The Boston Celtics came really close to winning a championship this season. Unfortunately for them, it just wasn't written in the stars.
Despite the heartbreaking end to their season, however, Celtics head coach Ime Udoka firmly believes that there are still some important things to take away from this brutal loss. The 44-year-old shot-caller acknowledged how some of his players failed to live up to the expectations most people had of them. Nevertheless, Udoka says that this is something that should fuel them to get back even stronger next season:
“Obviously, losing on a buzzer-beater against Ray Allen when I was in San Antonio will kind of fuel you throughout a whole season,” Udoka said, via Ira Winderman of the South Florida SunSentinel. “But this was a little bit different. We improved in a lot of areas, but fell short of our ultimate goal. Some guys didn’t play their best. That’s going to motivate guys throughout the season.
“Like I said, the message is everybody come back better. Let’s not be satisfied. It’s not guaranteed you’re going to be here. The East is getting tougher every year. They’ll come back better. We will as a staff, as well.”
There's no doubt that the first person that comes to mind here is Jayson Tatum. He's the Celtics' best player, and the harsh reality is that he didn't play his best basketball throughout the Finals series against the Golden State Warriors.
This is the first time Tatum made it to the pinnacle, and as coach Udoka said, this disheartening experience should only help fuel the Celtics star to come back with a vengeance next year.
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