The Celtics did a lot of winning on Sunday, kicking off the day in the NBA with a resounding, 32-point drubbing of the 76ers in Game One of their first-round playoff series. The game saw a dominant first-half from Jayson Tatum, a Jaylen Brown takeover in the third quarter, flashes of brilliance from Neemias Queta at center, and impressive defense from Derrick White, especially on Tyrese Maxey.
But after the game, these players weren’t nearly as successful as the NBA announced the finalists for every major award, and the players were summarily shut out. Brown had a case for MVP, but wasn’t named a finalist, passed over for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, and Victor Wembanyama.
White had a case for Defensive Player of the Year, but wasn’t included over any of Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, or Ausar Thompson. And Neemy had a case for Most Improved Player but didn’t get the nod over Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Deni Avdija, or Jalen Duren.
It’s sad that all of these Celtics, and others, had incredible individual seasons, but won’t be rewarded with an award. But in a way, it’s representative of the season; written off and passed over. I’m sure Joe Mazzulla will move right along, pretending these awards don’t even exist, but if anything, the team can use these snubs as even further motivation, and one more chip to add to the shoulder.
But realistically, none of these decisions are huge shockers. SGA, Joker, and Wemby have been running away with the MVP race. Wemby is a lock to win DPOY, and that award always favors big men. Neemy seemed to have some legitimate momentum building for MIP, but this one tends to favor players making a star-leap instead of players who go from the end of the bench to starters.
Joe Mazzulla named finalist for Coach of the Year
Speaking of Mazzulla, he was the one Celtic to be honored, as he was unsurprisingly named a finalist for Coach of the Year. Despite his best protests, this award does exist and will be handed out this season, quite possibly to Joe.
This will likely boil down to Mazzulla or JB Bickerstaff of the Pistons, with Mitch Johnson being the third nominee.
Joe may hate this, but it’s also a perfect representation of the Celtics this season. It was a total team effort all year long with every single player on the roster buying into their role, filling it to perfection, and coming together to completely overachieve in every sense.
That’s a reflection of the culture of the organization, and that stems from Joe. Please don’t tell him I said this, but he deserves to win, and the Celtics deserve this recognition for the incredible season they’ve had.
Add us as a preferred source on Google