The Boston Celtics…A Tale of Too Much talent
“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.”
-Michael Jordan
The Boston Celtics were doomed to fail. If you take a glimpse of them from the outside that remark sounds outrageous right? They have enough talent in that locker room for two teams, but when you hone in on what’s really going on behind the scenes at the TD Garden, you realize there wasn’t a chance this team would have ever succeeded. That’s what we’re going to dive into today. But first, let’s go back to when it seemed Boston was destined for a championship. Before all the drama and trades. Let’s start this story at the very beginning with who it all started with: Isaiah Thomas.
The Beginning of Something Great: Landing Isaiah Thomas
What if I told you a 5’9 point guard who was the very last pick in his draft-class would bring the most iconic NBA team back to relevancy? No, this isn’t a 30-for-30, but this is where our story begins. On February 19, 2015, Isaiah Thomas was traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Marcus Thornton and a 2016 first-round pick. At the time, he was a decent scorer who was having a good year averaging 15.2 PPG off the bench in Phoenix. As soon as he landed in Boston, he started playing out of his mind, and this much was clear: I.T was BORN to be a Celtic. Thomas ended the season averaging 19.0 PPG, and the Celtics rallied six straight wins to end the season at 40-42, landing a spot in the playoffs as the 7th seed. Although they were ultimately swept in four games by LeBron James and his new Cavaliers squad, the future looked bright in Boston. It appeared that way because it was that way, and that takes us to the 2015-2016 season.
One Step Forward: Subtle Improvement
The 2015-2016 season was looking much better for the Celtics, and Isaiah Thomas was the man responsible. This season, he improved yet again averaging 22.2 PPG and led this hard-working Celtics squad to a 48-34 record, which put them two seeds higher than the previous year at the 5th spot. They did however loose to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, but it was different this time. They only lost in six games, and they won back-to-back games at home in the series. It may not seem impressive, but this Hawks team won 60 games the previous year so they were an established juggernaut in the East (I know the Cavs beat them senseless, I’m trying to make a point). This was a huge step forward, and next year, a leap was about to be made.
When it clicked: IT’s MVP Caliber season
Out of nowhere, this 5’9” dead-last pick in the draft breaks out and has a career year, averaging 28.9 PPG and finishing top three in the MVP race. With his teammates backing him up, he led this monster Celtics team to a 53-29 record, clinching the 1 seed in the East. This team had finally hit it’s stride, and it showed in the post-season. Although they dropped the first two games to Chicago in the first-round, they rallied for four straight wins and took the series in six games. They were then faced with John Wall and the Washington Wizards in the second round which was a very good matchup. They went back and forth, taking turns delivering beatings, but Boston came out victorious in seven games. They were then faced with the defending world champion Cleveland Cavaliers, led by no other than LeBron James, and this is where our story takes a turn.
The Beginning of the downfall: Isaiah’s Hip Injury
Thomas entered the playoffs with a hip injury he suffered during a regular season game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He sat two games after that injury, and then hurt it again in game six of the conference semi-finals against the Wizards. He was able to play through it, until he ran into a screen set by Kevin Love in game two of the Eastern Conference Finals. The hit he took caused a lot of swelling in his hip, and the doctors deemed him unable to play. To be fair, the Cavs were already bringing the heat against the Celtics and ended up beating the C’s in just five games. I don’t personally believe that they would have had any more success with Isaiah playing, but that’s not the point. This injury was going to keep Thomas out for a very long time, and that was a big reason why these next events took place.
A Change of Leadership: The Trade for Kyrie Irving
Very early into the 2017 off-season, the most surprising thing happened. Kyrie Irving, the all-star point guard on the Cleveland Cavaliers, requested a trade. This was shocking news for everyone, not just us Cavs fans, because the Cavaliers were in the finals three straight years and won a championship in one of those. It was eventually found out that the flat-earther wanted his own team and didn’t like playing in LeBron’s shadow. Kyrie didn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract, so he had no say in where he would be traded, or rather if he were to be traded at all. Cleveland’s front office was listening to pitches from every team. The offer they felt would suit them best was from the Boston Celtics. The Celtics traded Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and the Brooklyn Nets 2018 1st round pick for Kyrie Irving. Insane. After all Isaiah went through for the city of Boston, they trade him at the first chance to get someone better. Above all, the NBA is a business, and Isaiah Thomas learned that the hard way. Now the Celtics had a whole new team moving into the 2017-2018 season. Kyrie was now their leader and Boston fans were feeling excited, yet bittersweet about the point guard swap. There was one last thing Isaiah Thomas did as a Celtic, and that brings us to the next phase of this deceiving downward spiral.
Gordon Hayward: An Unfortunate Fate
The last thing Isaiah did before he left was recruit Gordon Hayward to Boston. He ended up signing a huge contract that currently pays him over $30M per-year. He was an all-star at the time, and he seemed like a good fit to compliment Kyrie Irving. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, and it didn’t last long at all. And by not long, I mean it lasted just a tad over 5 minutes. For those of you who don’t know, on the first game of the 2017-2018 season the Cavs hosted the Celtics in what was sure to be a very interesting game that I was able to see live. With 6:50 left in the 1st quarter, Kyrie tossed an alley-oop to a cutting Hayward. It was heavily contested by LeBron James, and when Gordon came down, his ankle snapped in such a way that his foot was facing the wrong direction. It was gruesome to watch, so I’m not going to show a picture, but if you want to see what unfolded here is the link to the video: https://youtu.be/ALnS-awK1jI
It was a tragedy, but I’ll say it again, the NBA is a business. Now the C’s are paying someone who will not play all year nearly $30M, and you know he’s not going to come back still being worth that price. So unfortunately, this ended up being a big mistake. Even with Hayward becoming an issue rather than asset, his presence didn’t matter that season. In fact, it allowed the younger guys on the team to blossom, and of course, that should be a good thing. But it wasn’t, and we didn’t know that yet because Boston was riding high all-season long.
The 2017-2018 season: Moving On
Loosing Hayward didn’t stop this Boston team from winning games. The young guys on the team were being asked to play more minutes, and they stepped up to the plate. Players like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier were all of the sudden making headlines and forming the team’s identity on their own. They did about as good as everyone expected, finishing at the two seed with a 55-27 record. But at the end of the season, Kyrie Irving went down with and injury and was going to be out for the remainder of the year, including the post-season. Without having their best scorer for the playoffs, you might think they’re not going far right? Wrong. This is where it gets interesting.
A Post-Season Miracle: The 2018 Playoffs
No Kyrie Irving. No Gordon Hayward. The Celtics had a 24-year-old Terry Rozier, a 21-year-old Jaylen Brown, and a 20-year-old Jayson Tatum running the show for them in the playoffs led by veteran Al Horford. In the first round they squared off against another young and up-and-coming team-the Milwaukee Bucks, who were led by Giannis Antetokounmpo (a.k.a “The Greek Freak”). This was a very hard-fought series, but the Celtics were fortunate enough to come out of it after being taken to seven games, which earned them the right to move on and face off against “the process” in Philadelphia. Going into this series, most people were expecting the Philadelphia 76ers to win the series, and with good reason. They had the rookie of the year, along with all-star center Joel Embiid, not to mention they won 16 straight games to end the season and then proceeded to wipe away Miami in the first round after just five games. Karma hit the 76ers instantly as this young Boston Celtics team delivered a beating in just five games. At this point, there was only one player left in their way of giving this miracle season a happy ending: LeBron James.
One Last Success: The 2018 Eastern Conference Finals
Although LeBron and the Cavs were the conference champions for three years straight, this Cleveland team was different. Or in a better sense, worse. They were only the 4th seed and had no Kyrie Irving. They struggled in the first round as the Indiana Pacers took them to 7 games. They appeared weak. They were no longer sweeping their way to the NBA Finals, and Boston couldn’t wait to face them. Boston won the first two games at home, and the city was electric. Was this team seriously about to take out the big bad wolf? After all the pain and misery he’d caused them? It appeared so, but after Cleveland rallied back and won both games at home to even up the series, doubt began to arise. Boston and Cleveland both went on to win their next game at home. Now we were onto game 7. On one hand, neither team had won on the road yet in this series and they were playing in Boston. On the other hand, LeBron is 6-0 in game 7s in the last decade. Who had the advantage? Who was going to win? We didn’t find out until the final minute. But again, the king emerged victorious and in route to his 4th straight finals. The heartbreak in Boston was real, but they no had so much to look forward to. Without their two best players, they got to game 7 in the eastern conference finals. It could only be up from, here right?
Tale of 2019: Not enough minutes
There is a big issue with what happened in the previous year. The two players that got the most minutes were going to come back, and they probably expected they’d get the same number of minutes. Boston Fans were excited, and I understand where they were coming from. They’d seen what their young guys were capable of, and now they were adding two all-stars to the roster after an incredible season. This is real life though, with real personalities and egos that get in the way. The NBA is not at all like 2K. Just because it looks good on paper, doesn’t mean it’s going to work out. Terry Rozier, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were all getting more minutes, and as a result, were being way more productive. That’s what you want to see out of your players, so no harm there. The issue is these players have rightfully earned their minutes. That’s the way it’s supposed to go in the NBA. You earn minutes by making the most out of them. If a player improves and the team winds up a minute away from the NBA Finals with said player being a key component in the rotation, that player should keep his minutes. There was no way to fix this, they were doomed. Kyrie Irving is the face of the team and the best player. Gordon Hayward is being paid $32M. They are starters. They have to start, but what about last year? What about what those guys accomplished as a team? What about how much better they have gotten? What about that amazing chemistry they held?
Besides not being as productive, now they weren’t being talked about by the media as much, and that’s just as bad. These are young guys who are trying to make a name for themselves so they can grow in popularity and net worth. All of those guys were personally growing their brand. For example, Rozier earned the nickname “Scary Terry” and sold these of T-Shirts.
Jayson Tatum was drawing comparisons to Kobe Bryant and Paul Pierce as he was the primary scoring option during their run in 2018. Jaylen Browns was growing his brand as well. This can lead to bigger contracts (more money), endorsements (again, more money), and all-star selections. The Celtics were now ripping opportunities away from these players by cutting down their minutes after they performed above and beyond expectations. This is obviously going to cause a lot of issues. Players who earned more minutes are being told they’re playing less, and two guys who had nothing to do with last-year’s playoff run are the ones that are getting them. All of that is enough to cause disfunction, but we also need to remember how terrible of a leader Kyrie Irving was. Throwing his teammates under the bus after losses, playing incredibly selfish, and causing a lot of drama. Sure, this team was going to win games. But they weren’t going to accomplish anything.
Post-Season Disaster: A Bucks Beatdown
Winning six less games than the previous year with nothing but drama surrounding the franchise, they were only the 5th seed. Luckily for them, they were going up against an injury-plagued Indiana Pacers that was missing it’s best player. Boston swept them, but it wasn’t an easy sweep. The Celtics did not look that good in the series, and next round would be where our story (for now) ends.
The Boston Celtics vs Milwaukee Bucks series was supposed to be a very even battle. Many analysists were predicting it would go to 6 or 7 games. A good amount of them also had the Celtics winning the series. For a very brief moment, it looked like they would be right. Game one was a blowout win for the Celtics. They were able to emerge victorious, winning 112-90 at the fiserv.forum. Celtics legend Paul Pierce was bold enough to say that the series was already over, and that the bucks stood no chance. Per-usual, he was dead wrong. Milwaukee was able to rally four straight wins. What went wrong?
The Verdict
The Celtics didn’t play “team-ball” in this series. Kyrie Irving shot 29.7% from the field in those last four games. He kept shooting-but he kept missing. The Celtics as a whole played selfish, lots of one-on-one ball and low percentage shot attempts from multiple players on the team. This is what separates good teammates from bad teammates. Good players can shoot poorly and still help their team succeed. How many times have we seen Kyle Lowry have a terrible playoff performance? Does he just keep shooting? Or does he try to create open shots for his teammates instead? As you may have guessed, its option two. He knows he’s shooting poorly, so he does everything else he can to ensure his team wins. When you’re a top-three scoring option on your team and you’re not hitting your shots, you need to be a team player and try to get other guys on your team to carry the load for you. Create open shots, play lock-down defense, make call outs. Kyrie Irving doesn’t do that. That’s why a team led by him won’t succeed. He only cares about his personal play, and many other guys on the Celtics have followed suit. They crashed and burned. Now Celtics’ fans want Kyrie gone, and I don’t blame them at all. Terry Rozier has admitted on live TV that he’s unhappy playing in the shadows. Kyrie has given multiple hints that he’s gone July 1st, Gordon Hayward is a shell of his former self. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum took many steps backwards.
It’s a chaotic frenzy in Boston right now, but they’re not even in a bad spot. The Celtics have young promising players on good contracts along with a few good picks in the next few upcoming drafts, not to mention a good coach in Brad Stevens. No coach could have managed that many egos. I don’t put the blame on him at all. If you want a really funny and exaggerated look at the Celtics locker room I’m describing, watch this “Game of Zones” episode: https://youtu.be/zXgOUAMtcds
This team can still be good, but it will have to wait. The Kyrie Irving/Gordon Hayward experiment didn’t work out. That’s a shame. But seriously Boston fans, its only up from here.