Although multiple Celtics players indicated in their post-game comments on Thursday night that their NBA Finals loss was a painful one, they did their best to frame their playoff run to within two games of a title as a positive experience and one they can build upon heading into next season, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
“The future is bright,” Jaylen Brown said. “I always look at adversity as opportunities to shape an individual. For whatever reason, it wasn’t our time. That means we still got a lot to learn. Personally, I still got a lot to learn. For me, it’s always about growth. Continuing to get better, continuing to find different ways to lead. That’s what it’s about. The future is bright. I’m excited to get back next year.”
As Bontemps details in another ESPN story, Brown and Jayson Tatum accomplished a rare feat this season, becoming just the fourth 25-and-under duo to be the two top scorers on an NBA Finals team. Oddly, Bontemps notes, none of the other three duos (Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson; Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway; and Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook) ever made it back to the Finals together.
Brown and Tatum will be hoping to avoid a similar fate, and Bontemps believes they’re well positioned to do so, since all of Boston’s core players are locked up for multiple seasons.
Here’s more out of Boston:
- Head coach Ime Udoka believes the Warriors’ experience and on-court intelligence were deciding factors in the NBA Finals and sees room for the Celtics to improve in those areas. “I think the biggest part for us is the IQ section,” Udoka said, per Jay King of The Athletic. “That’s where we saw a huge difference in consistency with us and Golden State, just the little things that experience only can teach you. … A team like Golden State who has been there, done that. It was evident in a lot of ways.”
- Jayson Tatum suffered a shoulder stinger during the Eastern Conference Finals, but declined to cite that injury as a reason for his up-and-down production (.367 FG%) in the Finals, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
- Udoka said he believes this series will go a long way toward helping Tatum adjust to being guarded like an All-NBA player going forward, Vardon writes in the same article. “This is only the start of how you’re going to be guarded and the attention you’re going to draw,” Udoka said. “I think this is the next step for him. Figuring that out, getting to where some of the veterans are that have seen everything and took their lumps early in their careers.”
- In his Celtics offseason preview, Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link) acknowledges that some teams in recent years have been burned by relying on roster continuity, but argues that it wouldn’t be a mistake for Boston to do so, given that the team’s two stars still have room to improve and the right complementary pieces are in place.
Talent-wise the Celtics are very good. The problem is they have been together for a few seasons now and seem not coachable. They turned over the ball way too many times. They kept dribbling into traffic trying to be the hero. Age is an excuse, the bird was a rookie and took Celtics back to over .500 and in 1981 lead them to win the championship. Bird had confidence, was coachable, and had basketball IQ.
All the Celtics really need is a competent playmaker and for things to break the right way.
You don’t get to the finals after the way they started the season if your uncoachable.
As good as Tatum is it isn’t fair to compare him to Bird. Tatum has confidence and is coachable but as far as basketball IQ LeBron is the only person in the history of the NBA in Bird’s stratosphere.
Bird is one of the best ever to play basketball. Tatum doesn’t need to be Bird FFS.
Not comparing him to Bird. My point is Tatum keeps making the same mistakes over again.
Poor take. They proved they are coachable beyond any shadow of a doubt.
Not sure. They went back to the November Celtics, with no ball movement.
I guess the good news is players like Lebron Did not win their first title until he was 27. Durant was 28 and etc. Tatum is only 24 and Brown 25.
Hell, even Jordan was 27.
Need point guard, who is a pure point guard. Smart is a combo guard, actually can play 1 to 3…. He is great off bench or starting at off guard. If they run it back without a true point guard they won’t get back or win the whole thing… A professional, doesn’t have to be a star unless they using Smart as the asset in a trade…TATUM may have to play more power forward, Smart at off guard… IMPRESSED with Robert Williams…
Who can the Celtics get for the PF position? They have tried different players. Ball may have been the perfect player for them.
Except that he wouldn’t have been playing due to injury. The C’s are a defense first team. Their PG is the reigning DPOY. They don’t need a pg… They need a couple of legitimate, consistent 3 and D guys off the bench.
I disagree. Smart is not a PG
Thius Jones, Oladipo, Dinwiddie, Bogdanovic, T.Ross …
TimeLord needs to develop a three point shot. He can sure shoot foul shots; he’s proven. With his height no one is going to block his jumper. He also needs to learn how to turn & box out after intimidating opponents three point shooters. He’s just beginning! Go Celtics!
Smart needs to play smart. The behind the back turnover is a perfect play to see why. Brown can get in traffic ok on an average team. Gary Payton And Wiggins are 10 defenders. Nobody could stop Steph. Next year Klay will be back too. They also will have Wiseman, Kuminga and Moody to help rest the vets. We shall see if either make it back to the finals. The Celtics Owners better approve going over the cap and use the TPE for a good player and the MLE too. Nesmith will find his shot and so will Pritchard.
Evan Fournier’Trade Exception ($17,142,857) expires 07/18/2022
Thanks!
Yes, the mythical true PG will save the day! It’s funnier here than in most cases, because we already know what this core group (Tatum, Brown, Smart) looks like with a true PG (Irving and Walker). Small, weak on defense, not enough ball movement and, most of all, not very good. A far cry from the tough defensive team, with great perimeter size, that they were this year.
Anyway, BOS in effect doubled down on the current scheme that includes Smart as its PG, by acquiring White, who has a similar combo G skill set. They can and should add a facilitating PG if they can. But they don’t have the resources or PT to add a starter unless they jettison Smart and/or White. If they go in that direction, they better be certain they got the right guy (and a similar guy to KI or Walker).
As much as I like Kemba he isn’t a true PG, he’s a gunner and can’t play D, same can be said of Kyrie except the fact that I don’t like him. Sure Smart is DPOY but he’s better as a 6th man.
You can say the same thing about almost any PG (not a true PG) other than CP3. That’s how myth’s develop. In short, I’d like to know who (what player) people are thinking of, and then it can be decided whether he’ll help or hurt. They traded facilitation for defense, no doubt, but they are not missing a position.
Smart may be. Alot of starters would be better as a 6th man. But where (resources) do you find the starting PG. White might be a trade asset, but he won’t net the guy people are thinking of. If he exists.
Unfortunately yes pass first PGs are rare these days but there are still a few other that CP3.
I would imagine Boston couldn’t acquire Giddey or Conley as Giddey’s too young and the Celtics don’t have the assets to match a Conley trade.
Tyus Jones on the other hand is a steady PG that’s a good distributor and defender, he doesn’t turn the ball over thatuch as well as having a good 3pt shot. He’s unrestricted so the Celtics wouldn’t have to give anything up. Perhaps he’d be interested in a 3 year deal at the MLE? He’d get a raise and an opportunity to play on a contender then in three years Boston would have his bird rights.
Jones would be an excellent addition for them. They can likely get him a bit more than the MLE using their trade exception. But he, Smart, White can’t all get short rotation minutes (assuming Tatum and Brown get their current minutes), unless they play with 1 big most of the time, in which case those minutes come from their three bigs (do you need to walk from Grant Williams). Better team offensively probably, but probably worse defensively.
PGs that make their bones facilitating are disappearing because the current rules make what they do less valuable than it used to be. Make perimeter scoring easier, it devalues facilitation, and raises the importance of perimeter defense. BOS’s change this year (hailed until this series) was a rational trade off. But, still, a trade off (as this series pointed out).
I think we should sell high on Grant and D White they have value to contenders.Throw I. Pritchard and the minutes would be there for Tyus and a versitile 4 that plays both ways. Grant did as good a job on the Greek Freak as anyone and we will have to go through them to get back to the Finals. Just something to think about as well
What you say about modern PGs is true to a degree as I think for the most part the NBA has become positionless. What teams really need are creators/distributors and that come from any position be it CP3 at PG, LeBron and Durant at SF/PF and even Jokic at C.
Looking at the Celtics lineup though the only spot they can fit a that type of player in is at PG. You really can’t take out Brown, Tatum, or Williams and have a complete team.
There are 96 minutes to divvy up between guards though and one of White’s best traits is his lack of an ego. I don’t see him having a problem coming off the bench and playing 25-30 minutes a night. That still leaves plenty of minutes for Smart and Jones. Smart definitely has a large ego but if it gave his team the best chance at winning I’m sure he’d be willing to come off the bench and make a run at 6th man of the year.
What teams really need is facilitators who can also score themselves (at the level of a 1st or 2nd option). Today, a “pass first” PG can’t be a great player unless he’s also an excellent shooter. For most of NBA history, that wasn’t true. Today, some of the games most gifted passers (Rubio, Simmons, etc.) are considered mixed blessings simply because they are unreliable shooters.
What part of those 96 G minutes is going to Brown?
If he’s going to be used primarily at SF, and thus Tatum primarily at PF, then the team gets small (again). Maybe it will work this time. The bar is 52 wins to even improve at all.
Grant Williams showed great improvement driving to the basket & finishing this past season! Gotta figure he will improve greatly again … as should lots of our other youngsters like Tatum, Brown, TimeLord, Pritchard & Nesmith!
But hopefully our should-have-been Executive of the Year Brad Stevens will improve our team once more! Go Celtics!
@dxc
Brogdon. He’s at the right age. He’s 29. He has his money secured with 3/$68
left on his contract. He made it to the ECF with the Bucks and then was traded to a non- contender for the last 3 seasons. At his age, with the bag secured he might take on the challenge of helping a legendary franchise over the hump. He might be willing to focus on facilitating first and picking his times to assert himself. He’s a solid scorer with a career 48/37/88 line. He’s got size at 6’5. He rebounds and wouldn’t have to shoulder too much of the scoring with Taytum and Brown on the floor and with Smart likely wouldn’t have to handle the opponents best guard unless there’s a size issue. He can compliment Smarts lack of outside shooting (assuming his 21-22 3pt line of 31% is an outlier). He was above 38% in 4 out of three 5 previous seasons with a 40% line in his 3 seasons with the Bucks. He was also known as a good defender with the Bucks. Maybe Udoka can get more defense out of him especially if he’s motivated to play for a contender again.
Maybe Brogdon for White, Williams, 1 first and 1 second.
Good fit. Probably has the leadership the Js need. Switchable. Available. Missing games matters less if he makes the postseason. I’ve liked him since the draft.
He has been claimed to be not an ideal PG due to quickness shortage, but ut matches Smart… If Smart still has to playmake, that will keep him engaged. There will be a shotblocker. Should work on D.
@KFCF – Nice trade, could work for both teams. BOS gets smaller up front, but stays big on the perimeter. Only thing is Brogdon hasn’t been able to stay healthy. If he could, he’d fit in a lot of places.
I have never really been much impressed with Malcolm Brogdon. Seems too passive but if Stevens wants him he knows better than me.
Certainly I wouldn’t give up anywhere near what you’re offering for Brogdon!
It’s hard to see what Stevens is going to be able to do in the offseason to improve this team. Sure, a pass 1st PG would be helpful, but there’s not many of those around (since they all want to be Steph). Rondo’s too old and Rubio’s injured.
You can’t make Smart a 6th man due to his defensive value so if you move him to SG you lose Horford’s height.
CELTICS ARE MESS IN CRUNCH TIME: Need a true point guard in 4th Qter, to put everyone in their sweet spots, asking Tatum & Brown 2 BE 2 WAY PLAYERS, POINT GUARDS SEE FLOOR DIFFERENTLY… NOT TALKING ABOUT HIGH USAGE POINT GUARD… KYRIE WAS TOO HIGH USAGE , SCORE FIRST, NOT TEAM PLAYER,.. WALKER WAS A MESS INJURY WISE…NEED DEEPER BENCH, Develop Neismith as a wing off the bench, Off SEASON: Point guard, 3 & D Wing…
Lol @ “true point guard”. Even if one better than Rondo can be found, who gets benched?
I think they need a new offense and maybe an offensive mind who can scheme to get Tatum and Brown open easy looks. Brad’s 4 3s pt shooter offense is garbage. It works in college but not with the pros.
Every trip in the finals it seemed like those two had to work way to hard for average shots against contests…
I would start there. Plus they need a big who can shoot and pass. Maybe Rob Will III will be that guy some day, he does pass well, but he isnt right now. If I was RWIII I would be shooting 1000 shots a day bc if can just hit 10 foot turn arounds , he will be worth $$$$$$.
I am sad they lost, but GS was the better team and showed it. So kudos to the GS peops, you guys are a well run organization with very good players.
All in all, the Celtics should be proud. But they should also finally address some HUGE red flags and try to move on to the final step, winning it all.
Huge red flags?— HUGE?— HEE-YUGE?—
So huge you can only name a passing center and a better schemer? Maybe TRUMP.
Or me. I say give up on positionless basketball. You’re not a youth camp.
Set some lane picks to make runways to the rim for launching the straight-line drivers..
LOL what?
Humor, and, Brown does not maneuver. Needs help.
Yep, I thought Celts were overmatched. We had Tatum & Brown & GS had Curry, Klay & then Wiggins & Poole.
As for TimeLord, I agree 100%! He can make a short jumper & his free throws so no reason he can’t develop a three point shot. And if he releases at the top of his jump, no one could block it.
Everyone is quick to criticize this team and these players. They are young and have a ton of room to grow, but in December if someone said they would end up in this position in June, everyone would have been laughing. What they accomplished this season was great. This is a learning curve and part of the process to learn how to be a champion. Golden State had a walk thru the park to the finals. C’s played 9 more games this postseason than the Dubs. No excuses but they accomplished a lot and I think a couple tweaks. Keep the starting 5 or get PF and move Al to the bench. Keep Smart as PG but I’d trade a package of DWhite,Pritchard or GWill for a 4. Maybe Hunter or Collins in ATL. They need Defense. Or sign Ty Warren on a buy low contract since he has been hurt. Harrison Barnes is a free agent but we’d have to work some magic for him.
Barnes has a 19M$ last season
I’m not sure how we can use it over the cap. I think we will be around 156 mil and the cap is 142 mil. My numbers may be off but I think we’d still have to dump salary to use the TPE. I Really like Warren if he is healthy we could get for the 6.3 mil exemption for the over the cap teams.
I think DWhite is 16 mil but we are over the cap. We would have to work out a sign in trade or trade players to to get under the cap.
I think it’s funny Tatum brings up the the shoulder stinger but then says he doesn’t think it had any impact on his game then y the hell bring it up this team is in trouble they need a leader and they don’t have one one this team right now
I don’t remember him bringing it up, I thought I heard a reporter ask him a about the shoulder.
This was Smarts first year at PG and he’ll get better. Jones is not an upgrade over Smart. He does some things better but definitely not an upgrade and I don’t like Smart ar the 2, he doesn’t shoot well enough but he has gotten better. I like Jones since I’m a duke fan but I’d prefer him to come off the bench. I think we need to trade White and or Prichard for a solid backup PG That’s around 18 mil of salary going out. I like them both but they are good trade bait and they have value. I am one of the few that thinks Nesmith will be a good rotational guy for us. With him it is just between the ears. He’ll figure it out if not here somewhere else. If we use the MLE on him that’s fine but I think we need a 2 way 4 and have Al come off the bench. He can still lead from that position and he’ll be cheaper after this contract is up.
I sure wouldn’t trade Derrick White & Aron Nesmith needs to learn how to make his three point shot!
They need more balance, and help scoring off the bench. Every Championship caliber team has a high price 6th man. It is an extension of the starters. Brogdon is not the defensive player Smart is but he is a plus defender. Much better scorer. DWhite is a better defensive player and I like him but he is to streaky. Offense needs more consistency.
This team lost in 6 games in the NBA Finals to a Dynasty. Let’s not jump off a cliff my peeps. They are young enough to run it back as they should but with just a few minor tweeks. Coach Udoka and Stevens have done well in their first year. This team will grow. How mature were we at 24-25. Give em a break and a chance. Kyrie said this team didn’t know how to win when he was here but he was part of the problem. He was right though, but they are learning. The west will be tougher next year with the Lakers and Clippers being healthy. GS won’t get to walk into the Finals next year but I hope they get there cause I want revenge
Don’t forget Denver if healthy.
This team has already over achieved if you look at Vegas odds. B.Stevens may find a way to convert the Fournier TPE (in an other one) to get Wall @ next TD … C’s need ball handling and creation so Wall could be the ideal fit with a short playing time.
Charlotte has an juicy double pick to get Tyty who i like for the PG spot
CELTICS GETTING WALL $47m, even with $17m trade exception, still need to send money out, plus? Don’t know cap wise if able… but a veteran point guard who can give you 25-30 minutes is perfect for rotation… Celtics need to get deeper, TATUM played 40 minutes +, 2 way, exhausted in 4th Qter… was working to hard for shots, resulted in way to many turnovers…
In case of a Wall buy out
I’m hoping 6’5″ Juhann Begann, 6’3″ Yam Madar and/or 6’7″ Sam Hauser all develop & can help next season.
I like them too and they could help in the regular season. Not in the playoffs when you shorten you rotation to 7-8 players. Pritchard had problems getting minutes in the finals and he is damn good.
Problems getting minutes is the coach’s fault. Obviously Kerr playing 10 kept GSW fresher than Udoka playing 8.