Boston Celtics: Brad Stevens should be paying close attention to NBA Finals

The NBA season is very nearly at a close, with the Milwaukee Bucks currently holding a 3-2 lead over the Phoenix Suns heading into Game 6 on Tuesday night. While these two heavyweights are still fighting it out for the Larry O’Brien Trophy, the rest of the NBA’s 28 teams are watching the conclusion of the season from the comforts of their homes, the Boston Celtics included.

It’s been well chronicled that this past season didn’t go the way the C’s expected it to, leading to some big moves soon after their season ended. Not only did Danny Ainge step down for Brad Stevens take his spot and Ime Udoka get hired as the next head coach, but Kemba Walker was dealt to the Oklahoma City Thunder in return for old friend Al Horford.

That should be just the start of an eventful offseason, but maybe Brad Stevens and the Celtics front office shouldn’t be paying all their attention to the offseason just yet. They should take note of what the two teams in the Finals did last offseason to help catapult themselves into the Finals.

With Game 6 having the potential to be the final game of the season, it’s safe to say this is the calm before the NBA’s offseason storm. But for now, Brad Stevens should look back and analyze what these two teams did to make the jump from playoff teams to Finals contenders.

What similarities should the Boston Celtics look to accomplish this offseason?

The Bucks and Suns have taken very different paths to get to where they are, but they had very similar under the radar offseasons last year to put them where they are now.

Let’s analyze the rival Bucks first since their situation is more similar to Boston’s. After getting swept out of the playoffs in embarrassing fashion against the Miami Heat last season, the Bucks knew it was time to make a change. That led to them acquiring Jrue Holiday from the New Orleans Pelicans while offloading Eric Bledsoe as well. Incase you missed it, Holiday’s addition probably just won Milwaukee Game 5 and a chance to win the Finals on their home court in Game 6.

For too long, the Bucks forced star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo to try to do it all on his own. Sure, he had Khris Middleton and a solid supporting cast, but it felt like there was always something missing.

They fixed this issue by turning an inexperienced bench into an ensemble of veterans. Brook Lopez’s third season in Milwaukee was arguably his best. Bobby Portis has been a much needed sparkplug off the bench this postseason. Guys like P.J. Tucker and Pat Connaughton have developed into solid contributors, with Tucker’s contributions coming defensively and Connaughton’s offensively.

The final missing piece was Holiday, and once Milwaukee got him, everything worked itself out. Holiday has struggled at times during the postseason, especially in the Finals, but he’s also a big reason they are only one win away from being crowned the champions.

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On the other hand, the Phoenix Suns emerged out of nowhere to become championship contenders. They went on an inspired 8-0 run in the bubble last season, but ended up just missing the playoffs anyways. Devin Booker had announced himself as a de facto star in the league, and similar to Giannis in Milwaukee, he needed some help.

And help they got him that in the form of Chris Paul. After nearly dragging the Thunder to the playoffs, Paul was picked up by Phoenix, who saw him as the perfect candidate to pair up with Booker and lead Phoenix back to the playoffs. Phoenix dominated in the regular season, but were often overlooked for the Utah Jazz.

Similar to Milwaukee, the Suns depth has shined bright this postseason. Booker, Paul, and Deandre Ayton will get the bulk of the attention, and deservedly so, but their depth players have been huge all playoffs long. Guys like Jae Crowder, Mikal Bridges, Cameron Payne, and Cameron Johnson have played big roles in getting Phoenix this far.

So what does this mean for the Boston Celtics?

The Boston Celtics find themselves in a similar spot this offseason. They have a pair of stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who are in desperate need of help. And these two teams have shown us that despite their lost season, there is still hope that things can be turned around for next season.

In order for that to happen though, the Celtics need to kill it this offseason in a similar way that the Bucks and Suns did. Both teams knew their star players needed help, and went out and got it for them. They also rebuilt their benches to feature veterans rather than strictly draft picks still trying to find their way in the league. That should be the blueprint for the Celtics upcoming offseason.

There are a number of different ways this offseason could go for Boston, but their situation is not as dire as one might suggest. They still have Tatum and Brown, and we have seen with these Finals, that’s a great building block for creating a championship contender. Now it’s time for Stevens and co. to take notes on what the Bucks and Suns did last offseason, and recreate it in Boston this offseason.