Boston Celtics confident, ready for a ‘tough challenge’ in Steph Curry, Dubs
The Boston Celtics are Eastern Conference champions after a 100-96 win over the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals. After taking down Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jimmy Butler, the C’s now are set to take on Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
With a NBA Finals series that has been seasons in the making, Jayson Tatum and the Celtics have their toughest challenge ahead of them and will have to be on their game to take out an experienced championship team that will capitalize on the mistakes a team like Miami couldn’t.
First, the Celtics can’t take their foot off the pedal like they did against the Heat who came a missed Butler 3 away from blowing a 13-point lead with under 4 minutes left in Game 7.
In cruise control, the Celtics were more worried about milking the clock than they were in just putting the Heat away and it almost backfield. That strategy is not going to get the job done or raise Banner 18 against Curry, Klay Thompson, and those boys.
Boston Celtics, Jayson Tatum have to be great in NBA Finals
Tatum will have to be great, but so will Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, who must be on the top of his game with his decision making and shot selection.
The Celtics will also need role players like Al Horford, Grant Williams, and Derrick White to make solid contributions. A healthy Robert Williams wouldn’t hurt either. With all of that, the Boston Celtics do match up well against the Warriors and have a lot of confidence going up against a team they have found a way to beat even when they weren’t at their best.
"“We played Golden State pretty well this year,” Celtics head coach Ime Udoka said following Game 7. “Obviously, beat them pretty bad late in the season when we were kind of rolling. Early in the season, took a close loss and we had some guys in and out. They had a big lead early but we fought our way back. So the story of the season, we’ve competed well against the best teams, and obviously you’ve got to do that to make it to this point now.”"
As witnessed during this playoff run, the Celtics seem to find ways to make things hard on themselves. They did take the toughest path to the finals, and they also failed to take care of the Heat in Game 6. But, at the same time, they have bounced back from adversity with their biggest obstacle coming midway through the season when they had to overcome themselves.
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Credit Udoka for getting this team to buy in. But, also credit their two rising stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in proving to themselves and the NBA world that they can play together and when they are both on their game, they are a tough team to beat. That would give any coach confidence in his team’s chances to win a title.
"“I know it’s a tough challenge,” Udoka continued. “I think Miami will help prep us for some of the off-ball actions and the shooters that they had. But we know it’s a high-level team that has a ton of great shooters, great players overall, guys I know well, and we’ll be ready for the challenge.”"
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Battle tested and ready, the 2021-22 Boston Celtics are off to the NBA Finals. Led by a player who is establishing himself as a top 5 superstar in this league in Jayson Tatum, the Eastern Conference champions have finally got over that hump. Now it’s time to really take off.