The Boston Celtics perhaps shocked many when they made the run to the NBA Finals last season. While the likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had been playing lights out before this season as well, it was head coach Ime Udoka whose defensive setup led the Celtics to become a defensive juggernaut in last season’s playoffs.
While the team was unstoppable until the Eastern Conference Finals, they could not replicate a similar level of dominance in the Finals against the Golden State Warriors. While many Celtics fans were understandably frustrated with the team’s loss in the Finals, it seems like former Celtics champion Glen Baby Davis is rather happy that the team lost.
In a recent interview, Davis explained why he thought the Finals loss was a good thing for the Celts.
“I wasn’t happy, but I was happy,… The reason why is there’s different levels of the playoffs. Every level is a different level.”
“First round is first round, but energy is a different level. Every level is so important. Now, you guys understand the feeling of winning the Eastern Conference Finals. You know what it takes to go to the Finals.
“Now, you know to close what type of energy you need to have… what you gotta be able to do. That experience is… with the right guys that experience it… they’re gonna win a championship because they hate that feeling of losing.”
“I was happy for that learning experience. The future’s bright when you’ve got Jaylen Brown and Tatum really being All-Stars.”
Davis certainly has a good point. Before this playoffs run, the Celtics established themselves as championship contenders. This loss, though, against the Warriors certainly gave them some much-needed Finals experience. This will certainly help them to calm their nerves when they find themselves in a similar situation soon.
While multiple signs point towards Boston running it back with the roster, the future of this roster looks very uncertain as they are currently the frontrunners in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes. Can the Celtics win a title with this current team?
