“Lord, I consider; assist my unbelief!” – Mark 9:24
Its okay to consider on this crew. Its okay to consider on this crew. Its okay to consider on this crew.
Hold saying that to your self till you break down into an unpleasant cry like a scene from Good Will Looking. We’re right here for you. It’s not your fault.
Look, I understand how laborious it has been the previous few years. Particularly that darkish interval between September 2020 and December 2021. A little bit over 15 months of extremely forgettable, inconsistent, uninspired basketball. Everyone knows the circumstances and excuses, however the finish end result was flat out laborious to look at. A protracted interval like that that stretches throughout seasons would make any fanbase develop belief points.
So when the crew received just a few video games in January, we have been ready for the opposite shoe to drop. Once they began piling up the wins in February, individuals began questioning the absence of expertise and obtainable gamers for the opponents we have been beating. We’re now properly into the third month of this and it is perhaps time to begin believing in a few of these statistical fashions that put us within the Legit Contender class.
The bizarre factor is that the core of the crew hasn’t considerably modified. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Good, and the rising Robert Williams III have been the important thing figures all through. For some purpose, that very same core has gone from blah to boo-yah, from meh to magical, from excruciating to exhilarating. You get the concept.
I’m not going to faux to know all this. Regardless of numerous hours watching this crew, analyzing the crew, and writing about this crew, I’m nonetheless scratching my head. There have been a number of theories about why it didn’t work earlier than. A lot of guesses about what modified. A lot of evaluation about what goes proper now. I’m not right here to re-litigate any of that. I’m simply making an attempt to let you know that it’s okay to consider.
For these nonetheless ready to see if that is for actual, contemplate that the pattern dimension for the “good” Celtics (29-9) is bigger than the pattern dimension for the “unhealthy” Celtics (16-19).
— CelticsBlog (@celticsblog) March 22, 2022
This isn’t a assure, thoughts you. You may nonetheless get damage. The Celtics might run up in opposition to a nasty matchup within the first spherical and discover themselves going residence early. Accidents can occur to anybody at any time. However that’s simply the factor, these are points that each crew faces headed into the playoffs.
Nevertheless, discover consolation and confidence in that the Celtics are not beating themselves. They’re not Jekyll and Hyde. They’re not standing round ready for issues to occur. As an alternative, they’re trusting one another, making the additional go, giving the proper effort on protection, exhibiting resolve when the opposite crew makes a run. They’re taking up the persona of their coach and executing the sport plan that he envisioned from Day One.
Tatum is taking part in like an MVP candidate. Jaylen is taking part in like a really perfect 1B star. Good and Derrick White are twin lockdown defenders that transfer the ball. Al Horford and Williams are twin basket defenders that transfer the ball. The rotation has largely been playoff-short, however recently, the contributions have come from everybody, even right down to the ninth or tenth man.
One thing clicked across the flip of the 12 months they usually simply hold getting higher. They’re placing within the work. They’re sacrificing for one another. They consider in one another. Possibly it’s time that we believed in them, too.
