The Boston Celtics are headed back to the NBA Finals. They’ll face the Golden State Warriors, starting the first two games of the series on the road in the Bay. This is the first time since 2010 that Boston has reached the championship round.
Just a few months ago, this would have seemed an emphatic impossibility, but here and now Boston has a bonafide shot at capturing a coveted eighteenth banner. The turnaround we saw from the 2021-22 Celtics was both miraculous and improbable and underscores the importance of coaching, growth, and patience. The NBA season doesn’t end on Christmas Day, after all.
In the early stretches of the regular season, the Celtics were a bad basketball team, full stop. The current exuberance around the Hub is a product of that pent-up frustration. From the jump, Boston’s defense was good, but not great. The offense was pedestrian and easy to unnerve. The roster was bloated and confusing. Was head coach Ime Udoka the wrong hire? Could Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum coexist? The explosive reactions from fans and media may have been misguided, but they were emotionally honest. The Celtics were plain bad in a confusing and irritating way.
