The 2018 Boston Celtics season is over. After a magical run brought them all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, a crushing Game 7 defeat ended a season to remember.
There were a lot of things to like about the Boston Celtics this year.
Coming into the season, expectations were high. All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward brought a firepower Boston hadn’t seen since Pierce and Garnett.
Hopes were high for rookie Jayson Tatum and second-year Jaylen Brown, the Celtics 3rd overall pick from 2016 looked ready for an increased role.
Coming off a 2017 season that resulted in a number one seed and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, only one thing was one Celtics fans’ minds: this year, it’s time to get back to the Finals.
With more talent and a better roster, the sky was the limit.
All that came crashing down six minutes into the season.
From then until now, we haven’t seen Gordon Hayward play basketball in a Boston Celtics uniform. A horrifying ankle injury on Opening Night ruined any chances the C’s had of reaching their ultimate goal.
Not so fast
Or so we thought. Kyrie Irving and company rallied off 16 straight wins after starting out the season 0-2.
Was this the year after all?
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Even without Hayward, the team was gelling. Jayson Tatum stepped in and played great right away.
Jaylen Brown looked nothing like the stand-in-the-corner-every-once-in-a-while-touch-the-ball player he was just a year ago. Al Horford, like always, was the perfect compliment to the other great players around him.
By the time the All-Star break rolled around, the Celtics were 40-19, first in the East. Boston was putting the league on notice. Brad Stevens was the unanimous Coach of the Year. What he was doing without Gordon Hayward was incredible. What turned out to be the perfect mix of young and old was taking the NBA by storm.
Then, for the second time, the Celtics playoff chances looked dead in the water. Kyrie Irving missed a few games with a knee injury. A few games turned into a few weeks, and still no Kyrie. Then, before we knew it, Kyrie was ruled out for the playoffs.
Along with Hayward, and Marcus Smart who had been sidelined since February, the Boston Celtics were now without three valuable pieces in the system.
They ended the season 9-6 without Irving. 2nd in the East at 55-27, still a couple wins better than last season. Considering all the setbacks and catastrophes that 2018 brought, it was a great season. It was a season to be proud of, one to build of off, but the playoffs were a different story. You don’t win with no star and mostly young guys.
A postseason to remember
Or so we thought. In the first round against the Bucks, the Celtics battled hard. In Game 1, a Khris Middleton miracle three sent the game to overtime. Despite losing all momentum, the Celtics still won. They also won Game 2. And Game 5. And Game 7 to win the series.
It was at that point that Celtics fans knew they had something special with this team. At home, the fans carried and willed their hometown heroes. Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Marcus Morris, Al Horford, Aron Baynes, Marcus Smart, the guys who made it out alive of the regular season but still had something to prove.
In the second round, it was another chance to doubt the Celtics. Philadelphia was favored in every single game of that series. They won just one game. Boston’s home dominance continued. Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and the 76ers were not the best young team in the East. That title belonged to the Boston Celtics, no matter how many players you take away.
For all that unexpected winning, the Celtics got their reward: a matchup with the LeBron James for a chance to go to the NBA Finals. A chance to break a seven year streak of dominance, the team who made LeBron leave Cleveland could do it again.
It started out really well. Games 1 and 2 were no contest. The Celtics couldn’t lose at home and just one win in Cleveland would do it.
But Games 3 and 4 weren’t close either. The Cavs came through. Game 5, same story as before. The Boston Celtics pulled through at home, nothing new. In Game 6, one win from the Finals, it was the LeBron show again. All tied up, Game 7 back in Boston.
A Game 7 to forget
For all their fight in the regular season, the Celtics had earned the right to play their biggest game in years back home. They had gone 10-0 so far in the playoffs, one more win couldn’t hurt.
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It was time for the King to go down. For a short time, it looked like that prophecy might come true. In the first quarter, the crowd was as rowdy as ever. Jayson Tatum was having another great game. Like every game so far, the Cavs couldn’t hit a shot in Boston. The Celtics had a five point lead. Everything was going to be fine.
The lead got up to double digits. Still, it was looking like every other game in Boston, a blowout win for the Celtics.
But somewhere in that second quarter, the magical powers of Game 7 started to run their course. The best player stepped it up. The game got close, so tight that fans on both sides couldn’t help but here their heartbeat pounding.
It was the opposite of beautiful basketball. The Cavs could only do what they had done for the past four seasons, put it in LeBron’s hands and hope for the best. It worked. LeBron got a few whistles. He made some great plays. Luckily for him, some of his teammates made a few big shots late in the game.
But in no way did the Cavaliers come into Boston and steal Game 7 from the Celtics. They came into TD Garden, played a below average game, and watched the Celtics hand them a victory.
Jayson Tatum dunked on LeBron. Then he hit a three, the Celtics were up one. A few minutes later the game was over, and the Boston Celtics had lost by 8.
What in the world went wrong?
The Boston Celtics have no one to blame but themselves. Everyone knows the number by now: 7 for 39 from three. Terry Rozier was 0-10. Marcus Smart shot four threes and missed them all, because why not. I’d rather Greg Monroe take a halfcourt shot with a blindfold on.
Jaylen Brown was 2 for 11 if you don’t count the useless three he hit at the end of the game, the most ironic shot he has ever taken. Al Horford missed a wide open three that could have cut the lead to 1. Marcus Morris did the same.
Shots clanked off the rim and you could here the wails from the crowd. Please, someone, anyone make a shot. It never happened.
A team that did so much to get to this point lost it all. The crowd and players were stunned. For the last time in 2018, the Celtics walked off the TD Garden floor.
All season, the Celtics had defied the odds and kept winning. Now on the biggest stage, the ultimate chance to defy the odds, the favorite still won. LeBron gets his 8th straight NBA Finals appearance. He gets all the praise, all the media love once again.
For now, the Boston Celtics are the team that was really good but still lost. The team that had a great season but didn’t get it done. Don’t get me wrong, they exceeded expectations. But losing a winnable game to send LeBron packing? That chance might not happen again. Immediately after the game is not time for praise. Which is why I waited a day to write this last part.
What next?
It’s going to be a long summer, one with many choices internally and around the league. The Boston Celtics are going to have to make a decision on Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier. Neither one had a great audition in Game 7.
Aron Baynes, Greg Monroe, and Shane Larkin has an option left on a two-year deal. Larkin and Baynes played important roles in the playoffs. Monroe didn’t get much opportunity, but his tank isn’t close to empty.
Of course, everyone team’s decision-making group will follow every step of LeBron’s summer plans. The Celtics especially, seeing that he was the only man to stop them. If he heads west, the Celtics are in good shape. If he stays East, the chances of a rematch grow only stronger.
For now, the Celtics are probably feeling like an ugly penny left on the side of the road. This loss will carry with them for days, maybe weeks, maybe even months. But as soon as training camp begins, with whatever players are still in green, it’s time to go to work.
Those from last year will have a gigantic chip on their shoulder, an extra source of motivation. They got us last year, but this year will be different.
Jayson Tatum will continue to grow. Jaylen Brown will continue to grow. Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward will bring skills that make this year’s team look like silly. In 2019, the Celtics will truly be on the rise. The rest of the league better watch out, because Boston is coming out strong next October.
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The Chinese New Year calendar deems 2019 as the year of the pig. I don’t agree. 2019 will be the year of the leprechaun, the year of the clover, the year of the Boston Celtics.