My Favorite Moments
God I miss the Celtics. It’s been a while since I’ve written an article about them, so I just wanted to take a few minutes and appreciate everything they gave us this season, if it is truly over. (Which I don’t think it is…)
From the very start of the season, we saw games where even though they were rarely healthy, they managed to scrape together wins in the scrappiest ways possible. We saw Enes Kanter go nuts on the offensive glass, Daniel Theis blossom into a legitimate starting center, and Robert Williams display insane athleticism when he managed to stay on the court.
We saw Tremont Waters dominate the G-League, Carsen Edwards drop nine threes in a quarter (I don’t care if it was preseason), and Romeo Langford clutch up against the Hawks. There was Javonte Green’s unfathomable dunking ability, Vincent Poirier’s unmatched drip, and even Brad Wanamaker dunking over Joel Embiid (no way he should’ve gotten a tech). Semi Ojeleye finally showed some offensive promise, and Grant Williams proved to have an elite basketball IQ if I’ve ever seen one.
I even miss Brad Stevens. Not even any specific thing about him. Just all of him. His inbound plays. His interviews. His funny yet completely stone-faced personality. All of it.
Marcus Smart lit up the Suns for a career high, even if it was during a loss. He pulled off even more of the classic hustle plays we’ve grown to love him for. However, my favorite moment has to be when he stole the ball from the Kawhi, dove on the ground, and smacked it off of his foot to get the ball back late in the game.
Jaylen Brown started off the year getting paid the big bucks, putting the pressure on him to produce - and boy did he produce. He was a borderline All-Star who always managed to quietly score his 20+ and contribute solid defense. My favorite moments had to be that run he had in late-December/early-January, highlighted with his amazing game on Christmas day, and obviously his insane shot against the Rockets late in the season.
Gordon Hayward came back with a vengeance. Shoutout to @AdamTaylorNBA for explaining over and over again just how important this guy is to the team. He showed that he just might be the best playmaker on the entire team, and although he may have an off night here and there (like every player EVER), he was probably one of the most efficient shooters on the team. I still look back on that game against Cleveland earlier in the year as my favorite highlight of his.
Kemba Walker came to Boston and proved that he is an elite point guard in this league. With all of the drama surrounding the team last year, it was so refreshing to have a leader who was okay with sharing the spotlight. Kemba didn’t care about anything but winning, and it showed. Out of everything, my favorite moment has to be his statement game in the home opener, which I was lucky enough to be in attendance for. After struggling in the season opener, he proved to everybody that he belongs in Boston, and Boston has loved him ever since.
Then there’s Jayson Tatum. I don’t really know what I can say that hasn’t already been said time and time again. The guy is a superstar. In my opinion, he’s the best player on the team, and that’s not a knock on anyone, it’s just saying how insane Tatum really is. You can sit back and say that he needs to prove it more, or that he hasn’t done enough to be labeled a superstar yet, but let’s be real. Jayson Tatum is elite. The moment that this fact was sealed for me, and my favorite Tatum moment of the season is an odd one. It’s not his crazy clutch bucket against the Clippers. Or the one against the Knicks. Or the one against any other team in the league. It was when he went to battle with LeBron in LA (without Kemba by the way) and almost came out with the win. I don’t care if the game ended in a tough loss, it showed me that Jayson Tatum is, and will be for a long time, a superstar.
That’s my analysis. My favorite thing about everybody on the team. Except one guy…
Please get me back soon so I can hear the Tacko chants again. That might be what hurts the most. I was at the Garden when Brad Stevens egged on the crowd during the Tacko chants. There’s just nothing like it.
Miss you Tacko.
Miss you Boston.
Miss you TD Garden.
Miss you Celtics.
