the Warriors’ locker room at TD Garden is directly across from Boston’s. It’s likely the Celtics heard the Golden State celebrations in the hallway and passed at least a few bespectacled Warriors employees walking out the door. It wasn’t her time. With a few tweaks, it could be like this next year.
More NBA Coverage:
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()
{n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)}
;if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;
n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,
document,’script’,’
(function(){
fbq(‘init’, ‘1103097776498609’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
var contentId = ‘ci02a3f23340002556’;
if (contentId !== ”) {
fbq(‘track’, ‘ViewContent’, {content_ids: [contentId], content_type: ‘product’});
}
})();