Two highly intelligent yet polarizing players, who everyone takes for granted and doesn’t fully appreciate how critical they are to the overall success of the team. They’re two killers you want taking the last shot with the season on the line. Of course, Tatum has had a preposterous amount of team success, whereas Pierce had plenty of ups and downs, but the parallel holds true. They’ve been here through it all, put the team and the city on their back and slowly but surely adopted Boston as their own. Time for some role comparisons (these aren’t exact, so please have some fun with them and don’t interpret them literally): I can’t be the only one thinking this, right? When I suggested this story idea in Slack, my editor, Bill Sy, responded with an emphatic “YES,” as if he felt heard and wanted the world to know it. With that in mind, I’m just going to come out and say it: This 2023-24 team is giving off major 2007-2008 vibes right now. I understand all that.īut I also know that this Celtics team is already special and has a tremendous opportunity to be really special. I know there’s a long way to go before the playoffs.
