“I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good ol’ days before you’ve actually left them.” - Andy Bernard in The Office.
March is over, as is Boston’s longest road trip of the season, and this iteration of the Boston Celtics has proven itself, once again, to be among the best collections of talent in this franchise's history.
They went 14-1 in March, just the fifth time in team history a Celtics team has gone 14-1 or better. The other years it happened: 1959, 1973, 1980, and 1982. That means Bill Russell’s teams only did it once. Larry Bird’s did it twice. The vaunted ‘86 Celtics never did it. Neither did the ‘08 champs.
The Celtics went 6-0 on this road trip. No other Celtics team has done that before. One more road win will give them as many as Michael Jordan’s 72-win Chicago Bulls. Two more will match the 73-win Warriors.
Folks, these are the good ol’ days. Right now. You’re in them.
Every generation has the team they fell in love with, and no team will replace that. But this group of guys is worthy of their place in history. This group deserves the love and reverence that the other teams get. This team should start getting discussed in those same ways.
I know we all have our standards that these teams need to meet. Maybe for some of you, it’s a second championship. Maybe it’s wanting to see someone win an individual award like an MVP.
Personally, I’m not trying to stand here cross-armed, glaring down my glasses until these guys clear imaginary hurdles I’ve thrown in front of them. I think it’s time to accept them into the club of Boston’s elite generations.
Let’s look at what they’ve done already.
They’ve been to the NBA Finals twice, winning once, and a Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals over the past three seasons, and they are currently the favorites to repeat.
Jayson Tatum has never missed a playoffs in his eight seasons as a pro. He’s been to five Conference Finals and only failed to advance out of the first round once. Jaylen Brown has been to the playoffs seven times and missed the first-round exit due to injury.
This team, with them as leaders, has won a lot of playoff games.
There also might be four future Hall of Famers on this team right now. Tatum is a lock as a five-time All-NBA player and six-time All-Star. He owns the highest single-season scoring average in team history (30.1 ppg) and is tied with Larry Bird for the single-game scoring record.
Brown might already be in, too. He's won a Finals and Conference Finals MVP, he’s a four-time All-Star, and he’s made an All-NBA team.
Jrue Holiday has a case as a two-time champion, six-time All-Defensive team, and two-time All-Star with more than 16,000 points on his resume … not to mention his international success.
And Al Horford can make a case with two NCAA championships and an NBA title, as well as his longevity. He has a chance to become one of the NBA’s top 50 rebounders of all time while getting to 15,000 points.
Another championship would probably seal inclusion into the Hall for all four of them. It’s way too early to tell whether Joe Mazzulla will join them, but two championships in his first three seasons would be a hell of an opening act for his career. He’s already only one of three Celtics coaches, along with KC Jones and Bill Fitch, to start his Celtics run with three seasons of 55 wins or more.
And while we’re at it, Brad Stevens is making a pretty good case for himself based on his run at Butler, coaching success in Boston, and now front office brilliance.
There is a LOT of talent on this team, and I haven't even gotten into, perhaps, the most fun and likable guys on the team: Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis, and Payton Pritchard.
I don’t know how this season will play out. Oklahoma City is having one of the most dominant seasons in NBA history while Cleveland just picked up their 60th win. Other teams will have something to say about this version of the Celtics winning a second championship.
But this group has already shown itself to be special. We can now look back on December and January and understand that was just a good team biding its time, knowing when to expend energy and when to conserve it. I’m done looking at these guys like some young team with something to prove.
They’ve proven it. This is a veteran team. Their top six guys have been in the league for at least seven seasons. No one among their top nine players is younger than 27. Hell, their rookie is 24.
I won’t make the mistake of not realizing the moment until it’s too late. This group is doing special things. They are setting themselves apart. These are the good ol’ days, happening in real-time.
Someday we’ll be telling the stories of the 20’s Celtics. I hope you’ve been taking good notes.