Celtics are back

The Boston Celtics saw their impressive run in the 2017-2018 National Basketball Association season come to an end on Monday after losing in Game Seven of their Eastern Conference finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But considering the journey they had throughout, the Celtics has no reason to bow their heads in defeat for the way they “overachieved” this season they are every bit winners.
Some would say such is just pure consolatory talk for a job well done but in the case of the Celtics you cannot avoid bringing it to the fore because it was how Boston’s story unfolded this season.
They lost potentially one of their better players in Gordon Hayward on opening night to a season-ending leg injury yet the Celtics were a top-echelon team in the regular season, even taking hold of the number one spot in the East for some time.
Just when it seems like the team had recovered from Hayward’s injury, with stepped-up plays from young guns Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier III, the Celtics would go on and lose their best player in Kyrie Irving to a season-ending knee surgery in the tailend of the regular season.
Yet the Celtics had the second best record in the East heading into the playoffs, moved on to survive Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in the opening round in seven games before outclassing Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers, 4-1, in the East semifinals.
In the Eastern Finals, despite their solid play up to that point, not many really gave the Celtics much chance against erstwhile struggling but at that point rejuvenated Cleveland Cavaliers, led by the great LeBron James.
But chance Boston had a lot of, thanks in large part to their collective effort under the baton of coach Brad Stevens.
The Celtics took a 2-0 lead and eventually wound up with two solid shots at booking a spot in the NBA Finals after going up 3-2 in the series.
James and the Cavaliers though would eventually deliver from their end, exposing the Celtics’ lack of experience in big-game situations collectively.
It was very evident during the closing moments of Game Seven when the Celtics just could not counter the blows of the Cavaliers en route to the defeat and exit.
That being said though, the Celtics should only come out for the better following the kind of season they had.
You have a young triumvirate of Tatum, Brown and Rozier to count on moving forward in tandem with the steady talents of Irving, Hayward, Al Horford, Marcus Morris and Marcus Smart.
Then there is the brilliant coaching mind of Stevens, who more than the Xs and Os seemingly have a great connect with his players which only makes him all the more an effective coach.
Of course, falling short Boston still needs to put in the work, and maybe add another piece or two, to go over the hump as they say, something that I am counting on seeing the result of come next season.
In the last couple of years we have been hearing that Boston was on its way back to the top, and after this season I have to say it is back and would continue to be in the mix of contenders for years to come.
 
Michael Angelo S. Murillo has been a columnist since 2003. He is a BusinessWorld reporter covering the Sports beat.
msmurillo@www.bworldonline.com