It was very easy to see the vision for the 2023-24 Boston Celtics. Coming off an embarrassing loss to the 8-seed Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics were on a mission: win the NBA Finals and dominate every step of the way. That goal was the baseline for their performances game-in, game-out. The desired result was emphasized and realized with a nearly spotless end-to-end season, one of the very best in NBA history. The Celtics embodied the Championship Mindset (TM).
We shouldn’t be surprised that they’ve been unable to repeat that performance this season.