The Boston Celtics achieved one goal on Monday night by making it to the NBA Finals. Now, they’re aiming for an even bigger prize: winning the franchise’s 18th championship, something they haven’t done in over ten years.
Despite reaching the conference finals six times in the last eight seasons, this is only the second time the Celtics have reached the Finals during that period. Since their first NBA title in 1957, the Celtics have gone 16 years without winning a championship, the second-longest drought in team history.
Winning the championship would be the highlight of what has already been an impressive season.
“Boston has a great team. They led the league from start to finish,” said Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle after his team lost 4-0 in their first conference finals appearance since 2014. “They didn’t want this series to go on any longer. They blocked shots, they got offensive rebounds, they made key shots.”
Throughout this year’s playoffs, the Celtics have excelled in every aspect.
They have won seven games in a row, remained unbeaten on the road with a 6-0 record, and are 3-0 in elimination games. In Game 4 against Indiana, they came from behind once again to win 105-102. They beat Indiana three times in a row, finishing with strong closing runs in the last two games to end the Pacers’ perfect playoff run at home and their season.
The Dallas Mavericks or Minnesota Timberwolves will be the next opponents. Dallas is ahead 3-0 in the Western Conference finals and can win the series at home on Tuesday night. Boston has been getting support from various players.
While Jayson Tatum got attention for scoring 36 points in two games and almost getting a triple-double in Game 4, 37-year-old Al Horford surprised everyone by making seven 3-pointers in Game 3. Jrue Holiday played well despite being sick, and Derrick White made the crucial 3-pointer in Game 4. But everyone was happy that Jaylen Brown was chosen as the series MVP.
“I didn’t expect that at all,” Brown said, talking about not being selected for the all-NBA teams. “But as time has gone by and I got to this point, I just stopped caring and I don’t care who sees what as long as my team knows my value, my city knows my value, my family knows my value. That’s all I really care about.”
It’s clear the Celtics know how important Brown is to their success.
He scored 29 points and got six rebounds to help Boston come back from being eight points down in the last six minutes on Monday night. After the defense caused two late turnovers, Brown finished it off with a great block on Nembhard just before White’s big shot.
The reaction from Holiday, who won an NBA title with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2020-21, was significant.
“I think it’s even better that he didn’t expect it. That really means that didn’t matter to him,” Holiday said. “It was about winning and whatever it took, however long it took. That’s what was important to him and I think when you have that mentality and that mindset, you see great people rewarded for the things they do.”
Holiday understands this mindset. When the Bucks traded him to Portland in September for Damian Lillard, he wasn’t sure what would happen next. Four days later, the Celtics made another deal with the Trail Blazers to get the two-time All-Star and defensive expert, hoping he could help them win the championship.
So far, the Celtics’ decision to get Holiday has paid off. And now everyone’s waiting to see if Holiday’s addition and the possible return of starting center Kristaps Porzingis from a strained right calf, which has kept him out since April 29, might help Boston win another championship.
“Obviously, we fell short of our main goal last year, lost in the conference finals,” Tatum said. “So I think we’ve just applied everything we learned to this season and this postseason and it’s been working really well.”
