SAN FRANCISCO — Walking into the Chase Center, the Celtics found themselves in the same spot as they were a year ago.
In the spring of 2022, they looked like world-beaters until the Warriors showed them the mentality of a champion. After a shockingly hot start to last season, the December loss to the Warriors was a rude awakening for a team approaching the end of its honeymoon period.
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From that point on, the season was a roller coaster of winning and losing streaks, peaks and valleys that never quite leveled out. Their playoff series went the same way, the Celtics somehow making it to the precipice of the Finals even though they finished with a losing record at home in the postseason.
They opened this season 20-5, matching their start from a year ago. This time around, they arrived in the Bay in December with a clearer identity and on more stable footing. It’s why they are confident there are more peaks ahead.
“Before I came here, I knew already these guys are close to achieving something big,” Kristaps Porziņģis said. “Coming into this kind of environment, you feel that culture and you feel that responsibility at the same time.
“It’s just a competitive atmosphere. Every day, every practice, we want to get better. Win every day. And it’s an honor to be part of this kind of culture and this kind of environment.”
The whole program holds up — until it runs into Steph Curry. The Celtics have been the best team in the NBA when they came to the Bay two years in a row. Once again, Curry buried them.
UNBELIEVABLE
» https://t.co/48b4M54WLu pic.twitter.com/jw7upcShXM
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) December 20, 2023
Curry makes the most amazing plays you’ve ever seen seem routine. No matter how good the Celtics get, he’s always ready to take them down in the biggest moments.
“It was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,” Warriors big Trayce Jackson-Davis said of Curry’s shot.
Death, taxes, Steph. He is inevitable. A two-possession lead is a tied game. Maybe you’re even losing. Who knows? He’s just that dangerous.
“I kind of relaxed for a split-second then that’s all it takes with him,” Derrick White said. “Made a great shot. But as soon as you relax, it’s over.”
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It took White 0.4 seconds to react to Chris Paul’s pass. His hand was three inches away from blocking the shot. We just don’t have the technology to measure how small the margins are with Curry.
“He’s the greatest shooter of all time,” White said. “You give him a good look at the rim or even any look at the rim — we’ve seen it for a while now where nothing really surprises you. Like I said earlier, that split hesitation cost us that 3 right there. They’re a great team. When you play against great teams, it’s always going to come down to those little things, back-and-forth, it’s a lot of fun to play against. Hopefully we get back to it.”
Here’s the thing. The Warriors clearly have not been a great team this year. Draymond Green is suspended (again). The rotations are all over the place as their stalwarts have struggled. They’re 13-14.
But didn’t White just call them great? Upon a follow-up, he made it clear that wasn’t a mistake.
“When you’re playing against the Warriors, you know what to expect. They just got that championship pedigree,” White said. “Regardless of their record or whatnot, it’s always a challenge.”
Now here comes the hard part. Can the Celtics get back to it? After all, the Warriors were 14-13 when they won this game last year. It didn’t matter. Against the Celtics, Steph is the GOAT and the Warriors are the team to beat.
Their intensity and focus are just on another level in crunchtime. Their transition play brought them back into the game and Curry was simply “him.” This Celtics team used to not have a “curveball” as a way to change the game up late with something reliable and controlled.
As Jayson Tatum struggled to play on a swollen sprained ankle — which felt like Game 7 against the Heat all over again — and the Celtics missing a franchise record 41 3-pointers, this felt like another loss where so much was going against them.
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“There’s no right coverage when you’re in that type of situation,” Joe Mazzulla said. “You’re looking to guard the 3-point line and rebound, and I think even the last play of overtime, it was a one-point game and we took a tough shot and just didn’t come up with the rebound. So I thought we had the right curveball in there as far as what we were trying to do. I just didn’t think the ball bounced our way. Obviously, we say that and there’s still stuff we should have done better.”
But the momentum started to turn, ironically, when Curry picked up his fifth foul in the third quarter. The Celtics held a 17-point lead at one point in the middle of the third, then the Warriors started working their way back with Curry off the floor. When he got back out there, the Celtics got a little too fixated trying to get him out of the game.
“They were doing a good job of hiding him and I felt like if we were to just play instead of looking around, maybe we would have been able to attack,” Jaylen Brown said. “But we were trying to put him in certain actions and I think that kind of hurt us.”
The thing that bothered Brown was that the Celtics didn’t settle for 3s, but they settled for wide-open 3s. It’s the thing you’re supposed to do. The analytics bear it out. Shot margin is a real thing.
But even Mazzulla has admitted that analytics can’t always capture the specific nature of a game in a small window. Brown called out the team for not continuing to attack the basket when the Celtics had numbers. The pressure of getting to the rim and drawing fouls just creates a different psychological impact and the Celtics could’ve used a little more of that.
Overall, Boston played its style and executed well. Created open 3s and took them. Missed a historic amount. A lot of bad bounces on the glass for both sides. The process was good. The Celtics are good. Their luck was bad. Curry’s incredible game-winner made Brown’s perfect execution to draw a double and find Al Horford for 3 an afterthought.
If Curry doesn’t hit the shot of all shots, Brown’s playmaking and Boston’s commitment to creating open 3s is the story. This game was a coin flip that landed on its edge, just barely toppling over Golden State’s direction.
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A year ago, the Warriors made them look lost. This time, the Celtics were in it until the end.
“Last year at this time, we didn’t play well last year when we came into here. For most of the game, we played well today,” Tatum said. “They got hot at the right time and we just started missing shots. Last year when we came in here, I don’t think we played well throughout the game and we lost and it wasn’t as close as it was today. Today was a good game.”
Now that has to carry over as they drive up to Sacramento for a back-to-back before taking on the hottest team in the NBA in the Clippers. The Warriors tend to be the Celtics’ canary in a coal mine. But this loss could be the harbinger of a true identity, something this team has not had in a while.
“I’m very confident in our team. 20-6. Other games we lost was close. Could’ve went either way,” said Tatum. “We want to win every game we play, but 20-6 is not bad and we can still get a lot better. So I think that’s a positive way of looking at it.”
And the difference this year is the way they improve. Brown sees a team that understands itself and its situation better.
“I think we just learn from our mistakes,” said Brown. “We’ve learned from things that we didn’t do so well in the past last year. We apply them just a little bit better this year from game to game.”
As he put it, some things you just know. So can the Celtics, after everything they’ve learned, after all the changes they’ve made, not spiral this time and get back on track?
“It’s the league. S— happens,” Brown said. “On to the next one.”
(Photo of Stephen Curry and Derrick White: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)