How are you mourning this Finals loss?

[Big333223]

The progress of the team (finally making it out of the East) eases most of the disappointment. It's nothing like 2010, when we knew at the time it was likely the last finals appearance for that group, or even 2020 when it felt like the team just couldn't get over the hump.

Making the finals showed progress and I have a lot of confidence that they'll be back again. So that's where I'm at.

[footey]

I was heavily emotionally invested in this team.  It was very disappointing, but the fact that it was the Warriors winning and not the Lakers took away some of the sting. 

Sean Grande on Celtics Beat podcast broke the season into 3 stages:

1. Beginning through sometime in January (he sited the Portland home loss)--this team was mediocre.
2. The stage where everything clicked, and they blew out teams, which ended in MN when Rob tore his meniscus; this team was dominant, statistically way better than anyone.
3. Post-Rob injury; this team was among the best, but not dominant as was the phase 2 team.

I know Rob played pretty well, especially the last couple of games, but IMO no where near the level that he was at during the great stretch run.

[Dchuck]

JB's problem isn't ball handling, it's decision making.

When to drive. When to pass before running into a crowded paint. When is it time to take a three. When is it time to get to your mid range spots and shoot from there. When to make the easy and right pass rather than the difficult and flashy pass.

That's just experience being a top guy, which he has only been for two years.

Agreed, but his butterfingers are a real and big problem too tho

[Jvalin]

I'm not. Didn't expect us to reach the Finals prior to the start of the season, so I'm grateful for the ride!

[SHAQATTACK]

Not at all

Great year !

[Silas]

Not mourning but disappointed.  I did not expect this team to make it to the finals.  This season was so much fun.  From the terrible start to being the most dominant team in the league.  As Red may have said, close but no cigar.    What I will miss the most are the game threads.  I enjoyed commenting and reading comments in real time while watching the games.  Already looking forward to next season and another strong run for no.18.  Oh, and get a big to replace Al and a play making pg to back up Smart.  Go Cs!

[SparzWizard]

Game 7 would've been tonight folks 

The game where we could've won banner 18 

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

Game 7 would've been tonight folks 

The game where we could've won banner 18 

welp

hope we ca n learn our lessons. make major changes in team teaching and methodology and upgrade players and try to make a run next year.

[Vermont Green]

I am not mourning anything.  We made the finals.  That far exceeded my expectation for the team.

It was a strange year.  For the first half, they played worse than you would expect.  Injuries, new coach, new systems, they struggled.  Then things magically "clicked" and suddenly they were racking up wins at a historic rate.  The wins seemed to often have an asterisks or something.  We caught teams who had an injury, whatever, it was always something that seemed to make you (or at least me) pause and wonder how good this team really was.

Then the playoffs were the same, BKN sweep but there were issues.  Got past MIL but they didn't have Middleton.  Beat MIA but they had injuries.  So here we were in the finals and still not sure how good this team really is.  Well we found out.

Fans should be ready and realize that improving on this season is going to be hard.  We may continue to progress developmentally but not make the finals again.  I don't foresee major changes in personnel but I think having another season to develop under Udoka will be important.  The offense improved but still was not fully engrained.  It is about collectively executing the schemes as well as individually.  We never quite got there in my opinion

[Roy H.]

How many fanbases would gladly switch places with us?  25+?

[Phantom255x]

Game 7 would've been tonight folks 

The game where we could've won banner 18 

I have more faith we'd put up 18+ turnovers than actually capture Banner 18 the way we played after Game 3 of the Finals 

[Vermont Green]

How many fanbases would gladly switch places with us?  25+?

Exactly.  Losing in the finals is hard but is it worse than say Phoenix?  If we have questions about our team, think what questions Phoenix must have.  And they are going to lose Ayton probably for nothing.  Or Philly, or the Nets, or MIA, UTA, ATL?  Even MIL.

MEM and DEN did well in spite of major injuries so I would expect these teams to be optimistic.  DAL is a funny one.  They made it farther in the playoffs than they probably should have and then added a nice player.  They need to figure out Brunson but even with that, are they a finals contender next season?

[tonydelk]

I won't read any articles.  I hate the warriors.  especially green and I know they are mouthing off.  It was funny when they called the C's fans classless when these immature asshats are absolutely classless dickwads.

[johnnygreen]

Going into the series, I thought the Celtics were the better team. Through 3 games, that mindset felt justified. I may have been in the minority as a Celtics fan, but I wanted the fans at the TD Garden to stop the FU Draymond chants in game 3. Not because it may have been classless, like the Warriors were talking about in the postgame. I hated the chant because I thought it would provide extra motivation to the Warriors. I hate to say it, but the series was never the same after that. So in my mind, the Celtics fans from game 3, and the Celtics godawful play contributed to the Finals loss. Base on the stupidity of the two, the Celtics didn't deserve to win, which is part of the reason why I have been able to move on, and am looking forward to what the team does in the offseason.

[colincb]

I'm optimistic about the future.