Celtics
“You know you’re getting everybody’s best shot, because you’re now the hunted.”
Steph Curry is very familiar with the position that Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the rest of the Celtics find themselves in this fall.
After securing their sought-after 18th title in June, the Celtics have already set their sights on capturing Banner 19 next summer, hoping to become the first back-to-back champions since Curry and the Warriors accomplished the feat in 2017 and 2018.
So far, the Celtics have largely answered the challenge set down by Joe Mazzulla when it comes to reestablishing themselves as contenders.
But even with the Celtics opening the 2024-25 campaign with a 7-2 record, Curry offered up a word of caution regarding Boston’s impressive debut.
“I think this part is easy because you’re on a high, still,” Curry said Wednesday of the Celtics’ approach as reigning champions. “You have that championship glow and confidence. The dog days of the pre-All-Star run — that’s probably the hardest stretch … So you’re trying to stay mentally fresh.”
“Right now, you’re playing with ultimate confidence and with house money. You’re the champs. And you know you’re getting everybody’s best shot, because you’re now the hunted.”
The Celtics felt that sting on Wednesday at TD Garden, squandering a seven-point lead in the final six minutes en route to a 118-112 loss to the Warriors.
While the Celtics were shorthanded without Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis, Boston has not run into much trouble this season scoring thanks to their barrage of shots from 3-point range.
But a stingy defensive effort from a reworked Warriors roster that has augmented its own 3-heavy identity made life difficult for Boston. The Celtics scored just 26 points in the final 19 minutes of the first half, entering halftime with 40 total points.
“They have a very specific style,” Curry said of Boston’s offensive approach. “They want to get up as many threes as possible. They want to pick on certain guys — get [Jayson Tatum] at spots he can create. They let it fly. It’s proven successful. So you have to live with some of the shots. … We played great half-court defense tonight, and it’s very hard against them.”
Even with Jayson Tatum heating up down the stretch (17 third-quarter points), it wasn’t enough for Boston to come away with a win in crunch time. The C’s dropped their first game on the parquet floor this season.
“He can score at all three levels,” Steve Kerr said of Tatum, who was unable to exact revenge against Kerr following the drama from the 2024 Summer Olympics. “The idea is don’t give him anything easy. So hopefully you don’t foul him.
“Hopefully you can meet him before he gets to the rim and you try to take away the three, but he has that step back and he’s so big that he can shoot right over the top of the defense. Like all great players, you just have to stay with it and not get discouraged when he makes a couple.”
But even with the Warriors leaving TD Garden with a win, Curry stressed that the Celtics’ championship pedigree should steel them for any adversity that awaits this season.
“Usually you overcome that [adversity] with an identity that has paid off at the highest level to winning a championship,” Curry said. “That usually carries itself.”
It remains to be seen if the Celtics can follow in Golden State’s footsteps and win two titles in a row.
But Kerr likes what he sees in a motivated and seasoned Celtics roster.
“When you play on a team that wins a championship, I think the next year, there’s a different level of confidence that you have, that you achieve,” Kerr said. “And that’s what I see with Boston right now. They’ve earned that.
“They’ve climbed the mountain, they know how good they are. … It does get more difficult as you go. But once you win one, there’s also a deeper level of confidence that can carry you through. … There’s a reason they’re the world champs. They’re the best team in the league, until somebody proves otherwise.”
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
