A look back at the roller coaster 2021/22 season for the Celtics as they prepare to start the NBA Finals against the Warriors, plus what it means to continue the legacy in Boston in trying to raise another banner
The Boston Celtics have plenty of playoff experience, but the NBA Finals is a totally different stage.
The Celtics have reached the Eastern Conference Finals four times in the last six years, and they finally broke through this season by beating the Miami Heat in Game 7 on the road.
After several seasons of playoff disappointment, the Celtics are just four wins away from a record 18th championship.
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Are these young Celtics ready for the biggest spotlight in basketball?
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The team's two best players -- Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown -- are 24 and 25 years old, respectively. Marcus Smart is 28. Derrick White is 27. Payton Pritchard and Robert Williams are 24. Grant Williams is 23. The only 10-year veteran who plays a significant role is 35-year-old Al Horford, who is making his first Finals appearance since coming into the league in 2007-08.
Boston Celtics
Young cores reaching the Finals is not uncommon. That said, these teams have often fared poorly in their first trip to the Finals, although there are some exceptions. Some of them never made it back with that same core.
Let's take a look at recent examples before predicting if the Celtics will have more success.
1985-86 Houston Rockets
The Rockets were ahead of schedule in 1985-86 and, led by the ultra-talented center duo of former No. 1 draft picks Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon, they shockingly upset the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.
Sampson's buzzer-beating and series-clinching shot in Game 5 punched Houston's ticket to the NBA Finals. But that's where the fun ended for the Rockets, who were defeated in six games by a Celtics team that many experts consider the best in league history.
Still, the future looked bright for the Rockets. Unfortunately for Houston, it didn't get back to the Finals until 1994 when only Olajuwon remained from the 1985-86 squad. Injuries and suspensions derailed a Rockets franchise that looked poisef to take over the West in the late 1980s.
1990-91 Chicago Bulls
The Celtics couldn't get past the conference finals in recent seasons before finally breaking through this year. The Bulls went through something similar in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
They were eliminated by the Pistons in the conference finals in 1989 and 1990 before sweeping Detroit in 1991 en route to the franchise's first NBA Finals with Michael Jordan. Jordan was in his sixth season. Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant were both in their third campaign.
After losing Game 1 to the veteran Los Angeles Lakers at home, the Bulls won the next four to claim the first of their six titles in eight years. The Lakers were making their sixth finals appearance in an eight-year span in 1991, with three championships over that span.
The Warriors are in the same situation in 2022. Will Golden State suffer the same fate as that 1991 Lakers squad?
1994-95 Orlando Magic
The Magic got lucky and won the NBA Draft Lottery in 1992 and 1993. They selected prized center Shaquille O'Neal and Chris Webber with those picks. On draft night in 1993, they traded Webber to the Golden State Warriors in a deal that sent guard Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway to the Magic, in addition to draft picks.
Orlando made its first deep run in the 1995 playoffs. They defeated the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals for the franchise's first NBA Finals berth. The hype around the Magic was so intense that NBC Sports' Bob Costas said this before Game 1:
"The Orlando Magic is universally regarded as the NBA's team of the future. There are almost certainly championships ahead for Shaquille O'Neal, Anfernee Hardaway and company. The question is whether the Rockets can make them wait a little longer."
The Magic led Game 1 by three with 10.5 seconds left in regulation when Orlando forward Nick Anderson went to the free throw line. He missed both attempts, but got his own rebound and was fouled again. Anderson missed both again. Rockets guard Kenny Smith nailed a game-tying 3-pointer to force overtime, and Olajuwon secured victory for Houston with a tip-in with 0.3 seconds remaining.
It was one of the most devastating Finals losses ever, and the young Magic never recovered. They were swept by the Rockets. Anderson was a different player the rest of his career. The Magic went to the conference finals the next season and were swept by the 72-win Chicago Bulls. O'Neal left in free agency that summer and Hardaway's career was destroyed by injuries.
The Magic didn't return to the NBA Finals until 2009, and they are still searching for their first title.
2006-07 Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers were literally carried to the NBA Finals by one player -- a 22-year-old LeBron James. He was brilliant in the conference finals, defeating the Detroit Pistons almost single-handedly.
The run ended in the NBA Finals, where the Cavs were no match for the more talented, more experienced and deeper San Antonio Spurs led by Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. The Spurs swept the Cavaliers for their third title in five years.
Even though the Cavs hadn't surrounded James with a ton of talent, it was almost unthinkable, at the time, to suggest they wouldn't get back to the Finals with him again until 2016. The Cavs failed to reach the Finals the next three years and then James left in free agency to join the Miami Heat. He returned to Cleveland for the 2014-15 season and led the Cavs to four consecutive NBA Finals appearances, including a title in 2016.
2011-12 Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder looked like the next dominant team in the West after they eliminated the veteran Spurs in the conference finals. OKC had a star trio of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. None of them had even hit their prime.
The Thunder even defeated the LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh-led Miami Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Oklahoma City's moment of glory seemed to be imminent.
But that's where the party ended for the Thunder as the Heat won the next four games, and James finally won his first championship.
Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets before the following season. Injury derailed Durant during the 2014-15 season. Westbrook played just 46 games in 2013-14. The Thunder had a 3-1 lead over the Warriors in the 2016 Western Conference Finals and blew it. Durant left to join the Warriors in a stunning free agent move the ensuing offseason. Westbrook was traded to the Houston Rockets in 2018.
The Thunder are one of the biggest "What If" teams in league history. Would they have at least one title if Harden wasn't traded? There's no question that core, whether it was all three of them or just Durant-Westbrook, should've had more postseason success.
2014-15 Golden State Warriors
The Warriors made their first NBA Finals since 1975 when they defeated the Rockets in the conference finals. Golden State was led by the same star trio that anchors the team in 2022. Stephen Curry was in his fifth season. Klay Thompson was in his third season, and Draymond Green was in his second.
It took six games for the Warriors to eliminate LeBron James and an injured Cavaliers team that lost Kyrie Irving to a knee injury in Game 1 and didn't have Kevin Love because of an injury suffered in Round 1.
The Warriors became the first team to blow a 3-1 Finals lead the following season when James led the Cavs to their first title. After adding Durant that summer, the Warriors won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018 at Cleveland's expense. They reached the 2019 NBA Finals, too, but injuries to Durant and Thompson helped the Toronto Raptors win the series in six games.
Now the Warriors are back, looking to enhance their legacy with a fourth crown in eight seasons.
What about the 2021-22 Boston Celtics?
The Celtics are better equipped than several of these teams to knock off the more experienced opponent in the NBA Finals. Why is that?
Let's start with defense.
The C's are the No. 1 ranked defensive team and have the ideal roster to defend this high-powered Warriors offense with an excellent blend of versatility, switchability, length, high IQ, athleticism and raw talent. Boston has three or four players who could do a good job slowing down Curry and make him work hard for every basket. A league-high six Celtics players received All-Defensive team votes.
Even though the Celtics don't have any Finals experience, they have played in several high-pressure games in recent years. Smart and Brown have played in four conference finals. Tatum has played in three. Boston has played in six Game 7s since the start of 2017 and won five of them, including two this postseason against the defending champion Bucks and on the road versus the Heat in the conference finals.
The Celtics also have a top 10-player in Tatum and a top 20-player in Brown -- two dynamic All-Star-caliber guys who have awesome two-way skill sets.
This Celtics team has a lot of similarities to the 2014-15 Warriors squad that won its first title in its first Finals appearance as a group. Now it's time to prove it on the court, beginning Thursday night in Game 1.
