Is It October Yet?
It’s over. A season that started in heartbreak, ends in heartbreak.
To start, I’m well aware that this Celtics team was playing with house money and had no business being in a Game 7 against LeBron James with a trip to the Finals on the line. But if I hear one more person say “there’s always next year!” or “just think about how good they’ll be when Hayward and Kyrie come back!” I might lose my shit.
I don’t care what they could have looked like, or what they will look like next year, because THIS team was right there. They were 48 minutes away from the NBA Finals. This team was good enough to get there without two of their best players. They had a 2-0 series lead, a 3-2 series lead, but they blew it. I’m still really excited for next years team, but that excitement doesn’t justify losing last night’s game for me. It still stings just as much as 2010 or 2012.
With all of that said, the 2017-18 Boston Celtics had a roller-coaster of a season. For all they went through from the jump, to be able to win 55 games is nothing short of incredible. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown’s progression this season probably wouldn’t have accelerated the way it did if it weren’t for all of the injuries. Same goes for Terry Rozier. The experience those guys got during this playoff run is going to be really valuable for them.
For all we know, the Celtics could run it back a year from now with this same squad (minus Irving & Hayward) and get back to competing for a Finals appearance. But the Eastern Conference runner-ups are about to add two proven All-Star talents to their roster. That has me itching for next season to start already.
There’s only one question that remains for me in regards to this team… what the hell am I supposed to do with my life now? I lived and breathed Celtics basketball for 8 months, and now it’s over. I don’t have a girlfriend (sup ladies), I don’t have a hobby, and I don’t really go out much. Am I expected to just hide out in my room until the season starts up again in October? If you’re going to have a tough time dealing with this like I am, here’s a nice little Twitter thread for you (click on the tweet to see the thread):
Thread of 2017-2018 Celtics highlights.
Favorite Celtics season of all time.
— Trade Kyrie (@Game_Phreak845) May 28, 2018
Also, I will be watching Jayson Tatum’s dunk on LeBron every single day for the rest of my life:
Jayson Tatum DUNK and TAUNT. Stones. #Celtics pic.twitter.com/KNsgYT9GqC
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) May 28, 2018
-Nick Cherico (@NickCherico2)