Celtics Aren’t Bothered By Title Expectations: ‘We’re In That Mix’

BRIGHTON, Mass. — The Boston Celtics know what comes with the territory of having an All-Star-packed core heading into next season, and they’re not fazed by any of the pressure that’s attached.

Since birthing Boston’s tandem of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics have grown into Eastern Conference favorites on a year-to-year basis, failing to live up to the hype. Aside from a single NBA Finals appearance, in which the C’s coughed up a 2-1 lead to the Golden State Warriors, not much has taken place in terms of accomplishments. Instead, underachieving and crumbling in the playoffs has stuck with Boston, most recently losing to a No. 8 seed Miami Heat team in the Eastern Conference finals last season.

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So, with an aggressive response from Boston’s front office, the expectations arguably have reached their highest for the Celtics — and rightfully so.

“Is it pressure? Yeah, we got a really good team, we got really good players,” Tatum said during Monday’s Celtics media day. “People expect us to get to the championship and win, and (if we) don’t, we didn’t necessarily meet expectations. There’s a handful of teams each year that realistically can probably win a championship and we’re in that mix. So that’s what we’re aiming for and that’s what we should be aiming for.”

First, the liberty granted to Tatum and Brown was LeBron James ruling the East and bulldozing through anyone in the way of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Now… what’s the excuse? Tatum and Brown are established All-Stars, they have the experience and Jimmy Butler isn’t King James, no matter how much the Jays duck for cover when Playoff Jimmy flips the switch.

At several points throughout last season, the Celtics played like the best team in the league, shooting lights out from 3-point territory which made up for Boston’s lost defensive identity — at the start. But philosophy haunted the Celtics when the games mattered most, ultimately sabotaging an NBA Finals appearance.

Facing the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers and Heat in the playoffs only exposed the gaping holes that forced the front office’s hand and prompted the departures of Marcus Smart, Malcolm Brogdon and Robert Williams III.

“No one’s gonna have higher expectations than I have for myself,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said. “… We know the end goal is to win a championship. That’s why everybody does what they do, that’s why spend the entire season away from our families. That’s why we have positive emotions, negative emotions. At the end of the day, we’re all trying to achieve something that’s really, really hard. And so, the expectations are the expectations. I always say I’d rather be in a city like this that has high expectations than be in a city where there are no expectations.”

Mazzulla added: “The expectations should be there.”

While the Celtics have abused multiple opportunities to raise Banner 18, the rest of the league isn’t waiting around.

The Milwaukee Bucks, presumably Boston’s biggest threat in the East, added seven-time All-Star Damian Lillard, who’ll pair up with two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. That’s a team that’s also just two years removed from their NBA title.

The expectations are in place and the roster is polished. All that’s left is to live up to the expectations and finally finish the job.