When you are the defending champions, quite often than not, teams succumb to the pressure around them. However, the Boston Celtics are not cut from the same cloth. The C’s have held their ground and played like champions throughout the season. They showed that once again on Friday night against the Charlotte Hornets. The Celtics dominated the Hornets despite being short-handed, ensuring a 130-94 blowout win. Payton Pritchard scored 22, and Sam Hauser added another 20 points in the win. Meanwhile, their star forward, Jayson Tatum, also flexed his skills, scoring 16 points along with eight rebounds and eight assists. This win helped the C’s touch the 60-win mark in back-to-back seasons.

With just one game left in the regular season, the two teams meet again on Sunday. The C’s have already secured a playoff seed and look as threatening as ever. So, they could relax a bit before the business end of the season starts. However, their head coach, Joe Mazzulla, doesn’t take any game for granted. In fact, believes Sunday’s game will tell if his team is ready for the playoffs or not. “I mean, Sunday’s game will expose whether we’re ready or not from that standpoint.” Mazzulla stated after Friday’s win over Charlotte. “I think that, you know, we still have a game left where we have to play at a high level.” It’s a response you’d expect from Boston’s head coach, who’s known around the league for his competitive nature and blunt replies.

So, you can assume that his team will stop at nothing less than a victory on Sunday night after the warning. Boasting a 60-21 record and occupying the second seed in the Eastern Conference, they’ve already been fantastic this season. While this record isn’t as good as the 64-18 record from last season, it’s still quite impressive. Moreover, you also have to take into account the fact that this season, everyone wanted to get the better of Boston because of them being the reigning champions. However, they’ve still managed to be one of the best teams this season. So, have they accomplished what they set out to achieve in the regular season? Well, Joe Mazzulla would like to think so.

The Celtics head coach has stated that his team has been great and achieved the goals they had set for the regular season. “Up until this point, I think we’ve accomplished what we needed to from the standpoint of going through good, going through bad, and having different identities. And, you know, so, yeah, for the most part, I am (comfortable with my team).” Mazzulla added. It’s not easy to compete at such an elite level for two consecutive seasons. But Mazzulla and his team have done incredibly well to maintain their standard and perform well on a day-to-day basis. It remains to be seen if they can emulate their performance from last season in the playoffs. But that’s something they have time to reflect on after Sunday’s finale. Meanwhile, their franchise player, Jayson Tatum, makes has a rather emotional confession for this season.

Jayson Tatum “cherishes” Boston’s regular season performance

Jayson Tatum has been the backbone of this Boston Celtics team not just this season but for some time now. The 27-year-old Celtics forward is proud of what he and his teammates have achieved this season. Moreover, he’s proud of how well the team has connected together and gone the extra mile to complement each other’s style of play. “Just the makeup of our team and guys willing us to get outside themselves and truly just finding a way each position to do what they can to impact it in a positive way on both ends. You know, that’s why we just have such a special group.” Tatum stated. Players such as Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser have been great backups for Boston. Additionally, they all know how to play alongside each other which gives them an added advantage over others.

Jayson Tatum also expressed how he felt playing as a defending champion and what his experience was through the ups and downs of the regular season. “It’s been a lot of fun, honestly, this year, you know, bringing everybody back besides O’Shea. We have such a joy and a connection with each other through some tough moments or whatever it may be,” Tatum shared. The team’s chemistry is so well because they’ve been playing together for some time now. Also, they managed to keep hold of almost their entire championship-winning roster. So, that has helped them maintain the winning culture massively. “But, you know, with one game left in the season, I can say that everybody has felt valued. Everybody has played a part in our success this season. Everybody understands the common code that we share. And, you know, we know who we are. We know who we are individually. We know what we bring to this team to make it what it is.”

With just one game to go, Tatum expressed that each player on the roster has helped them win 60 games this season. However, amid all this competition and winning, the C’s star did not forget the most important thing: Enjoying the game. “We have so much fun, you know, doing what we do. And, you know, you realize when you’re on special teams and you’re with special guys, you just try to cherish those moments. Season goes by fast, but it’s been a fun one so far.” he said. It seems the spirit in the Boston locker room is at an all-time high, and this team is ready for the playoffs. It will be interesting to see how they fare in this season’s knockout phase.