Just a few years ago, the Boston Celtics looked like a powerhouse of the future. Over a handful of seasons, Boston had made the Conference Finals three separate times, and each time looked to be getting better and better.
Unfortunately, that trend has not continued.
This season (just like the last one), the Cs have struggled to string together wins, leading to a mediocre standing in the East and a demoralized roster from top to bottom.
After the team’s most recent loss against the Knicks (which included a fourth-quarter collapse), Jayson Tatum had some rather somber thoughts to share, lamenting how far his squad has come after making the Conference Finals not too long ago.
“In the grand scheme of things, I look back to those years when we were going to the Conference Finals and it makes you really appreciate those moments, because it’s hard, it’s not easy. Early on in my rookie year, I thought it was normal.”
“It’s tough but we’ve just gotta regroup. Obviously losses, this stretch kind of is tough, losing leads and just not finishing it out in the fourth quarter.”
Jason Tatum: "In the grand scheme of things, I look back to those years when we were going to the Conference Finals and it makes you really appreciate those moments, because it’s hard, it’s not easy. Early on in my rookie year, I thought it was normal."
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) January 7, 2022
The Cs have undergone a lot of changes over the past few years. Going from Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward to Al Horford and Dennis Schroder, the team has taken a significant step down in quality.
Worse still is that their best players (Brown and Tatum) seem to be rubbing shoulders with the rest of the team, mainly for their “selfish” style of play. Marcus Smart called them out for it earlier in the season.
“Every team knows we’re trying to go to Jayson and Jaylen. Every team is programmed and studied to stop Jayson and Jaylen. I think everybody’s scouting report is to make those guys pass the ball. They don’t want to pass the ball. That’s something that they’re going to learn. They’re still learning.”
Needless to say, the Celtics have a lot of issues to work out before they can hope to be a force in the East again.
But, at the very least, Tatum has learned not to take success for granted. In the NBA, it’s hard to win games, much less win games at a consistent rate through an 82-game season.
Hopefully, it won’t be long before Tatum finds that level of success again soon.
