Let’s Hear it for these Boston Celtics
With the regular season over and the playoffs starting today, let’s take a moment to appreciate the 2016/17 Boston Celtics.
The Boston Celtics were expected to be good this season but admittedly, not this good. After last season’s second consecutive first round playoffs exit, the offseason would determine how Boston would fare.
After falling to number three in the draft, they just missed out on the Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram sweepstakes. California’s Jaylen Brown was drafted to mixed reactions. He wasn’t expected to make much of an impact on the Celtics’ fortunes. Subsequent draft picks were to be stashed overseas and in the D-League.
Then came Free Agency. The Celtics went hard after Kevin Durant. NFL champion Tom Brady of the New England Patriots came along for their sales pitch. Durant, as we all know, chose the Golden State Warriors instead. Boston did land Al Horford and that signaled significant improvement. But not beyond the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors by most accounts.
The perpetual trade rumors swirled around all season. Blake Griffin, DeMarcus Cousins, Jimmy Butler, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony were bandied around all season. None of these trades happened as the Celtics stood pat. Any of these moves was meant to move Boston into the sphere of the Cavs, Warriors and San Antonio Spurs.
Instead, the Celtics chose to ride with their assembled roster. Evan Turner, Jared Sullinger and R.J. Hunter departed. Horford, Brown, Gerald Green and Demetrius Jackson joined. Led by the undersized Isaiah Thomas, the Boston Celtics would end the season with the same squad that started it. All other Eastern playoff teams made in-season adjustments.
In the end, against all odds, the Celtics carried the day. Well, the season. When Danny Ainge hit the reset button after the 2012-13 season, no one could be sure what direction the Celtics would go. The Big Three was officially gone. Doc Rivers switched to the left coast. Brad Stevens was a young and untested NBA coach. Deja vu of the nightmare 90s loomed in front of Celtics basketball.
Instead, calculated roster construction and asset accumulation by Ainge set Boston on its way. The basketball IQ of Stevens convinced peers and observers he was a brilliant choice. In his four seasons in charge Boston has finished with 25, 40, 48 and 53 wins respectively. It’s a steady rise achieved without a major superstar, let alone a big three.
This is what makes their feat this season remarkable. Securing the top seed typically creates expectations of Finals basketball. That would be amazing. However, before Boston’s first game tomorrow, fans and the team should take pride in this achievement. “The regular season doesn’t count.” That’s an NBA cliché. Titles aren’t won then but playing through it positions you closer to one. Nobody likes losing. The Boston Celtics just did it fewer times than any other team in the East.
The Boston Celtics’ play in the regular season has been very encouraging for the postseason. It shows the growth of a team together and the road left untraveled. We’re all ready for the playoffs. It’s what we wait for all year long. The regular season is the dress rehearsal. And the Boston Celtics, a supporting player in this Cleveland Show, stole the spotlight. It has to count for something.
Regardless of what happens in the playoffs, the Boston Celtics must be proud of what they’ve accomplished. We can all take a quick second to enjoy it before the real season begins. If that unexpected fuel can propel a repeat performance in the postseason, then that is truly fantastic.
But until then, the Boston Celtics won more games than any other Eastern Conference team in 2016/17. And nobody can take it away or diminish the accomplishment as it is forever etched in history. Avery Bradley definitely isn’t taking it for granted.
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So a hearty congratulations to the Boston Celtics!
Now let’s see if we can rack up 16 more Ws between now and June, shall we?