The Celtics ring in the new season and look like champions again

BOSTON – As highlights played on the jumbotron above, Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford – cornerstones of this chapter in the team's storied history – gathered at center field and relived their TD reigns Garden, all of which culminated in Tuesday's NBA Championship Ring Ceremony.

“I’ve been JB’s teammate for seven years,” Tatum said. “I was 19 when I got drafted and Al was in his 10th year; now he is in his 18th year. The journey we've all been on together has brought us to this point and it was cool to share this moment with both of them.” Guys, soak it up, enjoy it and embrace it. That was awesome.

“It’s just settling in,” Brown added. “Me, JT and Al were together and I could feel It. When we won I was shocked, but today all our emotions came out. It was like, 'We did it.' We did something spectacular. Regardless of what anyone has to say, my name – along with those of my teammates – will go down in the history of the Celtics, who are one of the greatest franchises not only in basketball, but in sports.”

In front of them stood Celtics legends Bob Cousy, Cedric Maxwell, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen – further chapters in Celtics history. Behind them hung a league-record 18th championship banner, ready to be hoisted to the rafters. And when the time came, Tatum grabbed a microphone to address the Garden crowd.

“To the best fans in the world,” he said, “let’s do it again.”

That meant the New York Knicks were scheduled to play a basketball game against the newly bejeweled champions. If the intention was to ruin Boston's evening, the Knicks failed miserably. The Celtics took a 20-point lead in the first quarter and made an NBA record 29 3-pointers en route to a 132-109 victory.

It was beautiful basketball for Boston. They became the fourth team in NBA history to record at least 30 assists, 20 three-pointers and five or fewer turnovers, all while shooting 51/48/88.

As for the Knicks, who have the Eastern Conference's second-best title chances, freshmen Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges combined for 28 points on 22 shots, much of which came after the decision. They seemed lost at times, as if they didn't yet know how to complement Jalen Brunson.

“It’s the easy way out,” Brunson said of excuses, “but we still get our asses kicked.”

Bridges did little to assuage concerns about his new sweater as he missed his first five throws of the game. His first shot came on a corner in the opening minutes of the second half when the Knicks were down 26 points.

“We don’t care about all the background noise about Mikal and his shot,” Knicks teammate Josh Hart said. “We don’t care. He works hard at it every day. He will be good. Talking about it is stupid. There's stupidity in that because at the end of the day he's a 40 percent 3-point shooter.” .”

On the bright side, Bridges has made seven of his last eight shots. That's where the positive side ended. Time will tell if the Knicks can close the gap on Boston. And it's good that they have time; There's still a long way to go.

New York's defense acted like it didn't know that the Celtics led the league in 3-point attempts last season. They didn't even have to hunt them; Every look was good. The biggest benefactor was Tatum, who got into a rhythm in the pick-and-roll and made 14 of his 18 shots (8 of 11 from 3) for 37 points.

So much for the concern about Tatum's wayward shot. He made his MVP case clear in Game 1.

“The shot felt good,” Tatum said. “On offense, I felt like we were picking up where we left off last season. We got almost everyone back. We exploited our strengths. We know what we're trying to do. We know where we want to attack. We know what sets and promotions there are. We’re constantly working on it.”

Brown and Derrick White added 23 and 24 points, respectively. Horford, Jrue Holiday and Sam Hauser reached double figures. Yes, it looked like the reigning champions picked up where they left off. They moved the ball, placed it on the floor, and executed it at a level that their main competitors couldn't match.

“Three or four games a year where a team just shoots the ball from an absurd distance,” Hart added. “Give them credit – incredible energy, ring night, they came out and shot the ball in a way we've only seen once before.”

The rest of the league has to claim this was an anomaly. Because to believe that the Celtics are actually that good at this early stage — to believe that they could repeat this over the course of the season — is to accept an inevitable repeat.

For Boston, however, Tuesday felt like something had been passed down from past dynasties. Now that this team has won, something is different. They know who they are – champions.

“Having the legendary Celtics in the building — Bob Cousy, KG, Paul, Cedric Maxwell, all the guys who won — it's almost like they're passing the torch,” Brown said. “I fought them at the beginning of the game. It was incredible. That's what we've decided to do. My rookie year, when I got drafted, I said here's what I was going to do: I was going to go to war in this city. And it's great to see that banner being raised.

The work of putting another team next to them began again with a win over their Atlantic Division rival. Tatum was given a second chance to reconsider his pregame speech and instead doubled down. “I know we shouldn't talk about a repeat, but the fans were just so excited that I said, 'Fuck it, let's do it again.'”