Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
Celtics Maturation Molded by Experience: 'It Builds, Like, an Armor'
On Thursday night, the Boston Celtics took their talents to South Beach, walked into the Kaseya Center, and delivered one of their most impressive performances this season.
The only time the Miami Heat led was when Terry Rozier scored on the hosts' first possession, a bucket immediately matched by Derrick White. The visitors also manufactured the second-most efficient shooting performance in NBA history, generating an 80.5 percent true shooting percentage, per Stat Muse.
Regarding that accomplishment, Jayson Tatum, who finished with 26 points and eight rebounds -- leading all participants in both categories -- and dished out four assists, told Inside The Celtics the key was that they were "really intentional about what we were trying to do."
But after Boston's 143-110 victory, improving their NBA-leading record to 35-10 and moving to 2-0 in its regular-season series with Miami, from head coach Joe Mazzulla to Jaylen Brown and Tatum, the team stressed the importance of not getting too high on one win, just as it preaches not getting too low after a loss.
"This game is really good, but it means nothing at all in the grand scheme of things if we don't take the lessons that we need to apply to the next game," expressed Mazzulla.
"You enjoy it for -- until we get to the plane, and then, it's on to the next one. But I think the lessons here are what's more important in the long term, whether we won or lost here. It's understanding what we've done well and the areas of the game that we've really improved on and fighting to keep those."
The Celtics now embrace a "win the day" mantra after paying the price for too often looking ahead to the playoffs and failing to maximize the regular season in the 2022-23 campaign.
It's a reflection of their maturation, applying the lessons from a considerable amount of success, including Tatum and Brown leading them to at least the Eastern Conference Finals in four of their first six years together, including coming within two wins of an NBA title in 2022, and painful losses with elevated stakes.
"I think a lot goes into, I think (that) this experience level helps, going through high-pressurized moments, it doesn't feel the same each time," conveyed Brown. "Just because you go through the same thing over and over again, it builds, like, an armor. I think a lot of our guys have played in some, some high-level of basketball. So, we walk into these moments, and they (are) ready to go. It's not too heavy.
"We done been to the Finals, a game before the Finals, Game 7s, where the intensity level is much higher than it is tonight, so you just walk in with a smile on your face, and you play ball."
The Celtics, sharpened by experience, positive and negative, and evolving thanks to internal growth, including from their head coach in his second year at the helm, plus the additions of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, are more prepared to raise Banner 18 to the TD Garden rafters than ever before.
But to reach the mountain top in June, they must continue to apply a lesson they learned last season, staying focused on the present rather than looking too far ahead or getting caught up in a late-January win, even though it was one of their best performances of the current campaign.
Further Reading
Here's What Stood Out as Celtics Top Heat in One of Their Best Performances This Season
Celtics Finding Joy in Basketball and Each Other's Company: 'We've Been Blessed'
Fixated on Winning, Jayson Tatum Again Proves He's Not 'Bored Making the Right Play Over and Over'
Jrue Holiday Responds to Celtics Saying He's Sacrificing Most: 'Not Mad at My Situation'
Brad Stevens Shares What Celtics Are Looking to Add and How He Hopes to Do So
Jaylen Brown Quieting Doubters, Validating What He Always Believed: 'Earn Everybody's Trust'
Joe Mazzulla Discusses Identity, Evolution of Celtics' Offense: 'Balance of Pace and Execution'
Jaylen Brown Shares His View of What Defines 'Celtics Basketball'
