Checking back in - 10 things from Banner 18

[greenroom31]

1. Hope everyone here is doing well, especially the long-timers. This was a special team that had an amazing run all season, straight through the playoffs and hope you were able to appreciate it for what it was and tune out the media nonsense. Life has gotten too busy for me to keep up with regular posting, but I still watch as many games as I can.

2. It's pretty rare to see the top two guys on a championship team grow from year 19 year old rookies into what they are today -- not just superstars but champions. Almost like if Walker and Pierce were somehow able to win a championship (and if Walker was a lot better heh). The way they have grown as players and also as leaders has been pretty incredible and we're lucky to have them both for years to come. They are co-MVPs in my book.

3. DWhite and Jrue are about as good a complementary set of guards for this team that you could ask for. Huge credit to both of them for accepting and thriving in their roles, never once complaining about touches, minutes, or anything else. In retrospect Brad deserves even more credit than he received for those moves -- his accolades are well deserved.

4. It's a shame we didn't get a healthy Porzingis for his sake more than anything else, but he was excellent when healthy this year and so fun to watch. The bond he has with fans is obvious, with the WWE style entrances in the playoffs, but his teammates clearly love him too. And the impact he had on game 1 of the finals was crazy -- he makes this team so much better, so I really hope he can be healthy for next year's run. So many other guys stepped up in his absence though, with extra minutes for Tillman, Brissett, and even trickle down impact on Hauser and Pritchard's minutes. So happy for those guys to get their chance to step up.

5. The thing I was wrongest about with this team was the coach -- I questioned Mazzulla, especially in his first year, but he fully won me over by the time the playoffs started. He is a great leader and helped bring this team together and prepare them for the mental hurdles they would face along the way. The players obviously love him as they quote him and joke about him a lot and they know that he truly cares about them. I hope we keep him for a long time.

6. The 5 episode All In documentary on YouTube about the Celtics playoff run is must watch. Super well done and great behind the scenes footage, interviews and cameos from great Celtics legends (and even some outside of basketball). Just search for "all in Celtics" on YouTube to find it (to be clear I'm not associated with it in any way... just thought it was great).

7. So happy to see Gorman go out on this high note, and for Cousy to get his wish to see another championship as well. I've listened to Mike (and Tommy, RIP) for pretty much my whole life so it's sad to see him move on but also understand that it's time. Those photos of him from the celebration are awesome though, what a way to end his epic run.

8. Credit to Wyc and ownership for opening the wallet. This team isn't cheap, and I know there's still work to be done but all signs are they will pony up (even paying a steep price to keep Scheierman at pick #30). Lots of owners talk the talk but then get cheap around the edges and we haven't seen that yet.

9. Al Horford. What a career, and what a way to cap it off at age 38. Hard to think of a more deserving and all around better guy... he sort of reminds me of Matthew Slater for the Patriots in a way. Loved seeing his son by his side every step of the way (and Deuce with Tatum) and those were some tearjerker moments having a son of my own. This leads to...

10. The Celtics truly are about family to me. I grew up watching with my Dad, brother and friends and now with my wife and kids. I was fortunate to be able to take my son to see Game 2 of the Finals, and that's an experience I will never forget (and hopefully he won't either given the ticket cost heh). The closeness of this team and having their kids around so much shows it as well, with Brad and Joe having their families there too. I love the championship photo of everyone all together... it really shows that it takes an entire organization to achieve something this special, and top to bottom the Celtics are a class act.

Have a great summer and can't wait to see us try to run it back next year!

[chakdaddy]

I managed to watch game 1 with my elderly parents and then end of game 5 with my wife and son (although he just ran around and didn't pay attention.) I'll treasure that forever. He's the same age as I was in 1986, although I was fully invested and he is not at all. But I just watched the 1986 finale on vhs the next day and don't even remember 86-87. Meanwhile, I watched 2008 games 1 2 and 6 on a laptop at work, which was still good - except for my dvr filling and deleting game 6 -but I really wanted this experience.