The Boston Celtics are a microcosm of pro sports’ new generation

The Boston Celtics trail the Miami Heat 1-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals, and they continue to put out poor effort. A lack of focus and effort shown throughout this postseason has been a common theme with this core. The core is a microcosm of the new generation in professional sports.

Now what do I mean by this? The new generation of athletes in professional sports is much different than the likes of Michael Jordan or Bill Russell. Athletes today lack true heart and desire as well as the ability to fight through adversity.

And because they have grown up in an AAU generation where every player is coddled and told that they are the greatest from day one, it appears at times as though Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have fallen prey as well.

In this writer’s opinion, the Boston Celtics embody this generation because of their deadly flaws. The three qualities they have that fit this generation are that they think they have already won something, there is an inherent arrogance for no real reason, and no killer instinct is possessed.

The Celtics’ core throughout the season and its run have acted as if they already won a championship. It has bothered legions of fans because it has led to them developing arrogance. That arrogance has ultimately made them the most predictable team in the NBA. It has been easy to predict their results this postseason because they rarely have consistently good games, and they seem to love falling behind in every series. It has created a sense that they are not worthy of Banner 18 at times.

The big one for me is that they lack the killer instinct. The lack of a killer instinct hurt the Celtics in Game 1 against the Miami Heat.

Boston can ultimately win the title despite the inefficiencies, but it makes their path extremely difficult.