SAN FRANCISCO -- The Boston Celtics ran the gamut of emotions upon returning to the Bay Area this week.
Luke Kornet got nostalgic about the team’s Finals run so he reached out to some of the other end-of-the-bench guys that moved on to new spots this season. Robert Williams admitted to still being "pissed" about the outcome as he pushed himself to the brink of a return from the same knee ailment that forced him to undergo a second surgery after Boston’s postseason run.
It probably wasn’t a coincidence that Jaylen Brown chose to wear a pair of Nike Kobe V sneakers to the team’s offday workout at the University of San Francisco. Brown wore the same model shoe during Game 6 of the NBA Finals and, to motivate himself this summer, wore those same Finals shoes to every workout as a reminder of what slipped away.
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Six months later, the Celtics all wear their scars from their Finals defeat in different ways.
Fueled by that defeat, though, the Celtics have rocketed to the best record in basketball with a 21-5 start. The new campaign could have gone sideways before it even began after a tumultuous end to the offseason, but the carrot of a Larry O’Brien trophy has helped propel this team forward.
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Even in an abbreviated offseason, just about every player on the roster came back better with a singular goal of securing the banner that got away.
"What I remember more is how they’re responding now," Celtics interim head coach Joe Mazzulla said Friday when asked about his lasting memory from the Finals. "It’s easy to be upset when something doesn’t go your way or you suffer a loss or a defeat. But to stay motivated months after and be locked in on what the long-term goals are -- but also the short-term goals -- says a lot about them.
"So that’s what stands out to me more is their ability to handle the goals they set and the motivations they have to get where they want to go."
Marcus Smart bristled in the summer months whenever anyone would congratulate him on the team’s Finals run. The pain of defeat wouldn’t let him celebrate Boston’s improbable road to the championship round. On Friday, he downplayed a return to the Chase Center calling it a "regular game," but acknowledged how Boston still finds motivation in defeat.
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"It’s kind of funny, I was thinking the whole time this summer about [the Finals] loss," said Smart. "I don’t know if many people remember the Coach Carter line ... just because you worked all year and deserve it, it doesn’t mean that they’re going to give it to you. Just because you work hard, you put in the work, it’s not necessarily always going to work in your favor. But that doesn’t mean you don’t put in the work to get there.
"So, for us, this is what it is and that’s what showed us, that sometimes you can do everything right and it still goes wrong, but that shouldn’t deter you from doing it the right way every single time. That’s the humility that we have. We come in every day this season and we’re putting in the work. We’re doing everything over and over and over. It doesn’t mean that us putting in the work, we’re going to get the goals that we’re reaching and what we want to reach out of it, but at least we give ourselves a chance."
Williams, who offered hopes of a return while pushing himself with a vigorous post-practice workout, was listed as out for Saturday’s game in the aftermath. But, as usual, he wore his emotions a bit more on his sleeve than most.
"We’re still pissed. I’m still pissed," said Williams. "I’ll forever be pissed. But it's a new goal this year, you always keep that in the back of your mind. You gotta let go and I'm proud of us working to it."
When it was noted that it would be quite a moment for Williams to return given the opponent, he quickly noted, "We got a bigger story we're trying to write here."
But every story has milestone moments. Saturday’s game is another chapter in however this novel unfolds. The Warriors haven’t responded to their own offseason drama as well as Boston has and limp in with a .500 record. Golden State will have ample motivation to assert itself on Saturday night and the Celtics must be ready for a Finals-like intensity from a desperate team.
For the Celtics, Saturday is an opportunity to make another early season statement. Boston has already asserted itself as the best team in basketball to start the new campaign but it would really resonate if they played with the sort of passion that has decorated their early season success.
Jayson Tatum has used his Finals inconsistency to emerge as an MVP frontrunner. Brown and his worn out Nikes have played at a similar All-NBA level. The Celtics arrive with reinforcements having added Malcolm Brogdon this summer and a previously inconsistent bench is consistently helping this team win games. Kornet and Sam Hauser, spectators for most of last year’s run, are thriving in heftier roles. Derrick White, picked up midstream last year, is more comfortable this time around.
Playing inside the Chase Center is going to bring back a rush of emotions. It almost certainly won’t be just another game. But it’s a firm reminder of where the Celtics were and how far they’ve come.
More importantly, it’s a reminder of where they want to go.
