Ten Stops You Can’t Miss on the Celtics’ Upcoming Revenge Tour originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Winning an NBA championship was supposed to silence the doubters, but instead it fueled them.
The Celtics may be favored to repeat, but that doesn’t mean they were given a coronation. On the contrary, the months of July and August brought criticism from virtually all directions, some of which was highly public (insert Olympic theme music), some heavily involved (insert Knicks theme music).
With less than two weeks until the opening match, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Co. should not lack motivation. Let’s review the 10 people/opponents/destinations that should bring just a little extra juice.
1. Steve Kerr
First match: November 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston
This has little to do with the new look of the Warriors and everything to do with their coach. He has resided at the center of all Celtics controversies, first for his role in leaving Brown off the US team roster not once but twice, and then for benching Tatum for reasons even he couldn’t explainexcept to say he’s an idiot.
Kerr’s warriors should prepare to harvest the whirlwind. While the Celtics remain firmly in their collective prime, the Warriors are a team in transition. The incomparable Steph Curry turns 37 in March and enters her 16th season. Klay Thompson is gone, Draymond Green is diminished, and the Dubs will likely be a playmaking team at best.
Remember last season’s 52-point beat in Boston? It was nothing.
2. Kendrick Perkins’ house
Perk lives in Texas, right? When the Celtics visit Houston, Brown should hijack the team bus and recreate his viral driving dunk of 2017even if it meant stealing the ball from one of the former Celtics big man’s children and breaking his backboard.
Extreme? I mean, have you heard Perk? Even those of us who make a living tending hot hibachi think we’re losing it. Joe Mazzulla is a bird brain? Nobody is afraid of the Celtics? Is he fed up with Jayson Tatum?
While it’s easy to dismiss the fiery rhetoric that Perkins is giving ESPN what it wants, it’s also true that he expresses his opinions quite convincingly. Maybe he really means every word.
3. New York Knicks
First match: October 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET
New York appears to be the only team in the East clearly determined to counter what the Celtics do best.
Undersized superstar Jalen Brunson is fearless and tough, but he can’t beat Boston alone. So New York added Mikal Bridges, one of the league’s most accomplished Tatum stoppers, then traded ball-dominant power forward Julius Randle to the Wolves for a better offensive fit in Karl Anthony-Towns.
Whether this is enough to eliminate the C’s is debatable. — Mazzulla will surely torture KAT on the perimeter — but that hasn’t stopped the punditocracy from declaring New York the greatest threat in the East. The Celtics will have an opportunity to put that talk to rest immediately, as teams will open the season in Boston on October 22.
4. Anthony Edwards
First match: November 24 at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston
Edwards talks like he’s Michael Jordan, and while his bravado is oddly endearing, it’s not yet backed up by the team’s success. He only won his first playoff series this year.
His most recently revealed trash talk, from a just-released Netflix documentary, is sure to light a fire under Tatum, if Edwards’ starring role on Team USA hasn’t already done so.
After the Wolves beat the Celtics in overtime in Minnesota last year, Edwards was caught on camera. bragging about how he locked down Tatum defensively. He then talked about what sets him apart. “You have to have it or you don’t,” Edwards said. “And I pretty much got it.”
Oh yeah? Maybe the Celtics will have something to say about that. As it stood, when the two met in Boston for the rematch, Tatum lost 45.
5. Jimmy Butler
First match: December 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston
The story of the Celtics not beating anyone en route to a title began in Miami, where Butler missed the first-round series and later said the outcome — Boston in 5 — would have been different if he had plays. This comment got a rare STFU from Heat president Pat Riley.
Assuming Butler is healthy, the Celtics should have no problem finding the motivation to put their longtime tormentor in his place.
6. Nonconformists
First match: January 25 at 8:30 p.m. ET
It’s amazing how many “If you could make a team with just one player today?” » the questions start with Luka Doncic. Did anyone watch the finale?
The Celtics abused Doncic on defense from the opening minutes of Game 1 and never gave in. Last time I checked, there were two ends of the court, and Tatum is the superstar bringing them both. Brown too.
Dallas will be excited for this one, because losing in the finals hurts. Not being able to do anything will only irritate the wound.
7. Nuggets
First match: January 7 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston
Of all the asterisks attached to last year’s title, “You Didn’t Need to Go Through Denver,” might be the most annoying.
It’s not Boston’s fault that the Nuggets couldn’t take down the Timberwolves after opening a 3-2 lead. And it’s such a lazy counterfactual to state that Denver would have repeated when in fact the Nuggets were a flawed two-man playoff team, and even the great Nikola Jokić alongside running mate Jamal Murray couldn’t lift them.
Beyond that, if we’re going to criticize the Celtics’ path to a championship, we should probably acknowledge Denver’s path a year earlier: three play-in teams, plus the perpetually underperforming Suns. Speaking of which…
8. Devin Booker
First match: March 26 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston
New owner Matt Ishbia attempted to buy a title by putting Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Booker together in a hastily-conceived superteam, and the result was a first-round sweep at the hands of the Wolves.
Phoenix could very well be dismantled at some point this season in recognition of their failure, but let’s hope that doesn’t happen before the C’s come after them.
This one is mostly about the Olympics, where Booker and Durant played the starring roles while Tatum languished on the bench and Brown traveled the world. Booker is a good individual talent and a gifted scorer, but his teams have regressed over the past four years, from a 2021 finals berth to last year’s early exit.
There’s also the fact that Booker made an All-NBA team against Brown, who became a two-time playoff MVP. Devin Booker vs. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown? Please.
9. Clippers
First match: November 25 at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston
Brown’s Olympics fiasco could have been avoided if Team USA had done the right thing and given him the spot that originally belonged to Kawhi Leonard, a failed superstar who predictably , withdrew even before the start of the Games.
There were a whole bunch of players on this list that Brown could reasonably claim to outperform, but the one with the game most similar to his might be Leonard, a three-level scorer on one side and a lockdown defender on the other .
What better way to pass the torch than to simply take it?
10. LeBron James
First match: January 23 at 10 p.m. ET
Do it for our guys Drew and Scal! James didn’t mind their comments defending Russell Westbrook during the Abu Dhabi series with Denver, and he expressed his displeasure on the site formerly known as Twitter.
Scal took the upper hand on this oneand now the Cs should support him!
