Will the Tatum/Brown-era Celtics finally prove their toughness? - ESPN

IN THE OLD DAYS, whenever the Boston Celtics neared an NBA title, the march to the championship was accompanied by the arrogant certainty befitting to a dynasty, complete with the requisite accouterments: a victory cigar, opponents expecting to lose on the parquet floor and the welcomed expectations that come with the specter of 17 championship banners looking down, always expecting company.

The old days, however, are exactly that — yesterday's news. Boston hasn't won a championship in 15 years, and the 2008 team is the only one to hoist a banner over the past 37 years. Still, in mind, memory and trophy case, they are the Celtics, and they have backed up a dominant 64-win season — the fourth most in team history — with a trip to the Eastern Conference finals for the third straight year, something Boston hadn't done since Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale did it five years in a row.

This season, Boston was 14 games better than the second-best team in the Eastern Conference (New York Knicks), and seven games better than the Denver Nuggets and the Oklahoma City Thunder, the two 57-game winners in the West. It defeated opponents by 11.3 points per game — a differential reserved for dynasties (the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors and 1995-96 Chicago Bulls also won with this margin) and it was the best point differential in Celtics history.

Three times this season — Nov. 1 against the Indiana Pacers (155-104), Feb. 14 versus the Brooklyn Nets (136-86) and March 3 against Golden State (140-88) — the Celtics won by at least 50 points.

Through two playoff rounds, Boston has been ruthless, destroying both the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers in five games, by an average margin of victory of 22 and 15 points, respectively,