Wednesday, July 3, 2024

The Rafters Pod Ep. 122: Celtics Champions BANNER EIGHTEEN

By lmcdaid16 on July 3, 2024

Banner Eighteen! The Boston Celtics are NBA Champions. Banner Eighteen is being hoisted into The Rafters. Boston took down the Dallas Mavericks in a stunning 5 games, shocking the Mavs and the world with their dominance. The team from Texas just couldn't seem to put together consistent enough offense to match The Celtics all-star starting five. Jrue Holiday and Derrick White cemented their defensive pairing as one of the greatest in history. Kristaps Porzingis had a finals debut that will live in Celtics lore. And most of all, Jayson Tatum and Finals MVP Jaylen Brown remained healthy and consistent when it mattered most. Leading this team to the spectacular victory they got.

Kyrie Irving didn't get his revenge on an organization that hates him so passionately. In Game 3, Luka Doncic fouled out in the midst of a 21-point comeback. Leaving the onus on Irving to cement the comeback and keep this series competitive. Then he failed. Irving couldn't muster the same magic people have admired from him and the Mavericks fell in a soul crushing defeat for their fans. All while, Celtics fans loved the shortcomings of Irving, mounting their hopes for a dominating series.

Jaylen Brown was the most consistent player on offense night-in and night-out making him much deserved for the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP averaging 20.8 points in the Finals with 5.4 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.6 steals while shooting 44% from the field. Brown had received the largest contract in NBA history going into this season making him a target for most criticisms.

The Celtics had a record of 80-21 including playoffs this season, etching their name as one of the best teams in history. Thus seen, three gentlemen's sweeps and a total sweep made up their playoff run of terror for the victims made the Celtics NBA Champions.