All season, the Celtics have been pushing the “it’s different here” slogan. From commercials to graphics to hashtags, it’s been everywhere.
It was even in Jayson Tatum’s spiel on this season’s group (kind of), after Monday’s win in Charlotte. When asked about how he and his Celtic teammates are going about closing the regular season strong in preparation for the playoffs, he details how the 2024 Cs aren’t “skipping steps.”
“I think last year we were so antsy just to get back to the Finals — that we had a few bad losses at the last few weeks of the season,” Tatum told reporters (h/t NBC Sports Boston). “We went to six games in that first round. We may have took some things for granted. This year, we’ve done a really good job of not skipping steps and respecting every game, every day, and just trying to get better.”
This perspective from JT shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Head coach Joe Mazzulla has spoken countless times this year about how daily improvement is the thing he’s been emphasizing to his guys the most.
It feels like we’ve seen that in the way the group plays.
This Celtics group team works differently than one from a year ago. They actually look in the mirror and work on their weaknesses.
Think about it. How many times have we heard players talking about the need to be better, to then just go out and make the same mistakes?
Not a lot.
Sure, the two losses in Atlanta last week were gross. But, it’s unbelievably rare to see the Celtics play poorly across multiple games like that. In fact, poor play usually doesn’t last longer than a quarter or two. Boston has done a tremendous job of making adjustments when things don’t go well.
Last season, players would take the podium and feign accountability time after time, yet they continued to lose in head-scratching fashion.
My favorite example was March of 2023 when the Cs were in a tight race for home court advantage with the Milwaukee Bucks. They had a serious chance to make up some ground in a March 28 matchup against the 34-42 Washington Wizards.
Two days prior, Malcolm Brogdon had told the media that Boston wanted the top spot and understood the importance of home court in the playoffs.
You’ll never guess what happened next.
Kristaps Porzingis and the boys blew the doors off of the Celtics and their chase for the No. 1 seed was over.
But, the Celtics caught a break. The Bucks wound up losing in the first round at the hands of the Miami Heat, leaving the Cs with the highest remaining seed.
It turns out that home court meant absolutely nothing to the 2023 Celtics. They won just five of their 11 matchups at TD Garden. Their record past the first round was even worse, winning just three of their final eight in Boston.
Not only did the Celtics not do what they said they’d do, but they proved that even if they had grabbed the top seed, it wouldn’t have even mattered.
They skipped the step where they were supposed to iron out the kinks. This season’s team has the ironing board fired up and ready to go.
Mazzulla has said time and time again that he had planned on using this final stretch of the season to experiment before the playoffs. He’s done just that, regardless if it’s been pretty (the win in New Orleans) or not (cough, cough, Atlanta).
Sure, they’re not perfect, but they’re at least taking the measures to get as close as possible.
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