The 2021-22 NBA season ended in disappointing fashion for the Boston Celtics, but there is no denying that the campaign was a success. They finally made it back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010 and in the process, completed one of the greatest turnarounds we have seen in a very long time.
The Celtics record stood at 18-21 at one point in early January, but they took off after that and lost just 10 games the rest of the way in the regular season to finish with 51 wins. Powered by the best defense in the league and stars like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics even went up 2-1 in the Finals but couldn’t hold on to that advantage and lost in 6 games.
Boston Celtics Owner Wyc Grousbeck Feels His Team Is A Bit Overrated
Expectations are always high in Boston considering all the success the franchise has had in its history, but they are through the roof now for the 2022-23 season. The Celtics are bringing back all of their key pieces and also made a great addition in Malcolm Brogdon, so fans are dreaming of a record 18th title. Owner Wyc Grousbeck, however, stated during an interview with Boston Globe that he feels his team might be getting a bit overrated.
via Boston Globe:
Q. What stuck with you about last season’s playoff push? How do you think it can help this year?
A: “I really loved being part of the Celtics throughout that run. I loved being right there with them. It was thrilling. The other side of the coin is I think that we’ve now been overrated. I think that performance was a bit overrated in the public mind, or my own mind, because I’m the one saying it. [We were] a finalist and two wins away from winning it, but when you look back, Brooklyn was a tough series, and then we had to go seven games [against the Bucks and Heat]. Then we lost [to Golden State]. So, we’re not a hands-down team to repeat as Eastern Conference champions. I think we’re a quality team.”
“We added Malcolm [Brogdon], and now [Danilo Gallinari] is hurt, but we added them to a good, quality team. And we’re in the mix. There are probably five or six teams you could say are contending teams, and I definitely think we’re on that list … But I’m cautious against being overconfident. And anyone who asks me what I think about the team, I’m saying I don’t want to overrate us.”
Grousbeck is on point when he brings up just how the Celtics got to the Finals. They did sweep the Nets, but that series was one of the closest sweeps in NBA history while the Bucks and the Heat took them to 7 games. Milwaukee also did that without Khris Middleton and who knows how differently things might have panned out if he was available.
That is not to say he doesn’t think they will contend next season, but it will be interesting to see how they respond to losing in the Finals. Marcus Smart recently shared the valuable lessons that the Celtics learned from that setback and stated they now know what it takes to be on that stage.
