Don't let the media fool you, this Celtics team is battle-tested

After dispatching an injury-riddled Miami Heat team in five games and doing the same to a broken Cleveland Cavaliers roster, questions surround the Celtics.

The current narrative in the media is that Boston is yet to be tested and that they could struggle against a fully healthy team motivated to knock them out of the playoffs.

Even their former All-Star, Paul Pierce, is concerned regarding the Celtics' late-game capabilities.

“They so good that they don’t have to be great for them to win,” Pierce said on a recent episode of "KG Certified." “We got so many good players, so many great players. Derrick White coming into his rhythm. [Jaylen] Brown coming into his rhythm...The only concern I have for the Celtics is when they finally get into a situation where they play a tight game. They ain’t had a lot of tight games, a lot of adversity. They gotta figure it out when it’s a one- or two-point game with a minute left. They gotta figure it out.”

It's easy to forget that this Boston core has been together for over a decade. Even Sam Hauser was on the bench when Boston made it to the 2022 NBA Finals. Payton Pritchard was a big part of that rotation. Al Horford, Derrick White, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Luke Kornet were there.

The major difference is that Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis are part of the team now. But this is largely the same core that has been to six Eastern Conference Finals in the last eight years and has defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat in win-or-go-home situations.

Securing the first seed in the East and reaping the easier path that comes with it should not be grounds to doubt a roster. The Celtics are doing what they're supposed to be doing. There's a reason why teams fight for the top seeding in their conference.

An easy path now doesn't mean Boston isn't capable of grinding out tough games. We've seen the Celtics win ugly for multiple years.   Expecting things to be different despite the same core makes little sense. Boston is battle-tested. The front office, coaching staff and players have all built for this moment. It's unlikely they will wilt at one of the final hurdles.