During the regular season, the Celtics established an identity. Then Jayson Tatum came back, and it seemed like he actually accentuated that identity, and had fans dreaming of a championship in the supposed ‘gap year’. But then, the playoffs started, and the identity went out the window.
It’s fair to blame some of that on the differences between the regular season and the playoffs, but this goes much deeper than that. What the Cs did during the 82=game sample size was extremely effective. Maybe that wouldn’t have worked in the postseason, but maybe it would have, and it’s frustrating that we never got the chance to find out.
Also, it’s hard to just throw out the giant sample of the regular season and claim it doesn’t matter when, other than the Celtics’ upset loss, every other playoff series but one has gone to the higher seed. And if the Pistons win on Sunday night, the conference finals will feature both 1-seeds, a 2-seed, and a 3-seed.
Celtics' playoff shift was far too dramatic
Things may be as wide open as ever, but outside of Boston, there has still been plenty of chalk. That makes it even more infuriating that Joe Mazulla was so willing to throw out his team’s style and revert to a short rotation with his wing superstars walking the ball up and relying on a lot of late-clock matchup hunting and off-the-dribble jump shots.
During the regular season, this team flew up and down the floor. They put the ball in the hands of their guards, they ran actions early in the clock, and often multiple actions, until they got a defense in rotation, and found an open look for a good shooter.
When that failed, they had at least one energy guy on the court who could create extra possessions. The youngsters like Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, and Hugo Gonzalez became two-way demons who could impact the game by hitting threes, but also by crashing the offensive glass, forcing steals, and attacking closeouts.
That was a big part of the Celtics’ identity, and it disappeared in the biggest games. A lot of the blame has to go to the head coach, Joe Mazzulla. It’s not like Tatum wasn’t playing well, but he needed to do a better job of finding a balance, and getting the most out of what he had to work with - something he obviously did not do in the Sixers series.
Now, Brad Stevens and company are faced with a tough decision, not just for next season, but going forward. Who does this team want to be? Will they add another guard or two and lean into pushing the tempo and empowering their young, energy guys to accentuate the Jays?
Or do they go back to the slow-down superteam that runs through the Jays first and foremost? There’s not necessarily a right or wrong answer, and a rational debate can be made for either side. But, they need to lean into one path or the other and go all-in if they truly want to compete with the likes of the Thunder and Spurs.
Boston should lean into style that worked in regular season
Personally, I’d like to see them double down on the team they were in the regular season with a fully healthy and immersed version of Tatum. Get another guard or two, and let them run the show. Play your energy guys even more and give them more responsibilities. And put Tatum and Brown in position to succeed, so the Celtics can get the most out of them without exhausting them in the process.
That’s the path I’d choose, and the one that gives them the best chance to get back to the mountaintop. I firmly believe that if they stuck to their guns, they would have beaten the Sixers and given the Knicks a hell of a battle. Sadly, we’ll never know, but we can right this wrong next season.
I’m not saying the roster isn’t flawed, and they should absolutely still go out there and look to make some upgrades. But more than anything, they need an identity, and they need to be the team that outworks, outfights, and outhustles every opponent they faced. For a lot of games, they were that, and it worked. It disappeared in the playoffs, and the results were disastrous.
The Celtics don’t have to reinvent the wheel this summer. But they need to lean into their strengths, mitigate their weaknesses, and make sure everyone knows and owns their role, not just for 82 games, but for the 16 critical wins that will hopefully ensue.
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