BOSTON — Consistency is key. That's not a new saying by any means, but it's one the 2023-24 Boston Celtics lived by throughout the season. And as a result, they're champions.
The Celtics were accustomed to the spotlight, as they were on the precipice of greatness for several years. They have made the Eastern Conference Finals in four of the last five seasons and reached the NBA Finals twice in that same span. Despite consistently going on lengthy postseason runs, Boston wasn't able to hoist the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy until they defeated the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the 2024 NBA Finals.
So, what was different for the 2023-24 Celtics? Their homegrown stars, huge offseason additions, and productive bench all played a factor in their quest for Banner No. 18, yet consistency was the winning component that tied them all together.
In the 2024 NBA Playoffs, the Celtics never lost two games in a row, giving them a perfect 3-0 record coming off a loss. They went 16-3 through four playoff rounds and never trailed in a series once. While the C's were better than most of their competition, they've fallen in past series when they were the obvious favorite.
However, this year was different because Boston had loads of experience and formed good habits in the regular season.
How the 2023-24 Celtics made the regular season work for them
The most apparent example of Boston's consistency is its regular season record. The Celtics went 64-18 through 82 games and had the best overall record in the entire NBA.
What's more, they never lost three games in a row all season.
“When you have a group of guys that have an understanding of what it takes, using the experiences that you've been through. And that, to me, is more than anything,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said after earning his first championship. “It was a joy watching the guys just grow as a team throughout the year but also like really work at it. Like, there's a group of guys in the locker room that decided they wanted to win day one, and credit to them.”
When the Celtics did come up short, they almost always had a response. They were 10-4 in games following a loss and dropped back-to-back contests just four times. In comparison, the 2022-23 Celtics lost three consecutive games on three separate occasions in the regular season. Then in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, they were defeated by the underdog Miami Heat three times in a row before ultimately losing in seven games.
“All of our adversity has made us stronger, made us tougher,” 2024 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown told the media after winning it all. “All season you could see it. We started from the jump. We made all the sacrifices. We played both ends of the ball at a high level. We didn't skip any steps. And this was the result.”
Just how impressive were Boston's winning ways in the regular season? Take the Mavericks, for instance, who were Western Conference champions. They lost two games in a row nine different times and had a pair of three-game losing streaks during the 2023-24 campaign.
The No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder, also couldn't compare to the Celtics' consistency. The Thunder lost two in a row seven times and started April with a three-game losing streak.
Oftentimes, the NBA's regular season is undervalued. There are always calls to shorten it and stars frequently sit games they deem insignificant in order to rest. Boston treated the regular season seriously, playing all of its guys for nearly the entire regular season with the exception of center Kristaps Porzingis, who dealt with a multitude of injuries.
One of Mazzulla's mantras throughout the playoffs was that the things that go into winning in the regular season are the exact same factors that generate postseason victories. Ahead of the Finals, Boston's young coach was asked how the championship series differs from the seemingly monotonous regular season grind. His response was telling:
“It's just sticking to the details, the things that matter, the truth,” he revealed. “The truth of the matter is if you don't box out, if you don't sprint back in transition, if you don't pass the ball in a two-on-one, if you don't take away the other team's tendencies, if you don't know who you're guarding, don't recognize the spacing, if you don't talk, if you don't play hard, you're not going to win.”
The C's paid attention to the details for most of the regular season and that carried over to the playoffs. Even though they had high expectations and were favored in every series, they never let themselves get too high or too low.
“Praise and criticism are both just as dangerous,” Mazzulla stated in his presser after Game 5 of the Finals. “And if you don't handle them well, and I think we talked about that as a team this year, like winning is just as dangerous as losing if you don't handle it well. I think our guys handled winning the right way by, whether we won or lost, we just moved on to the next game.”
That consistent, grounded mentality prevented the Celtics from getting overly cocky. That's not to say Boston lacked confidence though, as it was ready to take on any opponent standing in its way.
“I can't tell you enough about our group and our coaching staff. They were great all season long,” Brown said on Monday night. “They prepared us for these moments. We had an excellent game plan in the Finals, and then all of the guys contributed.”
Most of Boston's key pieces are under contract (or about to be) next season and it has the youth and talent to contend in the future. So while the Celtics were consistent enough for one title, that doesn't mean they plan on stopping there.
“I think we have an opportunity. I think we definitely have a window,” Brown declared. “We take it one day at a time. We definitely have to make sure we stay healthy. But, you know, we'll enjoy the summer, enjoy the moment, and then we get right back to it next year.”
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