Boston Celtics’ 18th championship could just be the beginning of NBA’s next dynasty

BOSTON — When it was over — when the Boston Celtics’ 18th championship had become an official part of NBA history and the clock had ticked down to 0.0 — the Boston Garden let out a noise equal parts relief and joy. It went on and on, fans screaming and swearing and belting and cheering, as green-and-white confetti filled the place and the smell of cigars, and something stronger, wafted down.

The Celtics players hugged each other, and met on that storied floor, and cried, as a stage to celebrate them was built among the revelry. The 106-88 beatdown they’d just put on the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals had slipped behind them. Their dominating run through the NBA playoffs was complete.

And the future?

That, at least for the rest of the league watching at home, might have been the scariest thing of all.

Because this may be just the beginning for Boston.

There will be much to unpack about this series in the days ahead: What Luka Doncic must do now, and the lessons he will have to learn from this overwhelming loss, to feel someday what those Celtics players were feeling. Where, exactly, Kyrie Irving had been for much of this series, and certainly on Monday night, when he went just 5-of-16, and 3-of-9 from three, for 15 mostly invisible points.

But that’s the past, even the recent past. It’s the Celtics’ future that could end up being the most important thing about this Boston team.

The NBA is a league made of runs and dynasties, even if this Boston team is the sixth different champion in the past six seasons. But before that, and stretching back through NBA history, are a cluster of teams that won multiple titles: That Boston could join that pattern along with the Golden State Warriors, the Miami Heat, the San Antonio Spurs, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Chicago Bulls — on and on it goes — seems very, very plausible.

Yes, the NBA’s current collective bargaining agreement is designed to limit superteams, and the prospect of Boston soon entering the second apron, and having to navigate its resulting myriad restrictions, is…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/boston-celtics-18th-championship-could-just-be-the-beginning-of-nbas-next-dynasty/

Author : Bill Reiter

Publish date : 2024-06-18 04:45:09

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