The 2022-23 Boston Celtics are giving Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce flashbacks.
Both C's legends have watched closely as Boston cruised to a league-best 21-5 record. The scorching-hot start has them confident the Celtics will take care of business in Saturday's NBA Finals rematch vs. the Golden State Warriors.
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"There's no way I can not pick the Celtics," Pierce said on an episode of Showtime's KG Certified. "Everybody been watching how they're playing. Come on, man. They've been steamrolling.
"Jayson Tatum right now is the frontrunner for MVP. Celtics got the best record in the league. I gotta go Boston on this one. They feel a certain kind of way about losing in the Finals, so I'm going C's on this one."
Garnett sees qualities from the 2008 NBA champion Celtics team in this year's group.
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"They look so different. They're playing with a different edge. They look motivated. They're playing angry and they on a steamroll," he said. "This reminds me of us. This is like, they locked in. I'm watching their defense, I'm watching the defensive effort, I'm watching the bench."
Tatum is the odds-on favorite for the 2022-23 NBA MVP award, but Jaylen Brown has taken another step forward and played a significant role in the team's early success. Pierce believes it's time to start giving Brown the national recognition he deserves.
"We talk about legitimately that Jayson Tatum is in the MVP conversation, but you've got to start putting Brown in the MVP conversation too," Pierce said. "We already know they're the top duo in the league. But we need to start talking more about Jaylen Brown in there."
KG agrees, and he wants it known he's picking the Celtics in the NBA Finals rematch too.
"Shoutout to J Brown doing his thing," he said. "I've got the Celtics in this thing too. I think this is going to be a dope game."