John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Celtics Prepared for, Not Intimidated by Their Roster's First Finals Trip: 'We know what we're here to play for'
Ime Udoka's been to the NBA Finals twice as an assistant coach with the Spurs, including when they captured the Larry O'Brien Trophy in 2014. Ben Sullivan was on the Bucks' staff last year when they won the championship. But as far as the Celtics' roster goes, no one's played on the league's brightest stage.
But this is a battle-tested group. One's that played in multiple Eastern Conference Finals. It's a team that had to dramatically turn its season around to go from outside the play-in tournament to running through the most challenging playoff path. Granted, Milwaukee didn't have Khris Middleton.
So, despite this experience being a new one, the Celtics are ready. Just ask their head coach.
"We know what we're here to play for," Ime Udoka said about his team on Tuesday. "I don't think our guys are awed by the moment or intimidated at all."
As for Boston's counterpart, Udoka said of the Warriors, playing in the NBA Finals for the sixth time in eight years: "The things that stand out have stood out for years. Obviously, high-level shot-making from behind the three-point line," later adding: "It's a lot of the little things that get them going, basket cuts, slips to the basket."
Udoka also cited their ability to generate second-chance opportunities, pointing directly to how effectively they did so against the Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals.
Not to mention, Golden State's blended its championship core with an optimized Andrew Wiggins and players like Jordan Poole and Jonathan Kuminga, who the Warriors hope will keep them in contention when Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green pass the baton.
So as the clock ticks towards a battle between the highest-scoring offense in the playoffs and the defense that ranked tops in the NBA this season and allowed the second-fewest in the playoffs, despite facing Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jimmy Butler, Udoka labels this matchup as "a perfect storm."
Further Reading
Celtics Will Happily Welcome Difference Between Eastern Conference, NBA Finals Schedules
Celtics Discuss Season Turnaround, Pushing Beyond Eastern Conference Finals: 'It can't rain forever'
Jayson Tatum Named Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP
What Stood Out from Game 7: Celtics' Defense, Tatum's 26 Points Lead Boston to NBA Finals
