The Celtics, at this very moment, hold the best record in the NBA at 44-12. They are 7.5 games ahead of the Cavs who are in second place. Despite their brilliant year, the media and fans do not seem too impressed and it could mainly be because the Celtics have come so close to winning the title year after year just to fall short. Let's start with 2017.
The 2016-2017 Celtics team was the first seed in the east winning 53 games. The team was led by Isaiah Thomas who was averaging nearly 30 points per game. The team also had promising rookie Jaylen Brown, defensive anchor Avery Bradley, and some seasoned vets in Jae Crowder and Al Horford. They were a terrific defensive team. They then won their first 2 rounds in the playoffs and then ran into the beasts of the east as Lebron James and the Cavaliers dismantled that team in 5 as Isaiah Thomas suffered a hip injury in game 2 of the series and was forced to miss the rest of the series. Now we go to 2017 where things shook up. Kyrie Irving, in the 2017 offseason, demanded a trade to Boston as he left the Cavs after their final loss to the Warriors. The Celtics also acquired Gordon Hayward who had an all-star season the year prior and they drafted rookie Jayson Tatum. Their first game of the season was against the Cavs in Cleveland as all eyes were on Kyrie vs Lebron after their breakup. Unfortunately, 4 minutes into the season, Gordon Hayward had a horrific leg injury that would sideline him for the rest of the season and the atmosphere in Cleveland was pin-drop silence after the incident. The Celtics would go on to lose that game. However, the season showed promise right after as they pulled off 16 straight wins after their 0-2 start and they finished second in the east with a 55-27 record. However, Kyrie Irving was out for the playoffs due to a knee injury. So without Hayward and Irving, it looked like the Celtics were going to be one-and-done right? Not so fast. They beat the up-and-coming Bucks in 7 in round 1 and then beat the Celtics in 5 in round 2 and the prowess of Brad Stevens was on full display as they outplayed Philly down the stretch in almost every game. Then they ran into Lebron again. However, this time things looked more promising at the start. The Celtics jumped out to a 2-0 lead vs the Cavs. Then the Cavs tied it up at 2-2 after defending home court. Then the Celtics and Cavs each won their respective home games in game 5 and game 6. Game 7 was in Boston where the Celtics had not lost all postseason and down the stretch, the young team was unable to hit shots and ended up losing 87-79 to the Cavs. Despite the loss, many believed this was going to make a lot of Noise in 2018 once Kyrie and Hayward return.
That was not the case at all. The 2018-2019 Celtics looked great on paper but they had a weird season. There seemed to be a lot of friction between the superstars and the young players. Gordon Hayward on Paul George's podcast, Podcast P, said that all the players subconsciously had different agendas. He talked about how he and Kyrie were trying to prove themselves coming back from injuries and the young guys like Tatum, Brown, Rozier, and Smart were trying to prove that they had arrived and felt like they had the right to do so since they made the ECF the year before. It was a year where the team looked good on paper but the goal of each player clashed with one another and it led to them being 49-33 and 4th in the east. But, they started to look good in the postseason as they eliminated Indiana in round 1 in 4 games. Then they faced the the top-seeded Bucks led by Giannis who won MVP that year. They dominated the Bucks in Game 1 beating them 112-90 and many thought this team was a force to be reckoned with. However, their domination ended then and there as the Bucks boat raced them winning the next 4 games and eliminating them in 5. Kyrie then left and the theme continued for the next couple of years. The year after was the bubble year where the Celtics lost by 6 in the ECF to Miami. Then the year after, they were riddled with injuries and got bounced in 5 by the trio of Harden, Kyrie(who went to the Nets in the 2019 offseason), and KD. They then regrouped in 2022 winning 51 games on their way to the second seed. In the 2022 playoffs, they swept the Nets in round 1 and beat the defending Champ Bucks in 7. They then beat the Heat in 7 and finally reached their first finals since 2010 where they would face the Warriors. They won Game 1 and Game 3 with Game 4 in their building. They were in a prime position to take a 3-1 lead and then Steph Curry went berserk. He put the team on his back and won 3 straight vs the Celtics and went on to win Finals MVP. The Celtics once again fell short of their goals.
The 2023 playoffs ending may be the worst one of them all. They beat the Hawks in round 1 in 6 games and beat Philly in 7 games in round 2. They then get ready for the ECF rematch vs Miami. This time, Miami was an 8th seed that somehow eliminated the first-seeded Bucks in 5 and then beat the Knicks in 6 in round 2. The Heat outplayed the Celtics and jumped out to a 3-0 lead and it looked like Boston was going to have another season where they fall short. However, they fight their way back to tie the series at 3-3 and have a chance to become the first team to overcome a 3-0 deficit and they go to do it at home in TD Garden. They squander the golden opportunity at home and put on a no-show in front of their home crowd where they lose 103-84.
The Celtics are at the point where they need to win a title for people to believe in them because they have had a good regular season and deep playoff runs. But they have fallen short year after year and for a franchise that is as historic as them, deep playoff runs that don't result in rings are not good enough. This team looks like they have a good shot at making the finals with the East looking a little weaker than usual with Embiid being out and the Bucks being in shambles under Doc. The real question is can they get it done in the biggest stage? Will the new additions of Porzingus and Holiday get them over the hump? They may have to beat the defending champs to achieve that goal.
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