The sting of the loss to the Warriors is still too fresh to move on to the offseason. I’m going to save that for next week, with looks at each player and their homework assignments for the short summer.
For now, I just want to take some time to look backwards one more time.
I think one of the biggest stories coming out of this Finals is going to be Jayson Tatum and the rough series he ended up having. In a lot of ways, this was simply a disappointing Finals for Boston’s budding superstar. His counting stats look good enough: 21.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 7 assists a game. 10 years from now when he’s 34 and we’re looking back on his career, this might just blend in with the rest of the numbers.
For now, though, we know that the 23 turnovers and 36.7% shooting was the real story for him, especially because he shot 45.5% on 3-pointers.
There's going to be a lot of hand-wringing because that's the world we live in now. Talking heads only get attention when they're loud and obnoxious and social media exacerbates the issue. People want to yell now and then figure things out later, and then hide behind “well I was right at the time.”
No, that's not how it works. I can call a baby an incontinent, crying jerk and technically be right at the time but most people would argue that we should let the kid grow up a little before making that kind of judgment.
Larry Bird, at 24-years-old, turned the ball over 19 times in the 1981 finals, shot 41.9%, and averaged 15.3 points per game. The Celtics won, but it was Cedric Maxwell who was the Finals MVP. Bird became a legend, and Tatum is still writing his story, but he’s already matched Bird on a few counts, so the early chapters are pretty good.
At the same time, we can all acknowledge that he has a ways to go. That's part of being 24 and having the weight of a franchise on his shoulders. He has a long list of things to work on.
But I can tell you this, the guy I saw on the podium after the game was crushed by the loss. I think Tatum really believed in his ability to carry this team to a championship and the sting of this loss hit him hard.
I’ve said all along that I’m not going to gatekeep fandom. You enjoy, or hate, the team as you see fit. I’m just here as more of a rudder. Use it if you want, or don’t.
Tatum certainly struggled, but I think he’s taking this loss to heart.
Since I’m sharing …
- Ime Udoka’s first season was basically the Kramer test drive.
No one thought they’d get as far as they did, and when they got to E, they kept on pushing past Milwaukee, past Miami, and almost to a championship. It was weird, it was trying, but Udoka was the constant.
I just want to reiterate how important having the right guys in the right places can be. Udoka is the right guy.
- I’m excited for Jaylen Brown getting a healthy offseason. I think his wrist surgery robbed him of opportunities to improve his ballhandling, which had been on the upswing until this season.
I think it’s the weakest point of his game, and any setback has the potential to be significant. I think we saw that this season, especially when you add the early COVID and hamstring absences.
- I feel for Al Horford. He was so good this season, and part of that was definitely because he took so much time off last year. The opposite was true of this season, and it makes you wonder how the Celtics will have to handle him next year.
There's just no way he can handle the same workload this upcoming season. The issue of maximizing Horford, a critical piece to Boston’s success, while also limiting him, is going to be a tough one for Boston this summer.
I think Horford knows that, which makes this failure a tough one. This was his best opportunity as one of the top guys. He’ll still be vital next season, but his role will also certainly change.
- On a personal note, I’m appreciative of this journey with this team. When you spend so much time discussing the ebbs and flows of a season -- 105 games worth of a season -- it’s hard not to get a little invested in the story.
I think the Celtics are lucky. They can mostly run it back, even though there will be tweaks to the personnel and offensive style. I think they're set up for a redemption narrative next playoffs, much like the 2014 Spurs on which Udoka was an assistant. I think it’s possible that this one lost title could be something that drives more than one championship run later on.
I also think I’m lucky, because this team is full of good people who are thoughtful about the game of basketball. In that sense, I think the city is lucky to have this group of guys to root for. I know people have personal biases against certain playing styles and decision-making, but this is a team full of good guys trying their best, and who came -this- close to a surprise championship.
This is a good group. This is a team you can root for on a lot of levels. I think they’ll learn, and that this is the start of something.