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Jayson Tatum (0) of the Boston Celtics reacts after his team defeated the Toronto Raptors during an NBA conference semifinal basketball game on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The Celtics won 92-87. (AP Photo / Mark J. Terrill)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida – Marcus Smart is 26 years old. Jaylen Brown is 23 years old. Jayson Tatum is 22 years old.
The Boston Celtics are not old, by no means.
That doesn’t mean they lack experience, or that they don’t yet know what it’s like to play in the Eastern Conference finals.
Smart and Brown will go there for the third time in four years, Tatum for the second time in their three seasons, and they will bring Kemba Walker for their first look at what the final stage of the conference looks like. The Celtics held reigning champion Toronto 92-87 at bay in Game 7 of their Eastern semifinal series on Friday night, earning a trip to the Eastern title series against the Miami Heat.
“We have three 30-year-olds,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “We are basically a varsity team with a couple of guys.
“You know, it’s funny. I talk all the time that they only examine you if you are in the sand. And Jaylen and Jayson, this is all they’ve done. All they’ve done is play, now it’s three Eastern Conference finals for Jaylen and two for Jayson. And they have been in this stage and they have been a big part of it. They are young in every metric except playoff experience. They have a lot “.
They are about to get more.
Game 1 is Tuesday, Game 2 is Thursday, and Game 3 is next Saturday. The rest of the series could follow the every other day format; That will be determined once the Western Conference semifinal series is over and that matchup is over.
The Celtics are looking for their first trip to the NBA Finals since 2010. Since then, they have been to the Eastern Finals three times, losing to Miami in 2012 and Cleveland in 2017 and 2018, which means LeBron James thwarted them. three times.
“We didn’t come here just for the first or second round,” Tatum said. “We don’t really pay attention to outside noise, whether we were favored or not. We know what we’re capable of and we’ll just go out there and do it. “
The Celtics could be getting another big chunk of who they are back at some point in the East final. Gordon Hayward sprained his right ankle in the opening game of the playoffs against Philadelphia; he made a few shots before the game on Friday, a sign he’s working his way back.
Boston expected him to be gone for four weeks; Tuesday is the four-week mark and Stevens believes he will play Miami at some point.
“But I don’t know when,” Stevens said.
Hayward’s return will only make Boston better, and the Celtics proved against the Raptors that they have enough to win great games against great teams.
Walker said the Celtics would spend a little time celebrating Friday night and then go back to work on Saturday. Wins are harder to come by now, and Walker made no effort to hide his joy and relief after Game 7.
“Unreal,” Walker said. “It feels unreal. It’s a great feeling. It took us seven games. It is a special group that we have. We fight, we scratch. Much respect to Toronto. Those guys are tough. They know how to play. They play hard. But we stood our ground, man, and we got a great win. “
And the Eastern Finals are your reward.
For those Celtics who still don’t know what those games are like, Smart, Brown and Tatum can tell you everything from now until Tuesday night.
“Other than that, we’re pretty young and pretty inexperienced in the playoffs,” Stevens said. “But like I said the other day, I’m not sure that really matters when you’re trying to win a game. Just focus on what you can control and try to play that game the best you can. “
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