Saying goodbye to this wonderful, improbable Celtics team

BOSTON -- It took 101 games before the Celtics finally showed their age. Sure, they had some dubious moment on their way to a seventh game in the Eastern Conference finals, but they rarely played like a young team that was in over their head.

Whether it was getting past Giannis Antetokounmpo in the first round, or derailing the up-and-coming 76ers in the second, the C’s acted like they belonged here among the best. It took LeBron James playing all 48 minutes in a Game 7 to finally get rid of them, and even then they felt like they had it, right up until they didn’t.

The end came amid a flurry of rushed offense and bad shots. The patience and trust that had carried them to this point evaporated at precisely the wrong moment, and their inexperience finally revealed itself.

The Celtics lost Game 7 to LeBron’s Cavaliers on Sunday night, 87-79, because they couldn’t score. That was always going to be a problem for a team without its two best offensive players, but these Celtics had a way of making you believe in the impossible.

“I think at the end of the day, again, this team was the only team that I’ve been around at this level that I thought we might shoot 36 percent and win the game,” coach Brad Stevens said. “But we just had one of those nights.”

They can look back at so many things with that final game: The 34 percent shooting, the 32 missed 3’s, the lack of transition scoring. Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier, who were so good in Game 6 and throughout the postseason, combined to shoot 7-for-32 and 3-for-22 from behind the arc. Marcus Smart was 1-for-10.

It was the second quarter that was their undoing. After Marcus Morris buried a 3-pointer to make it 35-23 and LeBron turned it over for the sixth time, the Cavs were teetering. Rather than deliver the knockout punch, the Celtics’ offense degenerated in a mess of empty possessions and missed shots.

“We were in really good shape, really good shape — and then we just couldn’t quite extend the lead,” Stevens said. “I thought that added to the shooting the rest of the game.”

They still almost pulled it off. When Jayson Tatum dunked on LeBron midway through the fourth quarter it felt like an omen. When Tatum buried a 3-pointer the next time down the floor to give the Celtics the lead back, it was all right there for them. As it turned out, it was their final lead of the season.

LeBron is LeBron and he got right back to work, getting Tatum in foul trouble and having a hand in 10 straight points down the stretch while the C’s went cold. The Celtics pushed James to the limit, but like so many others that have fallen -- from Derrick Rose’s Bulls to Paul George’s Pacers -- they couldn’t get past the best player of this generation.

“Every day that you’re totally focused on this, and he’s gone past that eight straight times,” Stevens said. “It’s ridiculous, and he does it at this level and with the pressure, with the scrutiny — doesn’t matter. It’s just unbelievable.”

It goes without saying that games like this are exactly why you need Kyrie Irving on the floor. This unexpected playoff run had the effect of diminishing Irving’s impact on this team. From the moment Gordon Hayward was lost for the season, Irving became the focal point and an MVP candidate.

When the Celtics needed offense they knew they had one of the game’s great shotmakers and imaginative creators to go to work for them. That they survived this far without Irving is a testament to their talent, and their belief in one another.

Rozier began the season as the ninth man and finished as the starter. Brown and Tatum are barely into their 20s and each had moments of postseason stardom that players with a decade of experience will never attain. Tatum, especially, has the look of an All-NBA performer for years to come.

“I just love everything about the kid -- the way he plays the game, his demeanor, where he comes from,” said James, who wrapped the rookie in an embrace after the final buzzer. “I just know he’s just built for stardom. He’s built for success. And that’s both on and off the floor.”

Now imagine a Celtics team that takes the floor next season with Irving, Hayward, and Al Horford flanked by Brown and Tatum in the starting lineup along with Rozier, Smart, and Morris coming off the bench. Throw in injured center Daniel Theis, and that’s a team that can switch everything defensively, with a lineup full of two-way players and shooting and athleticism to spare.

“As fun as it’s been for a lot of guys, it’s been heart-wrenching in some ways for those guys because they haven’t been able to be out there on the court,” Stevens said. “I think they’re going to be really excited to get back with it. I mean, training camp -- I could take a couple of days to kind of get away from it, but training camp can’t come soon enough.”

The Celtics are clearly in a great place for the future, but what was endlessly fascinating about this team was that they never took their opportunity for granted. They won 16 straight games following Hayward’s injury. When Irving went down in March, they still believed they would be a force in the playoffs. They believed it all the way through the postseason, even if no one else really did.

That’s why this loss stings. Forget the peripherals — they had a 2-0 lead and two chances to close out their series, including a Game 7 on their home floor where they had been undefeated. Those opportunities don’t come around very often, even if they come under less-than-ideal circumstances.

“It’s funny how kind of the lens changes when you’re sitting up here disappointed,” Stevens said. “But that’s how much belief these guys instilled in all of us.”

The Celtics go into the summer with a handful of roster decisions to make. Aron Baynes and Shane Larkin are the only unrestricted free agents among their rotation players. They’d love to have both back, but neither is a lock to return with the luxury tax looming.

Smart is a restricted free agent, and retaining him should be a priority. His market will be a bellwether for this free agent class where cap space is limited. Rozier is also eligible for an extension, but he’s positioned to get paid like a starter in a few years. That opportunity, both in terms of money and minutes, may not be available here.

They are also well-stocked to make another blockbuster deal should one come along, with future draft picks from Sacramento, Memphis, and the Clippers still in the pipeline along with all that young talent. After this run, one wonders if Danny Ainge would be content to run it back next year with healthy stars and this young core intact. These are the kind of logistical problems any team would gladly take.

In a perfect world, the 2019 Celtics will take what the 2018 C’s built and add their two, in-their-prime All-Star players to their core of young talent. It sound so simple, and maybe it will be, but if this season taught us anything it’s that the present should never be dismissed even with the promise of better days on the horizon.

These Celtics showed us a glimpse of that future. Throughout the season, they kept saying that the stage was set to do something spectacular. They came within a game of the sport’s ultimate showcase.

The path is full of pain, Stevens reminded them after the game, and that pain will stay with them throughout the summer. It was the final lesson in a season full of teaching moments.

This Game 7 loss will linger. This season will endure.