Photos of Celtics' core from last time team reached Finals

Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) and Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7), guard Marcus Smart (36) and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) during Game 2 of the Finals. Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

Photos surface of young Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart from last time Celtics reached NBA Finals

Originally posted on Game 7 | By Anthony Amador | Last updated 6/16/22

The Boston Celtics shocked a lot of people when they made the NBA Finals this year.

After coming into the season with high expectations, the team struggled badly in the first half of 2021-22. It got so rough, in fact, that there was chatter about blowing the whole thing up.

Somehow, despite all the trade noise, the Celtics’ three biggest stars rallied in the second half of the year and turned into the hottest group in the NBA.

Thanks in large part to the unique skill sets that Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart bring to the table, Boston made it back to the Finals for the first time since 2010.

How long ago was that? Well, this now-viral post showing what the Celtics’ Big 3 looked like back in 2010 paints quite the picture.

Understandably fans were shook. One, obviously because it is crazy to see how young those guys were. And two, because it doesn’t feel like it has been all that long since the Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers were competing in the NBA Finals.

Time flies.

As things currently stand, Boston is down 3-2 to the Golden State Warriors in their best-of-seven series. With another loss, Boston will be eliminated.

Given how strongly this squad persevered at various times this year, it’s hard to rule them out completely. The odds are against them right now, but the Celtics have overcome bigger obstacles than this in 2022.

Can Tatum, Smart and Brown buckle down, make the plays necessary and pull off a surprising NBA championship?

Time will tell.

This article first appeared on Game 7 and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: