The Boston Celtics have one very clear goal for the 2023-24 season. Therefore, despite the overwhelming success of this team, winning 72 out of 92 games in the last 204 days, it is easy to get caught up in the next game rather than savoring small victories along the way. is.
The Celtics completed their second gentleman's sweep of the 2024 playoffs on Wednesday night, ending the Cleveland Cavaliers' season with a Game 5 victory inside TD Garden. This series definitely lacked drama, with the Celtics stumbling at home in Game 2 but overwhelming an undermanned Cavaliers team on the road.
But the outpouring of emotion at the end of Game 5 was a friendly reminder that we shouldn't take this for granted. It certainly seems like the Celtics still have a chance to play in the Eastern Conference Finals. Jaylen Brown is about to go to the round for the sixth time in eight years. But reaching this point is never guaranteed.
Winning eight playoff games is a feat, even if the season would only be considered a success if the Celtics won eight more games.
That is the burden of success. However, given that the Celtics will have at least three days off, and perhaps as many as five, while waiting for their next opponent, there is an opportunity to temporarily assess their dominance in the playoffs through two rounds. .
Perhaps for the first time this postseason, TD Garden truly purred with the playoff-like intensity that has become the norm this time of year. Jaylen Brown shines with a chest-thump of revenge after losing a 3-pointer to Jayson Tatum in the fourth quarter, while Al Horford shows off the most powerful 37-year-old fist pump in NBA history. However, he capped off a great performance in Game 5.
Amid the celebration, fans on the baseline near the visitors' bench held up long signs that read, “Who's next for Boston?” Miami and Cleveland fans had the audacity to request that matchup.
Be careful what you wish for.
Similar chants can be heard in New York and Indiana. The Knicks hold a 3-2 lead over the Pacers in Game 6 on Friday night in Indianapolis. Boston will face the winner of that series in the East final, which will likely begin on Tuesday but could be shuffled to Sunday afternoon if the remaining series ends in six games.
The break gives Horford a chance to hop into the hot tub time machine after a come-from-behind performance in Wednesday's series-clinching game in which he had 22 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and three blocks in 35 minutes. It will be done. .
Horford struggled mightily with his shots both throughout the series and early in Game 5 when the Cavaliers called for shots, but he made 8 of 16 shots and 6 of 13 3-pointers. I made it a success. In terms of plus/minus, he had a team-best plus-26.
It's clear how badly Horford wants that elusive NBA title.
“He's just setting the tone as a guy, at this stage in his career and his age, doing different things. There's really no excuse for the rest of us,” Tatum said.
Horford has stabilized the Celtics for years, propelling them to past playoff runs while competing with MVPs like Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Perhaps he'll get a chance to do the same with another MVP in Nikola Jokic in the coming weeks. But regardless of his next opponent, he has more pressing concerns. Horford is an integral part of Boston's title bid, especially with fellow big man Kristaps Porzingis still working his way back from a calf injury.
Horford was surrounded on the court by his family as he wrapped up a monster Game 5. His wife, Amelia, was videotaping Horford's fist-pumping celebration from the baseline, while his father, Tito, was seated near owner Wik Grousbeck. Despite an up-and-down play against the Cavaliers, where he struggled at times to counteract the quickness of players like Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland from the perimeter, Horford was able to help his father. He reportedly told him that he would be in attack mode during the match. Five.
he didn't lie.
The Cavaliers shot 6-of-20 (30 percent) with Horford as their primary defender. With Horford as his primary defender, Garland finished with six points on 3-of-12 shooting, including three blocked shots. No one seemed to understand the magnitude of another shutout victory more than Horford.
“It's special when we're here at the Garden. The energy of the fans is something I don't take for granted,” Horford said. Our fans love the Celtics. They want us to play hard. They want us to play the right way and tonight I felt very connected to them. ”
Al Horford says his relationship with fans is “special” and something he doesn't take for granted.
Because of the airwaves, some may be concerned that the Celtics' path back to the East Finals has been relatively quiet. That overlooks how good this team is and how badly they looked to their opponents. Other than a disastrous loss in Game 2, they have essentially dominated both series against the Heat and Cavaliers.
But these Celtics don't have to apologize for their dominance. The East final will present a new challenge regardless of the opponent, and Boston will have to play better than ever. They can be better.
The end of Game 5 against Cleveland was a reminder of how quickly the Celtics can turn things around and how dominant they can be when they focus their energy on the ultimate prize.
Winning the conference semifinal series is just a checkpoint on this journey. But the Celtics certainly seemed to be enjoying the moment. You'll almost certainly turn the page before these words reach your screen.
There are even higher goals to achieve. But we should all try to savor the journey. After all, it's all the quests that go unfulfilled that make Boston's final hurdle all the more endearing.
“People may take it for granted that we're here, but I have a lot of respect for everyone in the front office, the coaching staff, the trainers, the equipment guys, the ball boys, the cooks. 'The chefs, the security team, we're all in this together,' Tatum said.
“And that's what I mean. Everybody influences each other, and we all influence each other to promote winning and build this culture that we have. and everyone should be proud of themselves.
“Of course, this is not everything. We want to win the championship, but we are doing the right thing.”
