3 Reasons Why The Boston Celtics Are On The Verge Of The 2018 NBA Finals

With their win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics are just one victory away from reaching the 2018 NBA Finals. The East’s No.2 seed has overcome losing both Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving to season-ending injuries to get here, having begun the second round and conference finals as heavy underdogs.

Here are three reasons why Boston is on the verge of earning a matchup with the Golden State Warriors or Houston Rockets:

Jayson Tatum

Boston needed someone to step up and become the No.1 option in Irving’s absence. Tatum has been the guy, raising his game when the Celtics have needed it most.

It’s hard to believe that Tatum is the same 20-year-old rookie that averaged fewer than 14 points per game in the regular season. He’s raised his scoring average to 18.4 points per game in the playoffs, shooting 46.3 percent from the field. Tatum was vital in the second round, putting up at least 20 points in all five games against the Philadelphia 76ers. After Cleveland dominated Game 3 and Game 4 at home, he led Boston with 24 points on 15 shots in Boston’s critical Game 5 victory.

When many of the Celtics have faltered on the road, Tatum has maintained his level of play. He scored 17 points and 18 points in the two contests at Quicken Loans Arena, and the rookie scored 24 points on 64.7 percent shooting in the team’s only road win of the postseason.

Defense

With an average offense in both the regular season and playoffs, Boston has needed its defense to be exceptional for a chance at winning the East. No one was better at getting stops than the Celtics before the postseason, and that success has largely carried over into the biggest games of the year.

Only the Warriors and Indiana Pacers have a better defensive rating this postseason. That’s the case despite playing offenses that ranked fifth (Cleveland), seventh (Milwaukee) and 11th (Philadelphia) over the course of 82 games. James has had a historic playoff run, but Boston forced him to have his one truly bad performance when he scored just 15 points in Game 1. The Celtics have held opponents to shooting 33.8 percent from three-point range and prevented Cleveland from getting many clean looks at TD Garden.

Boston has had their struggles on the road, giving up 227 total points in two games in Cleveland, but everyone succumbs to James’ greatness more often than not. The fact that they’ve been able to make him look human on multiple occasions speaks to their commitment to defense and could ultimately put an end to James’ NBA Finals streak.

Brad Stevens

The Celtics are the only remaining playoff team without a true superstar player. Golden State has Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, while Houston is led by MVP-favorite James Harden and Chris Paul. Cleveland has the league’s best player in James taking on a team with one healthy All-Star who doesn’t put up big numbers.

In place of Irving and Hayward, Stevens is probably the most valuable member of the Celtics. He’s gotten the absolute most out of his talent, putting his core of young players in a position to succeed. While Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid seemed to struggle because of their lack of playoff experience, Tatum and Jaylen Brown are thriving, and Stevens deserves a ton of credit. He designed defenses to exploit the weaknesses of Philadelphia’s young stars and made key adjustments in Game 5 that gave Boston an edge over Cleveland.

Few people gave Boston a chance to reach the NBA Finals when the playoffs began. Having a significant coaching edge in each series has proven to be an advantage for the Celtics that’s difficult to measure.