Basketball is supposed to be fun. It’s entertainment meant to get us away from the stress of work, bills, and diaper changes. So that does not happen.
When I watch this repeat of the Celtics, a team that is now the odds-on favorite to win the championship, I catch myself thinking back to December 30, 2016. That date may have meant nothing to you at first, but it was important to me and maybe you too. Three friends and I jumped into my bright green 2009 Chevy Malibu and drove up to Route 2 at Gardner.
We were heading east to Alewife Station. Excitement was building as we took the red line towards the park. We’d go watch Isaiah Thomas play basketball.
And boy did we truly Get to watch Isaiah Thomas play basketball. This was the night he disembowelled Miami Heat. He went for 52, twenty-nine in the fourth quarter. twenty. nine.
By the end of the fourth quarter, I was hoarse from cheering, looking like a long-lost trio Patty and Salma. That night was pure, unfiltered basketball joy. With 37 seconds left, IT hit a crazy three-pointer to put the game away. When the initial roar faded into a merry roar, I turned to the 10-year-old and his dad behind us and just said, “You’ll never see anything like this again.” I was wrong. Until I wasn’t.
Jason Tatum has, on several occasions, done something like this. Perhaps most memorable was his dropping 60 in an absurd return against Tottenham. Or when he had 50 against Brooklyn in the playoffs. Or when he had a 46er at Milwaukee to save the Celtics season. Tatum has had some of the most memorable and dominant games in Celtics history, but one thing is missing. delight.
This is all Tatum’s fault. He’s too good at a very young age for rationality to beat. What he did at the age of 25 is not normal. Chris Paul is widely regarded as the all-time great; He has been to two conference finalists. Can you imagine how Pelican fans would talk about Zion if he took the Warriors to seven games in his rookie year? Paul Pierce He did not make the All-NBA First Team. Tatum has two (assuming he gets them this year).
If there’s an unwritten contract between fans and players, you’ll be successful and we’ll be behind you 100%. Tatum nailed his end of the bargain so well that it tarnished our expectations. He made so many addictive, winning products that we can’t get enough. I am writing this after a stellar performance in which he went down 39-11-5 with 1 turnover, 1 block, 1 steal, in 56/80/87.5 shooting. However, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated. Perhaps not specifically by him, but by the team he is responsible for, a responsibility he accepted after the fifth game against Atlanta.
Jason Tatum has subverted my expectations.
This is the key to everything. The reason Isaiah brought so much joy is that he was not chained to success. He was a lovable underdog of misfit games led by boy genius Brad Stevens. After losing in the first round, we didn’t expect much from them; We just wanted to have fun competing with them. And we did. Time and time again, Isaiah and the punk rock Celtics have exceeded our expectations. They smashed what we thought a team led by a 5’8″ guard could accomplish, and we loved him, and this team, for that.
Fast forward a few years, and Jayson Tatum has another homegrown star at his hip, a veteran presence and a young athletic oddity at quarterback, a DPOY at point guard, and roleplayers who are too good to call them that. We expect greatness, we expect perfection, and anything less than that is a disappointment.
It’s, frankly, an unreasonable standard and I know that, but I can’t help it. I want to feel the joy of watching Isaiah Thomas hang 52 in Heat or 53 in his sister’s birthday against the Wizards again. But it is not possible in the place where you set expectations for this team. Anything short of a blast is a disappointment, and logically speaking, I know that’s not fair, but that’s where we are.
I should be enjoying the rise of a 25-year-old and his 26-year-old who have carved their names into NBA lore, but my expectations are clouded by the fun. Each deep playoff round is more basketball to watch, and these years are moving far too quickly. One minute you’re watching Antoine and Paul back in front of the window, the next you’re gazing at a bearded man SixExpress Jersey does not hit dagger three in a time of crisis. “Life comes to you quickly” is an overused and simplistic figurative phrase, but sometimes it’s there.
Tatum and this version of the Celtics are on a curve that requires you to climb to the levels of Bill Russell and Larry Bird to get an A. TD Garden is home where a bachelor’s degree isn’t good enough, and we can only hope Jason, Jaylen, and the Celtics live up to it . until they do.
Celtics at 6.