At the start of the season in mid-October, the “superteams” of Brooklyn and the LA Lakers were the big favorites. Seven months later, the Nets took the door in the first round of the play-offs, in which the Californians did not even participate. And in the final (game 1 on the night of Thursday to Friday), we find Boston and Golden State, two franchises that have built their numbers and their successes in a completely different way.
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Boston Celtics (USA)
In 2019, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving tackled Golden State and Boston to chase the titles together with Brooklyn. Their departures might have pushed their respective “ex” to panic. In an era of quick-rise and tear-down “super teams,” the Warriors and Celtics have chosen to keep building. Tonight, the stars of the Nets (who didn’t make it past the second round) will watch Game 1 of a high-profile final between the Warriors – three titles and five finals between 2015 and 2019 – and the Celtics, co-holders, on TV. , with the Lakers, the most NBA trophies (17).
Ime Udoka (Boston) does not see his group embarrassed or intimidated by the final
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
Ime Udoka: “I think in general we have a very mature group, especially with our youngsters. But Al (Horford) and Marcus (Smart) and our veterans are always very calm and keep us on the straight and narrow. I’m not really worried regarding Jayson (Tatum)Jaylen (Brown) and the others, who do not yet know this experience. Like I said, they’ve been to the Eastern Conference Finals multiple times and made it through that stage, so we know what’s in store for us.
We know what we are here for. And I don’t think any of our guys are embarrassed or intimidated by this moment. We understand what it is. We know the adversary in front of us. And for us, as usual this year, it’s the usual work, going on the road. It doesn’t scare us at all. We are really looking forward to it. So not a lot of anxiety and nervousness. And we have this time that we are going to take advantage of to rest and prepare and be ready for the first game. »
Jaylen Brown and Al Horford (Boston) learned through adversity
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
Jaylen Brown, following Boston qualified for the NBA Finals: “That’s us. We have responded all year, all season, to adversity. Today was the biggest test, not only of the year but also of our careers, to mentally show up to an away game 7 following losing on our home ground, which was difficult, and we we did. It’s hard to win in this league, especially in the play-offs. Every night things can be different, but a good team is capable of reacting.
A good team is capable of giving its best every night. We felt like a few matches slipped away from us, and instead of carrying them as a burden, we carried them as a sign of experience to help us prepare for the next match. We have been tested. We have been through a lot of hardships. We’ve learned a lot over the years, and now that the show is at its peak, we need to apply everything we’ve learned in those times. »
Al Horford: “This journey is not easy. We had a difficult journey. Brooklyn, Milwaukee, the defending champions, and Miami, they’re a team, look what they’ve done, they’ve pushed us to the brink. For our group, it’s resilience, it’s changing pages, moving on, and we’ve done that all season.
I really noticed it, and I was telling JB, it was February, early February, when I noticed how we started to click. People were saying, you beat teams that don’t have players, who are injured and all that, and I was saying, it doesn’t matter, I see something different in the way we play. That’s how we’re going to continue, and that’s what we did. »