INDIANAPOLIS — As the Celtics spilled out onto the court after the final buzzer of Game 4, it was certainly a familiar feeling for key members of the roster. They earned their second NBA Finals berth in the past three seasons, so plenty of players and coaches experienced that same high just two seasons ago.
But the C’s are a different team — and as they put it, it’s for the better. The path to the Finals, too, was far less stressful as the Celtics dominated the East playoffs. The C’s went 12-2 through the opening three rebounds, including a competitive sweep over the Pacers. Not only that: The Celtics were 6-0 in road games and 3-0 in closeout games.
That’s compared to the 2022 Finals run, which was a huge step for the current core to make it that far. But it was an arduous process to get there after the sweep over the Nets in the first round. The Celtics needed all seven games to beat the Bucks then Heat, then they had to fly to San Francisco to play the Warriors just days after an emotional win in Miami. So there was no surprise when the C’s ultimately ran out of gas in the six-game Finals loss to the Warriors.
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“It was a lot for our group,” Al Horford said. “It was very overwhelming, and I feel like we were trying to catch on the whole time there. And now we’ve put ourselves in position in the regular season to have homecourt advantage, to be in this position. And with this series, we’re taking advantage of the opportunities and playing the right way. I feel like we’re more mature and we’re in a better place.”
The Celtics are now seemingly in an opposite situation compared to that 2022 run. The Celtics needed only a pair of five-game series to beat the Heat then Cavaliers. Then, while the Pacers were plenty competitive, the C’s swept them in the East Finals. So they earned a 10-day break between the end of the conference finals and Game 1 of the Finals, which is set for June 6 in Boston.
Other than the schedule, the Celtics also say they’ve matured over the past two seasons. While it was an emotional high to get back to the Finals, they know this isn’t the end goal. Back in 2022, even getting to the Finals felt like such an accomplishment — especially over the Heat — after so many heartbreaking losses in the conference finals. But now, the C’s will be favored in the Finals to hang Banner No. 18.
“We feel like we’re a different team than we were last year and the year before that,” Jaylen Brown said. “I know everybody wants to continue to kind of pigeonhole us to what was happening in the past. But we’ve had a different team every single year, different coaches. We’ve had like three coaches in the last five years. And still people want to make it seem like it’s the same, it’s the same, it’s the same. Time has gone by, experience has been gained and I think we are ready to put our best foot forward.”
So the Celtics will get a lengthy break before taking on either the Mavericks or Timberwolves in the Finals. Considering Dallas leads that series 3-0, it looks like a matchup against former Celtics guard Kyrie Irving is in the works, along with all-world guard Luka Doncic. While the C’s didn’t think too much about the Finals on Monday, they’ll turn the page soon as they know the work isn’t done yet.
“Learning from our experience,” Jayson Tatum said. “That playoff run was a lot of ups and downs, obviously, we fell short of the ultimate goal. Last year, lost in the conference finals, so I think we just applied everything that we’ve learned to this season and this postseason and it’s been working really well.”
