More core . . . But I want this team to win. This core. This team.

(The headline was too short for this site, so I added the conclusion to it.  Count me in with the latter.)

https://www.celticsblog.com/2023/6/7/23718400/more-core-boston-celtics-jaylen-brown-jayson-tatum-marcus-smart-al-horford-grant-robert-williams


With a summer of soul-searching ahead of us, let’s not forget that the Celtics already have a heart at its core.

By wjsy@deliberatepix  Jun 7, 2023, 8:00am EDT

Now over a week removed from Boston’s underwhelming loss in Game 7 (and the blame game that followed), the offseason picture is clearer now. President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens has confirmed that Joe Mazzulla is returning as head coach and the team has started restocking their basketball brain trust with Sam Cassell. Stevens also reiterated that Jaylen Brown will be a big part of the franchise’s future, which could signal a supermax offer as soon as free agency opens on July 1st.

For a team with championship aspirations and an earlier than expected exit, that status quo might seen Sisyphean and so much of the team's assessment is either glass half full or glass half empty. The bitterness of another postseason loss and another year-long wait for Banner 18 can sully a relatively great season. The Athletic’s Jay King went as far to suggest that the Celtics should feel “shame” for how everything turned out.

To some, a string of Eastern Conference Finals berths is a sign that this group doesn't have what it takes to get over the proverbial hump. To others, this season and years past are a record of sustained success — the Celtics lead the East in wins over the last eight seasons — that just needs patience and a nudge from the basketball gods to get over the top. I’m in the latter.

Let’s take stock. Boston does not have a Bird in hand necessarily, but two All-NBA forwards entering their primes is a good start. The team is coming off a season where they ranked second in both offensive and defensive efficiency and the highest net rating in the league. That surely counts for something, right?

Sure, there are areas for growth. A coaching staff decimated by departures will get restocked this summer with former player/NBA champion/assistant coach Cassell already set to join the bench. To a man, the players have talked about re-establishing their defensive identity after it ebbed and flowed in the playoffs. We could also see an offensive system next year less dependent on the variance of their three-point shooting.

And even with all that potential change on the horizon, it’s not the franchise’s immediate future that will be on the minds of most fans. With a year left on his rookie extension, Brown is eligible for a 5-year, $290 million contract that kicks in in 2024-2025. That deal coupled with Tatum’s extension the following year could seriously hamper Brad Stevens’ ability to improve the roster under the new punitive CBA when both players are in the heart of their best days.

There’s certainly a financial argument to be made that Stevens needs to start getting his ducks in a row before that supertax second apron comes into play in 2025. I won’t argue against that. But if the churn of this new collective bargaining agreement is going to recycle teams every four to five years, then let’s run this team back until that happens.

After the last four seasons dating back to the bubble, it’s clear to me now that I don’t just want to just a championship; I want these guys — our guys — to hang that banner in TD Garden.

I get all the arguments against it: fiscal responsibility, roster balance, Einstein’s definition of insanity, all of it. But just as Mike Zarren will have to weigh the cost-benefit analysis of committing 70% of the team’s salary cap to Brown and eventually Tatum, I’ve run the numbers on how much I care about these players. It’s been nine years with Marcus Smart. Six with the Jays. Five with Al Horford. Grant and Robert Williams are our discoveries. I want Derrick White to finish his career on his dad’s favorite team. I’ll let the front office take care of the spreadsheet. I know where my emotional investment is.

Championships all have different weights to them. As a kid, I fell in love with the Celtics when it was Larry and McHale and DJ and the Chief, so ‘84 and ‘86 are special to me. The 2008 team made me feel like I was twelve years old again and those Big Three years had a cumulative value after years of struggling — maybe that’s what growing up is all about. However, this core is already something special to me, even without a ring.

Maybe it’s the fact that Smart, Brown, Tatum, and the Williamses were all drafted by Danny Ainge. Maybe it’s all the hardships they’ve endured together. Maybe it’s my old age and the perspective of perspective.

But I want this team to win. This core. This team.

We had a 9 point lead in first game and were shredding their defense with our surperior talent, then Miami went zone and the game was tied. Big momentum burst for them, if only we knew better how to attack a zone. Next year won’t happen, at least to this degree.

Brogdon got injured in game 1, was never the same obviously afterward. Injuries/health are a big influence for every team every postseason. Taking away his usual steady array of shotmaking and efficiency for basically the whole series was a huge factor. Hopefully we get better luck with injury bug next year.

Jaylen had to be taken out of one of the early games because his hand was bleeding. I think 5 stitches on a finger on ones shooting hand could effect anyone’s ball handling and shooting. How many times during the course of a game do players get smacked on their hands fingers wrists?

Tatum severely sprained/twisted his ankle on the first offensive play of game 7 and was grimacing throughout the game. He was a shell of his normal self, just couldn’t move. Even if we won, good chance he would have to be held out of game 1 of next series.

Can’t take anything away from Miami. They were so well coached by Spolstra and love their grit and commitment/attitude. Pat Riley gets tremendous respect for developing this Heat culture and they are also dealing with their own injuries and have still managed to get this far.

I can’t help thinking how we could also give Nuggets a great series. In the game we beat them, we frustrated Jokic exposing their lack of a true rim protector. J’s also went off on Gordon and Porter both ends as they can do to anybody when they get rolling.

Next year