As much as the Boston Celtics would like to put their NBA Finals loss completely behind them, they keep being reminded of it.
That's especially true this week with the Golden State Warriors playing in TD Garden on Thursday night for the first time since clinching their title on the famed parquet in June.
But the time removed from the Finals lends to more perspective on what went wrong for Boston.
And even though the defeat on the elevated stage for Jaylen Brown and the rest of his Celtics teammates still stings, it provided them with lessons that Brown feels they have put to good use this season.
"Poise. I think being able to see and read the game," Brown told reporters following practice Wednesday, per NBC Sports Boston. "I think we have to grow in terms of making reads and things like that each and every time, which I think we've gotten better at. This year, our offense has been able to take leaps by understanding the game, seeing the game and understanding what they want to take away. I think that was the biggest thing for us. Against the Warriors, we were kind of playing into their hands at times."
After going head-to-head with the Warriors already this season in early December, Brown admitted the emotions of facing off against Golden State again got the better of the Celtics and contributed to a 123-107 loss.
That should provide another learning experience for the Celtics and Brown, who seems set to play against the Warriors after missing three straight games due to right adductor tightness, as they look to just focus on the task in front of them Thursday.
"You go into a new year, and you're reminded of all of the pain, the disappointment," Brown said. "You come out and want to overcome all of that, but the reality is you remember it, you learn from it, you grow from it, but you let it go at the same time and you move forward."
