Here are 19 thoughts on your NBA champion Celtics

So what did he do about it? He simply went back to the gym and fixed the thing, eliminating the unnecessary sweeper hook and simplifying his release.

Tatum has averaged 4.5 three-pointers so far at a 41.9 percent shooting rate, and such sharp shooting looks to be an easier and more sustainable outcome much more aesthetically pleasing shot.

2. This is another reminder that Tatum – and Jaylen Brown for that matter – haven't received enough credit over the years for how hard he works to improve his game.

Part of the legend of Larry Bird is that he was always working to expand his repertoire. When Tatum is finished here in a decade, this commitment to improvement should be part of his legacy. It should actually be.

3. Brown's grip still occasionally loosens enough to make you wonder if he was Adam Brody's personal basketball advisor on “Nobody Wants This.” But you know what? That's okay.

4. Aside from occasional forays into over-dribbling, Brown has become a near-unstoppable offensive force, able to get past bigger players and overwhelm smaller ones at will. It wouldn't surprise me if he averaged more points per game than Tatum this season.

5. Payton Pritchard must be the first player in NBA history whose long-range buzzer-beater skills are so well established that half-court shots are considered a standard move.

6. Pritchard is a 39.8 percent shooter from 3-point land in his five-year career. The only players in his draft class with a better rate of regularly shooting three-pointers are Desmond Bane (41.5 percent, No. 30 pick by the Celtics, immediately traded to the Grizzlies) and Patrick Williams (40.7 percent, No. 4 pick by the Celtics). bulls).

7. Prediction: Derrick White will make the All-Star team this year. Better yet, people will stop calling him underrated and will rightfully rank him as one of the best all-around guards in the league.

8. The three main elements of White's shot blocking ability: He has insanely quick feet that rarely puts him out of position. He is a fast jumper. And his reach apparently increases to 11 feet when he enters the paint.

9. White and Joe Mazzulla are the perfect complement between player and coach. White plays with so much confidence now – confidence that Mazzulla has expressed by empowering him to be aggressive and not be afraid of making mistakes – that it's easy to forget how hesitant he was earlier in the season 2022 came from Spurs.

10. I've said many times during his first stint here and now during his second that Al Horford is the quintessential Celtic, in the sense that you can see exactly how and where he fits on every great team in franchise history would.

11. Well, I would like to change that because Horford has company in the He would fit on any Celtics champion club. White and Jrue Holiday also deserve this award.

12. The Celtics had some good luck heading into Banner 18, which has been mentioned ad nauseam in connection with their playoff run. But their luckiest break came before the season — the Bucks traded Holiday to the Blazers.

13. There's no way Brad Stevens could have predicted that “Holiday” would be available… could he? I sometimes wonder what the overall picture of the Celtics backcourt would have looked like if this deal hadn't gone through.

14. Celtics players obviously shouldn't look back as the new season approaches. But we can and should. I tell my kids: You should never stop enjoying a championship. You will always, always have that, no matter how everything develops in the following years.

15. So a question: What was your favorite moment in the game during the championship? My guess is that Pritchard's half-court bomb in Game 5 of the Finals – a shot that basically said, “Yeah, we win it all tonight” – would be the majority's first choice.

16. To me, it's a steal for Holiday to save Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pacers. It was just a Dennis Johnson thing, and DJ was my favorite Celtic as a kid, non-Larry Legend Division.

17. One thing I know about Kristaps Porzingis' return, whether it happens in December or perhaps earlier: It has to happen at home. Porzingis appreciates the atmosphere of this garden in a similar way that Bill Walton appreciated the old place when he came here in 1986.

18. Nice to see Jordan Walsh getting – and actually earning – some real minutes. I'm not sure he'll shoot better than 30 percent from three, but he's a live player who can be a better version of 2023's Oshae Brissett.

19. I wish there had been a way to keep Lonnie Walker IV around. I wish he had decided to go to Maine. But I understand why neither happened. It was too costly in tax penalties to keep. And he's way too good for the G League.

Chad Finn can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @GlobeChadFinn.