Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart are the Celtics best three players. Each of them were early, first round draft picks and are at the center of the Celtics success or failure. Sure, on certain nights, Al Horford, Robert Williams, Grant Williams and even Derrick White can be that specific game's difference maker or key differentiator but Tatum, Brown and Smart are their best three players; warts and all.
Herein lies the story ...
Tatum, Brown and Smart are also the team's three most frustrating players and I've never seen anything like that in my 45 years of devouring sports. It's an enigmatic dynamic that I cannot remember ever seeing with a championship level team in my life.
Let's document it. The Celtics three best players are their three most frustrating players. Like a game at a casino your odds for success are completely up in the air on any given spin, roll or in the case of the Celtics, errant pass for a turnover at the worst possible time.
The definition of the word: Enigma. A person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand. Sound familiar? As championship-level teams go, I must say, the word enigma rarely if ever occurred to me. But now?
It spins around in my head like a roulette ball every time a Celtics postseason game starts and more so during every third quarter. Maybe I should watch the rest of The NBA Finals at The Encore Boston Harbor.
I've been racking my brain trying to think of a comparable situation and there simply isn't one, at least not one that offers a complete three for three. Nope. In terms of 'big threes' being as frustrating as they are talented, these 2022 Celtics are a unicorn-like dynamic for sure.
The first team I looked back upon was the most heartbreaking team in my lifetime; the near-miss 1986 Red Sox. The ultimate heart breakers; those Red Sox caused lots of mental, emotional and probably heart-health related issues for their fan base, but even they never conjured up the level of in-game or in-series frustration like these 2022 Celtics. The best three players on that roster are all Hall of Famers or 'should be' Hall of Famers. Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs and Jim Rice. Dwight Evans and Bruce Hurst would be right behind those 'Big 3'.
Throughout his career, Clemens could be frustrating at times for sure. Not in 1986 though; at least not until he didn't come out for the 8th inning of Game 6 of the World Series. From that point forward, the occasional worry about Roger would set in but that was not part of the Clemens 1986 dynamic. He was lights out, even in that infamous Game 6.
Rice could be frustrating at times given his knack for grounding into double plays at inopportune moments, particularly during the 80's. His resurgence and dominance in 1986 however and in those 86' playoffs is indisputable. Zero frustration from Rice there.
Wade Boggs is a fascinating case. An absolute first ballot Hall of Famer and maybe the best pure hitter for batting average and on-base percentage in the last 50 years, Boggs definitely frustrated fans. It wasn't for any inconsistency though, it was simply because his skill set was more highly valued decades after his time. Had Boggs played in the Moneyball era that puts the highest value on getting on base, he'd be heralded as the greatest batter to ever live. He didn't however and Red Sox fans, used to their biggest bats hitting for power and driving in runs, never quite felt the love coming off of Boggs's bat. I'm definitely guilty of not appreciating him as much as I should of. Heck, I was a teenager.
Bottom line, these championship contending Celtics and their best three players are far more frustrating at times than the 1986 Red Sox and that's saying something!
Fast forward to the 2008 NBA Champion Celtics and their 'new big three' of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Frustrating? No. Allen struggled at times with his Hall of Fame caliber shot but that was never a 'frustration' for fans, it was more of a concern and simply a matter of time before it sorted itself out. Let the history books show that it did, when Allen tied an NBA record hitting seven three-pointers in the Game 6 championship clinching blowout win over the Lakers at the Garden.
The search continues ...
Back to the Red Sox and their championship teams from 2004 and 2007. Did David Ortiz or Pedro Martinez ever frustrate you? Manny Ramirez did at times but again, never all three, never all three at the same time and for Papi? I'd confidently say never. Ever.
I dare you to find a key player on any of the double dynastic Patriots that was one of those teams' three best players that frustrated you. I'll wait...
Brady? Ty Law? Willie McGinest? Tedy Bruschi? Rodney Harrison? Vince Wilfork? Deion Branch? Corey Dillon? Gronk? Julian Edelman? Donta Hightower? Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope and nope. Randy Moss and Wes Welker had frustrating moments but there's no comparison to be had in terms of your core star players, their contributions to winning versus any frustrations dealt to you along the way. Nope. In this dubious way the 2022 championship contending Celtics stand alone.
I'm sure if they win it all we won't be frustrated at all but until then? Let's be honest, it's been a little frustrating and incomparably so.
