The Celtics found a new Big Three, at least for one important night
Through their 72 seasons, 17 of which have led to the raising of a banner in a couple of different incarnations of the Garden, the Celtics have featured a version of a Big Three in their lineup.
There was, of course, the Larry Bird-Kevin McHale-Robert Parish frontline of those cherished ’80s Celtics. As far as I know, that was the first to be designated the Big Three, with the New Big Three arriving two decades later in the form of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen. That was the saltiest Big Three.
There were others that didn’t have the catchy moniker attached — John Havlicek, JoJo White, and Dave Cowens on the two superb but overlooked ’70s championship teams.
Bill Russell’s 11-time champs had a couple of different versions, with Russell the constant and Tommy Heinsohn, Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman, Jones, and Havlicek all playing a starring role during the dynasty. They were more like a Big Six, honestly.
The remodeled and reloaded 2017-18 Celtics were poised to have their own version — new acquisitions Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, and steady holdover Al Horford, the fulcrum of everything the Celtics do.
And they did, for 5 minutes 15 seconds. That’s when Hayward, a four-time All-Star playing his first game as a Celtics, landed awkwardly in the first half of the first quarter of the first game of the season while trying to catch a Kyrie Irving lob. He fractured his tibia and dislocated his ankle. Best-laid plans, kaput.
When the dynamic Irving went down for the season with a knee injury in March, it wasn’t just the possibility of a New Big Three that was put on hiatus. It was the possibility of accumulating memorable achievements deep into the postseason.
The Celtics remained an excellent team, one that secured the No. 2 seed in the East despite getting just 61 combined games from Hayward and Irving. But it would have been easy to fall into a wait-’til-next year routine.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the second round of the NBA Playoffs, an advancement the Celtics secured with a satisfying 112-96 victory in Game 7 over the Milwaukee Bucks Saturday night.
The Celtics found a new Big Three, at least for one important night.
Horford, the holdover from the original cast, was extraordinary, finishing with 26 points on 13 of 17 shooting. He scored 4 of the Celtics’ first 6 points to set a tone, then dominated in the second and third quarters, scoring 10 points in each while making 10 of 12 shots.
Whenever the Bucks seemed poised to pull close, it was Horford who inevitably made the right play to steady the ship. Brad Stevens should make it a rule: Whenever the Celtics’ offense starts to stagnate, Horford has to touch the ball on every possession. He makes things right.
It took Terry Rozier a while to get right. In his duel with Bucks point guard Eric (Please Stop Calling Me Drew) Bledsoe, which was narrated by the players with a constant stream of trash talk, the player who was on his home court usually won that night’s battle. Saturday night, Bledsoe won the early round and led the Bucks in scoring. Turns out Rozier was saving his best for last. He scored 12 points in 7 minutes in the fourth quarter, including a trio of 3-pointers.
Jayson Tatum, the precious 20-year-old rookie with the offensive repertoire of someone who will not make vacation plans for the All-Star break for many years, may someday usurp Horford’s spot in that Big Three. The concern by those who seem to enjoy cooking up reasons to worry more than they do the game itself was that the Celtics’ young players — Tatum and Jaylen Brown in particular — would wear the weight of the pressure of playing in a Game 7. Tatum was so nervous that he scored a team-high 9 points in the first quarter, hit all five of his free throws, and finished with 20 points and a plus-26 in a team-high 39 minutes. Imagine what he will be in five years. Or three. Or heck, next year.
It’s impossible not to look ahead to next year, to daydream on what this team can be at full strength. In a certain way, there has been a small blessing to the injuries to the established superstars have suffered. It’s allowed Tatum, Rozier, and Brown (who suffered a hamstring injury last night but has had his share of star turns in this series) to accelerate their development.
Semi Ojeleye, who delivered an All-Defensive Team-caliber performance in defending Giannis Antetokounmpo the last couple of games, also must be lauded, especially since Giannis seems to get the basket, the foul, a generous call, and the first-down every time he drives to the hoop. And Marcus Smart, who just turned 24 last month, is the Celtics’ version of Rodney Harrison. The Celtics are different, more ferocious and determined, when he’s around.
And let’s acknowledge this: Brad Stevens is a Big Three unto himself.
Even if we fail any attempts to resist looking ahead, let’s not fail to appreciate the moment. The Celtics have endured injuries that would crush the playoff hopes of most teams, yet they keep chugging on. Now they face Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, and the rapidly ascending Sixers, renewing a rivalry that has been absent animosity for far too long.
The Sixers will be favored, and they should be, especially if Brown’s hamstring won’t cooperate. But anyone who bets against the Celtics has been paying closer attention to their attrition than to their achievements.
The future is bright. But thanks to Saturday night’s makeshift Big Three and an admirable supporting cast, the present is pretty darn satisfying, too.
