Welcome Everybody To The Biggest Celtics Season Of The Entire Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown Era
Nathaniel S. Butler. Getty Images.
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The day has finally arrived. I don't know about anyone else, but the last 149 days since the Celtics played a basketball game that counted felt more like 500 to my brain. The Summer League helped get over the initial pain of the ECF, the preseason scratched the basketball itch and helped recharge the batteries, but now, the true fun begins.
And while this group will look a lot different than any of us could have imagined, one thing remains true.
Today marks the start of the biggest season of the entire Tatum and Brown era.
We've seen a lot since this duo was formed in 2017, but this year is different. That's not to say the Celts weren't capable of winning a title before, I'd argue that actually, the last two years were the first seasons where the expectation was Finals/title. But just run down the list:
- Improved high end talent…check
- Tatum and Brown one step closer to their NBA prime ages….check
- A head coach with actual experience now…check
- A legit coaching staff….check
- Shooting….check
- Defense…..check
- Versatility….check
And while the additions of Porzingis and Jrue Holiday are going to be important, let's not lose sight of the plot. For any of this to work, it falls on the shoulders of their two best players: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Looking back to the last two seasons of excruciating disappointment, ultimately it was the two franchise pillars who weren't quite good enough when the team needed them most. The Celts didn't come up short these last two years because of Marcus Smart's shooting or Robert Williams' injury history. In 2022 it was Jayson Tatum's brutal Finals and in 2023 it was Jaylen Brown's horrific ECF, especially Game 7. That's the honest truth.
Now, the new additions in theory should help make both of their lives easier, which is why Brad did what he did. Porzingis gives them an elite offensive 3rd option who can hurt the defense in a variety of ways, which opens things up for the best players. Holiday is going to give you the defense, playmaking, maturity, and toughness that is important if you want to win a title. Derrick is bald now so that impact goes without saying.
But at the end of the day, everything still comes back to Tatum and Brown. This is it, there really isn't a single excuse to be found as to why they shouldn't be able to get this done (barring health). The coaching is there, the talent is there, and maybe most importantly, the pain of failure is there.
What I want to see is a Celtics team that is mature enough to not buy into their own hype. That had been a problem that usually hurt them at the worst time. All this talk about title favorites and how stacked they are and how great they are, it may all be true but I'd like to see this team not skip steps. You have to walk before you can run, and to me that starts today. Come out and establish yourself as a force to be reckoned with, which is why I sort of like that they are debuting against the Knicks at MSG. That's a tough team that isn't going to be afraid of you. Show me you can rise up to the challenge and execute in a hostile environment. Show me you're ready to carry the expectations that come with being a title favorite.
To do that, it again comes back to their best players. They set the tone for everything, and based on how they're talking
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I tend to believe they are ready.
Of course, these are our beloved Celtics we're talking about here, which also means today is the start of a journey that is sure to bring us pain along the way. They're still going to do dumb shit at times, they'll lose games they shouldn't, all the normal stuff that happens over the course of an 82 game schedule. But there's simply no arguing that this is probably the most talented collection of players the Celts have ever had during the Tatunm/Brown era. We haven't seen a versatile big like Porzingis since Kevin Garnett.
These last few years it almost felt like we were playing with house money given the fact that Tatum and Brown were so young. NBA players don't really start contending/winning titles until around age 27. Well, Jaylen Brown turned 27 yesterday. Tatum will turn 26 right before the playoffs. This is it, we are beginning to enter the early stage of their NBA primes, when you expect the best of the best to come through and reach the top of the mountain.
That's why I view this season as the "biggest" or "most important" of the Tatum/Brown era. And guess what? It's only going to increase the next few years. The Celts have only a handful of seasons to get this done before the contract situations makes things a little dicey, so the time to pounce is now.
After such a long wait, it feels great that we're finally getting started with the games that count. I look forward to going through the next 8+ months with you all, because it's going to be one of the craziest rollercoasters of our lives. This is it, it's a true title or bust season in every way.
The journey to Banner 18 begins now. LFG.