This is the first title for the legendary franchise since the “Big Three” of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen broke an 18-year drought in 2008. In fact, the 16 years between Monday’s clincher and that 2008 championship is the second-longest between titles in franchise history.
The 16-3 record is second only to the Golden State Warriors’ 16-1 mark in the 2017 NBA Playoffs.
Boston finished the regular season with a league-best 64-18 record, which was 14 games better than second-place New York in the Eastern Conference. This gap was the largest in the NBA since the Chicago Bulls were 16 games better than the Celtics at the close of the 1991-92 campaign. Michael Jordan won his second NBA title that summer, but needed seven games in the second round against the Knicks, and six games in both the Eastern Conference Finals against Cleveland, and the NBA finals against Portland.
Boston’s level of dominance this season was nothing short of legendary. The Celtics clinched a playoff berth on March 14, the Atlantic Division championship on March 20, and the best record in the Eastern Conference on March 24. Oklahoma City and Denver were the next two teams to clinch playoff berths on March 31, a full week after Boston had already wrapped up their conference.
This is not to say that the Eastern Conference was weak by any stretch. The Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, and Cleveland were all capable of making deep runs in the playoffs. The Bucks were stunned in the first round by Indiana, Cleveland needed seven games against upstart Orlando, and the Knicks were crushed on their home floor by the Pacers in Game Seven of their second round matchup.
Boston needed five games against Miami, five games over Cleveland, swept Indiana, and dispatched Dallas in five en route to their crown. Their loss in Game Three against Miami was by 10, in Game Two against Cleveland by 24, and Game Four against Dallas by 38. While the Miami and Cleveland losses evened up their series at 1-1, the Dallas loss was while Boston was up 3-games-to-none. Many writers thought the Cavaliers may have shown how to beat Boston, as the Celtics could not blow Cleveland out without at least two star players in their lineup after Game Two. Instead, the Celtics went on a 10-game postseason winning streak, before resting most of their starters at halftime of the blowout to Dallas.
This was Boston’s 10th-consecutive playoff appearance, which is the longest current streak in the NBA. Fitting that Boston wins just two weeks after the passing of legendary center Bill Walton, despite Walton playing just parts of two seasons at the end of his career. Boston center Kristaps Porzingis returned for Game One against Dallas, after missing more than a month with a lower leg injury. Porzingis went for 20 and 12 points in Games One and Two respectively, before missing Games Three and Four with the same injury. He returned to chip in five points in the deciding Game Five, in just 16 minutes. His play during the first two games made a lot of pundits speculate he could have been the Finals MVP if healthy.
Speaking of the Bill Russell Award, Jalen Brown took home the trophy after averaging 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and five assists. His teammate, Jayson Tatum put in better numbers, but was denied the MVP. Tatum averaged 22.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.2 assists, while playing more minutes (40.2 to Brown’s 30.5). Tatum finished third in playoff scoring with 475 points, third in assists with 119, second in rebounds with 184, and fourth in minutes with 768, yet that was not strong enough to win MVP.
While Jrue Holiday celebrated his second NBA Championship, his first being in 2021 with Milwaukee, Al Horford finally held the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the first time in his 17-year career. Horford’s only other Finals appearance was in 2022, when Boston lost to Golden State in six games. His 186 playoff games played was second only to Karl Malone’s 193. Holiday was the only Celtic not to have won their first championship on Monday night.
Any great team needs a great leader, and that is precisely what Joe Mazzulla has been over his first two seasons. Mazzulla, 35, became the second-youngest head coach to win the NBA Championship, only four months behind Bill Russell in 1969. Mazzulla turns 36 next week, while Russell was born in February. Mazzulla has a career record of 121-43 (.738) in the regular season, which is highest in league history for any coach with at least 150 games. His career mark in the postseason 27-12 (.692). Mazzulla follows Doc Rivers as first-time championship-winning coaches as the head man in Boston. Rivers’ 2008 title remains the lone of his career to date.
Even sweeter for the Celtics, other than the duck boat championship parade through downtown Boston on Friday, was seeing the Lakers hire ESPN analyst J.J. Reddick as their new head coach.
Certainly seems Boston can put some distance between themselves and the Lakers again, does it not?!
-JC24