Celtics not satisfied: ‘We don’t celebrate Eastern Conference championships’
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BOSTON — The Boston Celtics are off to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010. It’s the first time that the Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown core have led the team to the championship round, and they made sure to celebrate Sunday night after their thrilling Game 7 win in Miami.
But that celebration will be short lived. The Celtics have a hefty task ahead with the Golden State Warriors waiting for them in the Finals.
The Celtics know their toughest test is coming, and while making the Finals is certainly an accomplishment, they haven’t won anything yet.
“We don’t celebrate Eastern Conference Championships in this organization. We don’t hang those banners,” head coach Ime Udoka said after Boston’s 100-96 win over the Heat. “We’re here for bigger and better things.
“It would be all for naught if we go lay and egg in the Finals, and we understand that,” continued Udoka. “Guys were quick to celebrate but quick to flip the page and say, ‘we’ve got four more, we don’t hang or celebrate Eastern Conference championships in the Celtic organization.’ So we all fall in line and appreciate that standard of excellence.”
Players had a grand time soaking in Sunday night’s glory, because winning isn’t easy in the NBA. This core had chances to make the Finals in the past and came up short, so it’s important to recognize the accomplishment.
But their focus shifted quickly to the Warriors after a celebration in the locker room in Miami.
“We’re not satisfied. We know we’ve still got a long way to go,” said Jayson Tatum, who took home Larry Bird Eastern Conference MVP honors. “But I think it’s all right to enjoy this tonight and be happy because it’s hard. It’s not easy — clearly this is my first time being in the championship. It is not easy.
“We know we have a tough task ahead. They’ve been there many a times, they’ve won many a times,” Tatum said of Golden State. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Jaylen Brown, who averaged 24.1 points and 7.1 rebounds in the Eastern Conference Finals, is excited for the opportunity ahead.
“This is what all the work you put in your whole life for is to be in these moments, to play in the Finals, to represent not just the organization but your family, your community, your extended community. It doesn’t get too much better than that,” said Brown. “So we’ve got to embrace it, but also embrace the challenge because we’re playing a team that’s been there, done it before, and if we expect to win, we’ve got to come with our A game.”
While this Celtics group is going to their first NBA Finals, the Warriors have been one of the last two teams standing six of the last eight seasons. They’ve won three NBA titles over that span. Keeping Steph Curry from going wild, while also containing the likes of Klay Thompson, Jordon Poole and Draymond Green, will be no easy task.
But the Celtics have matched up well with the Warriors over the last seven years, going 9-5 against Golden State, and split their two meetings during the regular season.
The Celtics won’t be backing down from this next challenge, and like they have all season, will embrace any adversity that comes their way.
“We’re here now, just got to finish the deal,” said Udoka. “We played Golden State pretty well this year. Obviously beat them pretty bad late in the season where we were kind of rolling early in the season. Took a close loss. Had some guys in and out and they had a big lead early but we fought our way back. Story of the season, we’ve competed well against the best teams, and obviously you have to do that to make it to this point now.
“I’m very confident going in,” Udoka continued. “I know it’s another tough challenge. 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, executing team, has a ton of great shooters, great players overall, guys I know well, and we’re ready for the challenge.”
Game 1 of the NBA Finals is set for Thursday night in San Francisco.
CBSBoston.com Staff