Why these Celtics look so much like the 73-win Warriors

WHEN HE BOSTON CELTS Called up for training camp in September, the search began for another NBA champion to repeat for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

Now, just two weeks into the 2024-25 campaign, the Celtics will face the franchise whose record success they are trying to emulate: the warriors of the golden state (7:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, ESPN).

The confrontation in Boston has even more buzz after the Celtics star Jayson TatumHis time with Team USA this summer included Warriors coach Steve Kerr benching him twice. It is the annual visit to the TD Garden for Stephen Curry — and a rematch of the 2022 NBA Finals, when the Warriors won their fourth title in eight seasons. It’s also a reminder of the heights the Celtics strive to reach.

“I thought we were going to win at some point,” Tatum said at media day in September about the Celtics’ run to the 2024 title. “It was never just about trying to win one.

“Every guy I looked up to growing up won at least one championship. Now it’s just a conversation of, ‘How good are you trying to be?'”

While the league boasts a six-year streak of parity, the path Tatum and the Celtics are seeking seems eerily similar to that of the 2015-16 Warriors (the winningest team of all time), from their style of play to the construction of its squad and the skeptics who question the veracity of its championship.

FURTHER: Warriors have a ‘different level’ for Wiggins

AFTER ADVANCE By the 2015 title, the Warriors were not yet seen as the NBA’s next dominant franchise. Despite starting the 2014-15 season 21-2, finishing with a 67-15 record, and winning the Western Conference by 11 games, they were derided as a “jump-shooting team” by pundits who did not believe the style Golden State would have staying power.

And Curry, who won the first of his consecutive MVP awards that season, lost a close vote for Finals MVP to his teammate. Andre Iguodala, exacerbating criticism around the guard’s ability be the best player on a champion team.

After defeating a LeBron James-led Cleveland Knights team that was left without both kevin love and Kyrie Irving In the NBA Finals, there were attempts to downplay Golden State’s championship because it came at the hands of a diminished opponent. Some even dismissed the six-game series victory as luck.

Boston was similarly labeled as a team overly reliant on the jump shot, and similarly criticized for the relative ease of its title run. (The Celtics broke the NBA record for three-pointers made in 2023 and 2024.) The Celtics’ playoff run was dominated by injuries to their star opponents; Miami‘s Jimmy Butler, cleveland‘s David Mitchell and Indiana‘s Tyrese Haliburton They all missed several games against Boston. AND Tatum narrowly missed out on Finals MVPwith Jaylen Brown claiming the prize and Eastern Conference Finals MVP.

“José [Mazzulla] I was probably the happiest person in the world because I didn’t win Finals MVP,” Tatum said. “That was weird, but if you know Joe, it makes sense.”

The Celtics coach spent the summer making sure his team didn’t suffer a championship hangover.

“A lot of times, people focus on trying to win. I think that’s just as important as avoiding losing,” Mazzulla said at media day. “As hard as it is to win, it’s very easy to lose.”

“Strength is in numbers” defined those Warriors championship teams, as Kerr relied on a deep rotation, including a committee approach at center. The Celtics play in a similar spirit. Payton Pritchard He has already had two 20-point games off the bench this season. Reservation centers Lucas Kornet, Xavier Tillman and Neemias Queta Everyone has helped complete the center. Kristaps Porzingiswho will be out for at least another month after offseason ankle surgery. (Kornet scored 19 points in 30 minutes Saturday at the charlotte hornets.)

Iguodala, a dynamic two-way wing, was brought to Golden State as the potential missing player in the Warriors’ championship puzzle. For Boston, Jrue vacation has had a similar impact after its acquisition last fall.

Golden State’s “Lineup of Death” It featured five elite defensemen, each of whom was a credible 3-point threat. Boston’s run to the 2024 title was fueled by six core players: Tatum, Brown, Holiday, Porzingis, Al Horford and guard Derrick Blanco — dominating in the same way.

The Warriors were built around their trio of star recruits: Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymon Green. Boston has been built around the dynamic wing tandem of Tatum and Brown. And since Mazzulla became coach before the 2022-23 season, Boston has gone 128-44, 14 wins better than any other NBA team.

All of that has positioned the Celtics, as well as any defending champion over the past six seasons, to become the first repeat winner since those Warriors teams with Curry and Kevin Durant in 2017 and 2018.

However, those Warriors teams emerged because Golden State’s 73-win season in 2015-16 ended in heartbreak after blowing a 3-1 series lead in the NBA Finals. For all the similarities between this Celtics team and the early years of the Golden State dynasty, that’s the only result Boston hopes will go down in history. No repeat.