Kevin Garnett believes it’s the Celtics’ ‘time’ to win a title, doesn’t think they need to breakup core if they lose
"I think you stay patient with this group."
Kevin Garnett is sensing that the Celtics will win Banner 18 in June.
The Celtics icon believes his former squad will finally get over the hump this time around, saying the experience Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have gives them an advantage over the teams remaining in the NBA playoffs.
“Out of all the young guys, they’ve got the most experience out of anybody,” Garnett said on “NBA Unplugged with Kevin Hart” during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. “They’ve been in Finals, Eastern Conference finals, playoff series’ against different teams in Miami and Milwaukee; they’re the most battle-tested out of all the young boys and I think it’s their time. It’s the Celtics’ time.
“They have an unbelievable team. They’re steamrolling through the playoffs. They’re making it look easy. Indiana’s giving them their best, but the Celtics are too much. I really feel like it’s the Celtics’ time, man.”
While that might be one of the first occasions that someone has acknowledged Tatum and Brown as an experienced duo, there is some validity to that claim. Even though they’re 26 and 27, respectively, Monday’s Game 4 is the 102nd playoff game they’ve played together.
The Celtics have reached the conference finals five times since Tatum was drafted in 2017, going 5-2 in Game 7s. Tatum and Brown have gone 11-5 in elimination games as a duo. They were the fourth duo of players 25 and under who led their team in scoring to reach the NBA Finals in the last 40 years, doing so in 2022.
The fact that the Celtics have gotten so close with Tatum and Brown has added a heightened expectation for this year. They’ve played like a championship-level squad through much of the season, winning 64 games with one of the best point differentials in league history during the regular season. Boston has only continued that play through the postseason, going 11-2 ahead of Monday’s Game 4 against Indiana.
Monday night, the Celtics came one step closer to winning it all, punching their ticket to the NBA Finals by winning Game 4 to complete their sweep of the Pacers.
As the Celtics have become the clear betting favorite to win the title, a letdown this time around might be worse than their other shortcomings in recent years. But Garnett thinks the Celtics should stay the course with the core they’ve got even if they don’t win it all this year.
“I think you stay patient with this group. If they don’t win this year, I think you look at it and if you can add on to it to make it better, then you do,” Garnett said. “But the Celtics have a lot. They have, easily, five weapons with [Kristaps] Porzingis that you have to actually put focus on. Derrick White and [Jrue] Holiday, obviously I would put Kyrie [Irving] and Luka [Doncic] in front of them, but there are no better two guards defensively this year playing side-by-side.
“So, the Celtics are a very, very deep team and are expected to win. If they don’t win this year, it’s coming. They’re teed up and they’re prepared. The way their team is built, they’re ready to win now.”
The Celtics will likely need to slow down the aforementioned duo of Irving and Doncic in order to win the NBA Finals this year. Just like the Celtics, the Mavericks also took a 3-0 lead in their conference finals series as they look to sweep the Timberwolves on Tuesday.
With the Mavericks on the doorstep of the Finals, Garnett’s dream scenario of watching two of his former squads battle for the Larry O’Brien Trophy is likely dead. But it will prevent the awkward scenario of him rooting for both squads in the NBA Finals.
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