BOSTON (AP) — For most of the season, the spotlight was on everyone except the Celtics in the Eastern Conference.
That was until Boston and new coach Ime Udoka put things together down the stretch with a brand built on defense, buoyed by All-Star Jayson Tatum’s nightly scoring punch.
It was the blend needed to ignite a post-All-Star break surge that took the Celtics from 11th place in the conference to the No. 2 seed. With it came a change in perception that suddenly has them garnering attention as a championship contender.
But after having their foundation shaken by a knee injury to big man Robert Williams III, the Celtics’ reward is a first-round matchup with a seventh-seeded Brooklyn Nets team that also suddenly looks capable of realizing its potential. Its James Harden failed experiment is over, and Kyrie Irving’s a full-time player again, sharing the scoring load with Kevin Durant.
It’s a challenge the Celtics are ready for.
“Everybody knows the talent that they have and that it’s not a traditional seventh-seed team,” Tatum said. “They had some ups and down this year but for the most part got their full team and they’re really good. Well-coached. Some great players. I’m just looking forward to it.”
While Tatum has taken his scoring to elite levels, notching 40 or more points five times during the regular season, including a season-high 54-point performance in their most recent matchup with Brooklyn last month, Durant and Irving have sparkled, too.
In the 17 games they’ve played together this season, Brooklyn is 11-6. In those games Irving is averaging 27.8 points and 5.8 assists, with Durant averaging 29.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.5 assists.
Still, Udoka dismissed the idea that the Celtics should be considered an underdog in the series.
“We know who we are and who we’ve been over the past few months,” he said. “The focus toward the end of the season was worrying about health and ourselves more than the opponent. And that’s…