Marcus Smart is not hiding the fact that the Boston Celtics' loss to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals was tough, but he is assuring everyone they have learned their lesson.

Of course Smart didn't wish to learn that lesson the “hard way,” but it has already happened and the only thing they can do now is take the learning experience and make sure they don't commit the same mistakes next time.

“We have to take the lesson the hard way. We learned a lot out of our experience and unfortunately we had to lose to do that, but we now know what it takes to play, to be there, the stress it takes on you, mentally, physically, emotionally,” Smart confessed, per CLNS Media.

“You kind of figure when and when not to be too excited about it, how to play it and how to keep yourself calm. It was a lot of factors that we’ve learned individually and as a group from this … it’s tough to have to learn the hard way … it’s still fresh for us, so guys are really just trying to wait, but once we do start talking, we’ll get that out there, but right now we’re just giving ourselves a break.”

The Celtics were largely expected to win the title against the Warriors, but in the end, the Dubs' experience and depth proved to be the deciding factors in the series.

Sure enough, Boston also gained a lot in their 2022 playoffs run. Not only did they establish themselves as potential title contenders in the years to come, but as Marcus Smart said it, they also learned what it would take them to win the Larry O'Brien trophy.

With their current roster, the Beantown team is highly likely to get another crack at the title. And when that time comes, fans can be sure they won't crumble like they did in the past season.