Celtics

“We didn’t have the Coach of the Year, we didn’t have the MVP, we only had two All-Stars. You say we’re a super team but we didn’t get rewarded like we are.”

The 2023-24 Celtics have been referred to as a “super team” by fans and media because of their loaded roster, 64-win regular season, and because they lost just four games at home.

However, Jayson Tatum disagrees with that narrative.

Following Boston’s Game 2 blowout loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at home on Thursday, the Celtics’ star said that outsiders view this year’s team incorrectly.

“The idea that we have a super team — it’s twofold, right?” Tatum said. “We didn’t have the Coach of the Year, we didn’t have the MVP, we only had two All-Stars. You say we’re a super team but we didn’t get rewarded like we are.”

Though his comments may rub some fans the wrong way, Tatum is doing the right thing as a leader by trying to downplay the idea that his team is far and away the best in the NBA right now.

By definition, Boston certainly performed like a super team in the regular season. When its starting five was fully healthy between October and April, it was hard to bet against the Celtics. Stopping Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday is no easy task. Plus, they lost just 18 games and were the only NBA team to win more than 60 games.

The Celtics have a history of collapsing at some point during the postseason, though, and the fact that they haven’t won the NBA Finals since 2008 despite consistently being contenders only adds fuel to that fire.

Boston lost one game to the Miami Heat in the first round and lost Porzingis to a calf injury. Now, it finds itself tied at one win apiece with the Cavaliers after getting beaten decidedly at TD Garden.

The Celtics have the opportunity to prove people wrong and finally bring home Banner No. 18, plus beat the “mentally weak” accusations that are often slung their way.

Tatum went on to talk about the expectations people have placed on Boston and how they’re not always going to play perfectly.

“The world thinks we’re never supposed to lose, we’re supposed to win every game by 25,” Tatum said. “It’s not gonna be like that a lot of time. We don’t expect it to be easy. It’s a good team we’re playing, it’s the second round of the playoffs. … We’ve bounced back plenty of times. … I like to think that we responded pretty well the few times that we did lose.”