In the aftermath of a second-round defeat to the New York Knicks, the Boston Celtics are still in shock over how their season ended. Unlike other teams, talent and depth are not the problem for Boston. As LeBron James recently pointed out, it's more about a lack of consistent effort that stems from getting bored with their own greatness.
“It seems like they get bored sometimes with, I don't want to say the process, but they are who they are," said James on 'Mind the Game.' "When you look at Tatum and Brown, this is years and years and years, they've punched their 10,000 hours. But sometimes they get a little bored because of how great they are. Not only them as individuals, but the entire team."
As a 4x champion, 4x MVP, and 21x All-Star, LeBron James knows what it takes to succeed, and he knows a great team when he sees one. This year, while the Celtics may no longer be in the championship mix, they were a tough team to beat at full strength, and they've clearly shown enough to earn the respect of LeBron.
Throughout the Tatum and Brown era, the King observed varying degrees of success from the Celtics, and he knew that the only thing holding them back was themselves. But with one of the deepest, most well-connected rosters in the league, the new-age Celtics got comfortable coasting through the competition, and they've been caught sleeping several times, like in the 2023 playoffs, when they were defeated in the Conference Finals by the Heat after losing their first two games at home.
This lack of focus and consistency contrasts greatly with the Celtics of old, who were a regular challenger to LeBron in his early reign. In fact, James clashed with Boston several times over the years, dating back to the days of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen. He lost his first two series against the Celtics in 2008 and 2010 before beating them in the playoffs for the next five times they matched up -- in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, and 2018.
Today, with LeBron now 40 years old, the Celtics are still a major force in the NBA title race, but the situation has become fragile. Following their championship victory in 2024, they came in the next season as the favorites to win it all. Led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, they won 61 games in the regular season to secure the second seed in the East.
The Celtics cruised through the first round with little resistance against the Orlando Magic. But things changed in the Semifinals, when the Celtics began to unravel. Despite their shooting struggles, the Cs refused to change their game plan, and by the time that Jayson Tatum went down with an Achilles injury, the writing was on the wall for the Celtics' season.
Going into the summer, nobody knows what's next for Boston, but LeBron James is certain that they won't be down for long. Besides a star-studded roster and a brilliant front office, the franchise has developed a championship culture that will ensure it returns to contention before too long. But if they want to make the most of the Tatum and Brown era, they need to find a way to ensure their players don't get bored with success and start losing their focus, like LeBron James has seen all too many times in his storied NBA career.
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