The Celtics gave it their all in this series, but in the end, the Golden State Warriors were just too experienced and too good to overcome.
But that was to be expected. The young, fearless, and naïve Celtic faced off against the disciplined, measured, and experienced Warriors and lost a hard fought, best of seven series 4-2. There is no shame in losing to this all-time great Warriors team. Others have been in the Celtics position and have come back to win championships. Just look at the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.
There is no reason as to why the Celtics can’t do the same as that Cleveland team. Now is not the time for self-pity or regret as this NBA Finals series is over. There is no point of wishing to take back a bad pass, or a missed shot, or a bad turnover (which the Celtics sure had plenty of those) now. All the Celtics can do is regroup and retool for next year as the competition is bound to be just as fierce in the Eastern Conference again.
Jason Tatum and Jaylon Brown may not have had great finals (especially Tatum), but they are not the problem. They are young All-Stars who just experienced their first taste of championship-level basketball.
They needed this experience, especially against a team as good as the Warriors, to learn how to win before they actually do win. Very few players are able to just “turn up to another level” in the NBA finals, let alone do it their first time. Does anybody remember LeBron’s performances against the Spurs and Mavericks before he won? Yeah, it takes experience to win in the NBA. Not everyone can be Michael Jordan and go 6/6 in the finals.
Tatum and Brown will come good and win Boston a championship, I’m sure. The Celtics have more pressing problems than them.
The Celtics definitely need to improve their bench. Having Grant Williams, Derrick White, and Payton Prichard as your “go-to guys” for first off the bench will not win the Celtics an NBA title. Keeping one of those three guys is fine (preferably Derrick White), but having all three for next year is not.
Those three guys had a grand total of 5 points in Game 6. 5 POINTS! That’s not good enough to win the Eastern Conference next year, let alone the NBA championship. In comparison, the Golden State Warriors brought Gary Payton III, Kevon Looney, Andre Iguodala (who, admittedly, is past his best), and Jordan Poole off the bench in Game 6. And those guys had a combined points total of 21 points.
It’s a no contest as to who had the superior of the two benches.
Okay, that was problem #1 for this offseason. Problem #2 is what to do with Al Horford and Marcus Smart. Horford, who is 36 now, has one year left on his contract and had his lowest PPG (10.2) since his rookie season back in 2007.
Personally, I like AL Horford. He seems like a great guy and has been a great servant to the Celtics, especially on his second stint with the team. But, if the Celtics want to win titles, they really should be looking for a more offensively productive power forward to start, with Horford coming off the bench.
He can be still useful with his defensive production great this year, just from a more limited role.
With Marcus Smart, the situation is very similar to Al Horford’s. He is a great defender as he is now the reigning NBA defensive player of the year. Still, in the modern NBA, his production offensively as the starting Celtics point-guard was an issue in the NBA finals.
If the Celtics want to win the championship next year, then they are either going to need a lot more productivity out of Smart offensively or look to sign an offensive-minded point guard this offseason to share minutes with him.
The Celtics had a phenomenal year, not only making it to the playoffs when nobody thought it was possible early on, but also coming out of the East for the first time in 12 years to reach the NBA Finals. A hard-fought loss to the Warriors does sting, but it should only serve to motivate the Celtics, not demoralized them. If they improve in the key areas (hopefully some I mentioned), then they have a great chance of being back next year.
Images Source:
