C’s youth all grown up
Veterans count on Tatum & Co. to win
Brad Stevens has functioned under a large historical shadow since he joined the Celtics five seasons ago.
His teams have won more and gone further in the postseason each year. Now that he’s returning to the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight season, again against Cleveland, the Celtics coach remains very aware of the standard he’s chasing.
“When you get here, you’re flattered by the thought of the Boston Celtics and all you’re thinking about is the tradition and history,” said Stevens. “You realize that if you’re going to break records here, you’re probably going to break bad ones, because none of the good ones are reachable.
“And so, ultimately, you know you’re going to get a chance to play in a great city in front of great fans, and the responsibility that comes with that, our guys feel,” he said. “And I think that that makes you — no matter what people have predicted you will be — play at a togetherness and a toughness level that is OK in this town. And I think that that’s really important.
“Our guys really embrace that. The thing that I would say is that I always hoped we would get to the point where if things don’t go our way, we’re still extremely competitive because we have a kind of a foundation in place. These guys are really talented, they’re really tough, they fit Boston, and hopefully we’ll keep playing well.”
Most, including Las Vegas, had them losing to Philadelphia, and a mild favorite at best against Milwaukee in the first round. The Celtics’ troubles against the Bucks considered, that was a good call.
But with Jayson Tatum, Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown all moving up quickly on the growth chart because of the opportunities created by season-ending injuries to Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving, the Celtics have actually improved since the Milwaukee series.
Tatum outplayed his peer — rookie of the year favorite Ben Simmons — and has now scored 20 points in seven straight playoff games. He scored the goahead basket in the Celtics’ 9-3 run over the last 1:27 of their Game 5 win over Philadelphia, and scored 10 of his team-high 25 points in the fourth.
Like Rozier and Brown, the 20-year-old Tatum is playing better in these moments. And when the conference finals move to Cleveland on May 19 for Game 3 — the Celtics’ first visit to Quicken Loans Arena since Hayward’s gruesome opening night injury — this nascent core will attempt to again carry this veteran load.
“It’s a sight to see,” Marcus Smart said of his young teammates. “Those guys, they’ve been thrown in the fire early and they’ve responded very well and exceeded probably expectations that guys had for this team and us. And they only keep getting better.”
When it was suggested that Smart has filled the old man’s role for his younger teammates, the 24-year-old laughed.
“Old man, that’s crazy. I’m the youngest out of everybody except those guys,” he said. “But just with me, Al (Horford), Terry, Jaylen, we’ve been here from that team from last year, just kind of letting guys know it’s not going to be easy. I just have to keep guys on track and hold guys accountable.”
In an interesting twist, the older members of this team trust their younger teammates to carry a veteran load.
“It’s a great feeling,” Tatum said of the trust he’s receiving. “You work all season to earn the trust of your teammates and coaching staff for moments like this, whether it’s finding Al on the lob or a layup. We’re just trying to make the right play.”
Tatum couldn’t feel more different from opening night in Cleveland, and his first NBA game.
“It’s like night and day. I remember the first time we played them, I was so nervous,” he said. “It’s been 90 games since then and I’ve been through a lot. A lot more relaxed and calm. I’m ready to go out there and play.
“I didn’t know what to expect going into the season. Our team looked a lot different than it does today. I never would have imagined that would happen.”