The Boston Celtics own a 2-0 lead over Cleveland in the NBA’s Eastern Conference finals, in a season when they’ve played without Gordon Hayward and also lost Kyrie Irving to injury. They’re healthy, compared to the state of the team in late March when Al Horford, Marcus Smart and Marcus Morris missed the Celtics’ game vs. the Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
That’s the night Boston somehow hung around and then scored the game’s last nine points, earning a 97-94 victory via Jaylen Brown’s 3-pointer in another demonstration of Brad Stevens’ coaching ability.
And so this theme continues, approaching the five-year anniversary of the summer when the Celtics and Jazz tore down their rosters to begin a rebuilding project.