A title is their goal, but Celtics aren't taking 60-win season for granted
BOSTON -- The Celtics are a long ways away from accomplishing their ultimate goal of winning an NBA championship this season. But they are not losing sight of their achievements along the way.
On Wednesday night, the Celtics wrapped up the the top overall seed and home-court advantage throughout this year's NBA playoffs. Boston pulled away from the Oklahoma City Thunder late for a 135-100 victory, the team's 16th win by 25 or more points to set a new NBA record.
It was also Boston's 60th win of the season, which is nothing to scoff at. Only three other teams in the NBA have reached the 50-win mark this season, and none of them play in the Eastern Conference.
It marks the 14th time in Celtics history that the team has hit the 60-win mark -- which is the most in the NBA -- but the first since the 2008-09 season. It's the first time for Jaylen Brown, and hitting that win total isn't lost on Boston's 27-year-old swingman.
"It's an honor, it's a blessing to be on a 60-win team," Brown said after his 23-point night against OKC. "It's a lot of hard work that went into that, especially after coming up short last season, responding and coming back and not skipping any steps. I think we're on track, but when the playoffs start, back to square one."
Likewise, second-year head coach Joe Mazzulla wants his players to take some time and celebrate their spot atop everyone else in the NBA hierarchy this season.
"I think it's important to have the gratitude for that," said Mazzulla. "It's very hard to do. We may never be in this position again, so you don't want to take it for granted."
"It wasn't a specific goal for us, but as the year went on, we kept on doing our job, kept on working hard at winning games and we ended up at this point," said Kristaps Porzingis, who had an incredible two-way game Wednesday night with 27 points, 12 rebounds, and five blocks. "I think we deserve it, and it's possibly going to matter if we follow through with the vision that we have for ourselves."
The Celtics haven't been the NBA's top seed since 2008, which was the last time they added a banner to the vast collection above TD Garden. The previous time before that was in 1986, when Larry Bird and Co. led the Celtics to a championship.
This Celtics team would love to join that fraternity of top teams to win a title. They've had their sights set on a winning a title all season, and have played like a team determined to get over the hump after coming up just short two years ago and well short last season. They own the best net rating in the NBA at 12.0 (the Timberwolves are second at 7.0) and the league's best point differential at plus 11.7.
They celebrated the top seed and hitting the 60-win mark on Wednesday night, and with everything locked up, the Celtics can now really work on themselves over the next two weeks to make sure they're the best version of themselves for the playoffs. Even with 60 wins (and counting), they know nothing is promised in the playoffs.
The Celtics have had an incredible season so far and continue to rack up accomplishments and accolades along the way. But they know none of it will matter if their last game of the season isn't a victory in the NBA Finals.