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Time Lord highlights Celtics’ two key improvements since Finals loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
BOSTON — Thursday is technically just one game of 82. Considering the Celtics’ opponent, however, it will also be a measuring stick seeking to get over the NBA Finals hump.
The Celtics have made significant strides since falling to the Warriors in last year’s Finals, entering Thursday’s rematch versus Golden State at TD Garden with an NBA-best 33-12 record. And while their on-court improvements are obvious, big man Robert Williams believes their mental improvements deserve mention, as well.
Forsberg: C’s can’t change the past, but Finals pain still guiding them forward
“The biggest thing for me that I’ve seen (us) improve on is mental focus and accepting criticism,” Williams said Thursday at Boston’s pre-game shootaround. “Not crawling in a hole when stuff isn’t going our way, and trying our hardest to fight out of it together.”
The Celtics’ mental toughness was tested just over a month ago by these same Warriors, who routed Boston by 16 points in Golden State on Dec. 10. The loss appeared to rattle the C’s, who lost four of their next five games while facing their first real adversity of the season.
Joe Mazzulla’s club has shown impressive resolve since then, however, winning 11 of its next 13 contests and taking a seven-game winning streak into Thursday night. Williams, who missed the teams’ first meeting in December, believes Boston’s Finals loss as well as its post-Warriors skid only strengthened the Celtics’ resolve.
“It taught all of us as a team that we can push past limits that we set for ourselves,” Williams added. “Just mentally, I feel like with all the injuries that we had … that was a great test for us, just to see how far we could push ourselves.”
Thursday will present Boston’s latest test. Despite Golden State’s inconsistent play (22-22 overall and 5-17 on the road), the Warriors still have won four straight over the Celtics dating to last year’s Finals and are back in the building where they celebrated the 2022 championship in front of the Boston crowd.
If the Celtics can prove they’re the better team — to the rest of the NBA, but more importantly, to themselves — that will go a long way toward their 2023 Finals quest.
“Even though no one says it, I just feel like everyone from this organization wanted to let people know (our 2022 Finals run) wasn’t a fluke,” Williams added.
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