In the cabinet of cursed takes, I’m uncorking the mother of them all. On a 9-game win streak, what if Boston is just invincible and never loses again?
The Boston Celtics probably won’t sweep their remaining seven regular season games, go 16-0 in the playoffs and finish the season on a 32-game winning streak and go down as the greatest team in NBA history…
…but they could.
In the words of Gandalf the Grey (or White, if we’re watching The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King Extended Edition rather than the lame normal one), this part of the NBA season is the “deep breath before the plunge.” It’s quiet and calm — the basketball makes sense and the takes are more measured than usual, having been tempered by a full season of information. But come April 15, all hell breaks loose.
So, to get ahead of things, I’m breaking hell loose earlier than expected and ripping an absolutely insane take: what if the Celtics never lose again?
Once the postseason kicks off, anything could happen… including that. The Celtics could lose a game to the Chicago Bulls. They could shoot 7% from three in Game 3 and lose by 47 to the Pacers in Round 2. Someone could get injured. Multiple someones could get injured. Joe Mazzulla could rob Fenway Park and get suspended for 25 games.
But they could also just… not lose another game, since they’ve been playing with a swagger and certainty that makes this article at least 11% serious. I’ve watched the last nine games without wondering for a second if Boston is going to lose. I don’t just expect them to win — I know they are going to. It’s not the same emotional door-slamming, fire-starting, world-destroying strength they showed last year, but it might actually be better.
There’s a calm to their dominance this time around. They aren’t dropping nuclear bombs on teams every night like last year — though that certainly still happens. There’s something far more methodical. Instead of smashing their opponent’s Lego sets, the Celtics are taking them apart brick by brick, individually wrapping each piece and putting them in their basement for safe keeping. Every time they need a clutch three, they hit it. Every time they need to make the extra pass, they find it. A game-icing stop? Done. Hero steal? Yep. Killer offensive rebound? You know it.
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It all starts, ends and runs through Jayson Tatum, who has gone from incredible to irreplaceable to downright required for the Celtics to succeed. An offense that used to feature him now runs by, of and for him. There is not a defender in the league he can’t destroy; not a coverage in the world he can’t hack; not a skill that he can’t crank up to 11. Boston has a T-1000 Terminator on their team, and the league is basically screwed as long as he’s standing upright.
If I’m betting on the Celtics to never lose again — which… I’m not (really) doing — I’m staking that ticket on Tatum being the best guy on the court in any series. His basketball brain has to go supercomputer mode and figure everything out, basically becoming LeBron James without the 40-year-old debuffs. He will have to carry inconsistency from everyone else, and know exactly who to trust and when. And Joe and Co. will have to trust him with the keys to the Ferrari, which they do.
Boston’s biggest flaw is they aren’t that deep, though their top-6 is so good that 7-10 are pretty much irrelevant. And if we’re trying to not lose again, who even needs a good bench? Winning 25 straight will require impeccable health, something the Celtics (crosses all fingers and toes) basically have at the moment.
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Save for a slightly confusing Jaylen Brown injury — and he’s so durable, I have no doubt he’ll be ready for the playoffs — everyone is ready to roll. Jrue Holiday has rebounded nicely from his mallet finger, and Kristaps Porzingis looks (crosses all fingers and toes) really healthy and dominant. Meanwhile, Al Horford continues to prove that he should launch the AH42 Method and give Tom Brady a run for his money.
But again, it’s Tatum who is the Celtics’ best shot at this. In his perpetual war against load management, he just… plays every game. Why? Because he’s the best, and everyone else is a total loser, that’s why. When Tatum is on the court, we might just not lose.
With him playing like he is, the Celtics feel invincible. It’s legitimately exhilarating, and I haven’t had this level of confidence in a Boston athlete since Brady was guaranteeing Super Bowls every other year when I was a kid. I’m only kinda kidding when I say that the NBA could roll out the 2018 Golden State Warriors and I wouldn’t be scared. Tatum and this team are that sick.
Sure, they have better competition this year with actually-competent Cavaliers and Thunder teams unlike the bums they played last year, but that will serve only to enhance their power. Everyone knows a true rival brings out the best in a team, and if this isn’t even their best… the league is beyond cooked. 32 to go. Check ball.