Is it doable that the Celtics are simply too good?
After Boston totally washed the ballyhooed new-look Knicks underneath a deluge of deep-cleaning threes, it’s honest to surprise the place the regular-season drama will come from. Can anyone cease Boston’s imply, inexperienced machine?
“It’s solely been one recreation,” I hear you saying. “Chill out!”
However that’s not strictly true. That is principally the identical crew as final 12 months, one which led the league with 30 wins of 15+ factors, 9 greater than final 12 months’s second-place crew (the Knicks, satirically), set the document for offensive ranking, and steamrolled each opponent within the playoffs. It was superior final 12 months, when Boston needed to implement their system and show it might climb the mountain; now, it feels anticipated. Pedestrian. Inevitable.
And inevitability, that lack of uncertainty, can result in disengagement, even boredom, till the stakes are increased.
Some individuals fearful {that a} championship hangover would possibly result in extra lackadaisical effort, however what if the other is true? What if, free from the burden of expectations, the Celtics can play looser and freer than ever? What if Joe Mazzulla and his employees spent one other summer time tinkering underneath the hood and discovered a option to rev Boston’s engine even increased? What if this crew by no means loses once more?
Okay, clearly, the Celtics will lose once more. Could be as quickly as subsequent recreation (though I definitely wouldn’t guess on the rebuilding and horrible Washington Wizards)! But when they win 65+ video games this 12 months, and 40 of them are demolition derbies wherein the Celtics are the monster truck, there’s a danger that the informal fan tunes out till the playoffs. It’s onerous to think about proper now, driving the highs of Opening Night time and the ring ceremony, however there’s some extent at which blowouts change into lower than must-see TV.
As a author, my creativity might be pushed to its limits. I must get away the thesaurus to seek out new methods to say “nice,” “unstoppable,” and “juggernautian.”
So as to add some drama to this season, notably for the non-die-hards, we’ll have to set some new, smaller objectives. Will Payton Pritchard earn Sixth Man of the Yr? (Not if he retains capturing 1-for-10 from the sector!) When (not if, when) will the Celtics hit 30 three-pointers? Can Boston match the Lakers with an NBA Cup micro-banner (Sure, I very a lot need Boston to go for the NBA Cup)? Can they make a push for 74 wins?
It’s onerous to think about a 70-plus-win crew in a league that more and more values well being and looking out on the lengthy image. And it’s unlikelier than ever, because of the excessive variance that heavy doses of three-point capturing create in dangerous and good groups alike. But it surely certain can be enjoyable to chase in a daily season that already seems like enjoying on simple mode!
I’m solely being half-serious, after all. Possibly three-quarters. Boston will lose just a few video games. Accidents could occur. And there are questions outdoors New England price listening to: What do retooled Philly and Milwaukee groups seem like? How a lot have the Thunder, Boston West, developed? Can anybody problem Purple Panda because the halftime leisure GOAT?
Nonetheless, for the Celtics, this common season already seems like a preseason to the true season. We would want some shorter-term objectives to liven issues up.
(Please don’t present this to non-Celtics followers; I don’t assume they’d respect it.)
