The Boston Celtics have reached the NBA Finals for the second time in the past three seasons. So far, they have not lost more than one game per playoff series. They dispatched the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers in five games each before sweeping the Indiana Pacers to come out of the Eastern Conference. A big reason for the Celtics dominance this season has been the acquisition of Jrue Holiday.
Ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks, Holiday reflected on the trade that brought him to the team as per NBC Sports Boston.
“I think that this was what was supposed to happen. I'm glad that I'm here and I'm glad that I'm in this moment. I would say Joe [Mazulla] has talked about that a lot, especially this season, being in the moment and that's what I've tried to do,” Holiday said. “I didn't try to worry about the contracts, didn't try to worry about any of that. It was so much about winning and why we're at this point now.”
“It's gonna be the same from here on, it's like I'm supposed to be here and I'm supposed to be with my teammates and we're supposed to do this together. And it is because that's the way it's supposed to be.”
Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis transformed the Celtics
After being in the running for the Damian Lillard sweepstakes, the Celtics turned their attention to Jrue Holiday once Lillard was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers. Holiday was traded to the Blazers in the Lillard deal and the Celtics swooped in once the Blazers made Holiday available.
The other major piece of the puzzle was acquiring Kristaps Porzingis from the Washington Wizards in a trade that involved Porzingis picking up his player option. Both players have made the Celtics that much more lethal and why they're considered a the title favorite heading into the Finals.
Holiday started in 69 games for the Celtics at a little over 32 minutes per game. He averaged 12.5 points, 5.4 rebound and 4.8 assists with splits of 48 percent shooting from the field, 42.9 percent shooting from the three-point line and 83.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Porzingis started in 57 games at a little over 29 minutes per game. He averaged 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.9 blocked shots with splits of 51.6 percent shooting from the field, 37.5 percent shooting from the three-point line and 85.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line. While Porzingis has been sidelined since the first round of the playoffs with a calf strain, he is expected to return at some point during the NBA Finals.
Behind their new additions, the Celtics finished the regular season at a league-best 64-18 and securing homecourt throughout the entire playoffs. They're hoping to break through this season and win championship number 18 in franchise history.
Last season, they reached the Eastern Conference Finals before falling to the Miami Heat in seven games, forcing a Game 7 after being down 0-3. In 2022, the reached the NBA Finals only to lose to the Golden State Warriors in six games.
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