The Celts
“I assumed we had been going to play Denver within the last and it might be a superb last.”
Jayson Tatum thought the Celtics would face the Nuggets within the 2024 NBA Finals. (AP Picture/David Zalubowski)
When the 2024 NBA playoffs started, many predicted that the Celtics would face the Nuggets within the NBA Finals.
Jayson Tatum was amongst that group. The Celtics star believed Boston must beat Denver to win the NBA title, admitting the defending champion may very well be his hardest take a look at within the playoffs.
“Individuals all the time ask me when do you know you had been going to win a championship?” Tatum lately informed an viewers of oldsters and kids on the Maynard Wonderful Arts Theatre: by way of The Boston GlobeGary Washburn is“When Minnesota beat Denver, I felt like Denver was the one workforce that was proper for us. I assumed we had been going to play Denver within the finals and it was going to be a superb last.”
Tatum had good motive to consider the Nuggets would attain the Finals. Denver had a stable common season, going 57-25 and the second-best file within the Western Convention. Nikola Jokic additionally received his third MVP award in 4 seasons, averaging 26.4 factors, 12.4 rebounds and 9 assists per recreation, cementing his declare because the league’s greatest participant.
Tatum additionally had good motive to consider the Nuggets had been the Celtics’ greatest menace. Denver was the one workforce Boston hadn’t overwhelmed in its 64-win common season. The Nuggets received the Jan. 19 recreation in Boston, 102-100. Seven weeks later, the Nuggets beat the Celtics, 115-109, in Denver.
Tatum additionally struggled along with his taking pictures in each video games. He scored 22 factors on 9-of-24 taking pictures within the Jan. 19 loss, lacking a game-tying shot on the buzzer. He scored simply 15 factors on 5-of-13 taking pictures within the loss to the Nuggets in Denver, lacking a shot that might have given the Celtics the lead with lower than a minute left. The Celtics additionally trailed by 11 factors with lower than 5 minutes left in that recreation.
So when the Timberwolves beat the Nuggets in Sport 7 of the Western Convention semifinals, some thought the Celtics had been on their solution to the title. Though Tatum urged he had the identical thought, he was sure the Celtics would win the title heading into Sport 5 of the NBA Finals.
“After we had been in Dallas and we had been up 3-0, oh my God. No person’s ever come again from 0-3, so I keep in mind going into the locker room and I keep in mind saying, I don’t know what recreation that is going to be, however we’re going to win the championship,” Tatum stated. “It was a bizarre feeling. I couldn’t sleep that evening and I keep in mind the morning of Sport 4, we had a penalty shootout, and I’d by no means been within the place the place if we received tonight, we’d be champions.
“We had been in shootaround and everybody was making an attempt to behave regular. I couldn’t nap. We misplaced by 30 factors. We wished to win so dangerous. We had been so anxious and so tight. However I knew after we got here dwelling for Sport 5, we had been going to win.”
The Sport 4 loss to the Mavericks was worse than Tatum stated. The Celtics misplaced by 38 factors, the third-biggest single-game loss in NBA Finals historical past. Additionally they trailed by 48 factors, which brought about some concern for the Celtics.
Nonetheless, Tatum and the Celtics managed to deal with Sport 5. He scored a game-high 31 factors to go along with 11 rebounds and eight assists, main the cost for Boston in a decisive 106-88 victory.
Because the Celtics put together for the upcoming season, Tatum would not assume they’re going to face the Nuggets within the Finals in 2025. a latest look on “The Tonight Present,” Tatum predicted there could be a Finals rematch this season.
The Mavericks reloaded their workforce for the Finals, including Klay Thompson as a free agent. In the meantime, the Nuggets misplaced beginning guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as a free agent, main some to marvel if Denver may have a superb run in 2024-25.
Signal as much as obtain Celtics updates🏀
Get the most recent information and evaluation delivered to your inbox throughout basketball season.
