BOSTON — The Celtics have spent recent years as a team of almost. Almost good enough to contend for a championship. Almost mature enough to reach their potential. Almost complete enough to play at a high level on a consistent basis.
But a bunch of almosts would have been an improvement from all the questions and concerns the Celtics began collecting at the start of the season. It is never much fun when each game feels like a litmus test — of Ime Udoka’s first season as the team’s coach, of the ongoing chemistry experiment between Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, of the growth of the players around them.