The Boston Celtics are no stranger to being the hunted. While Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown became NBA champions for the first time last season, their first sharing the floor in their primes, they've dominated the Eastern Conference for nearly a decade.
Tatum and Brown have led the Celtics to at least the Eastern Conference Finals in six of their first eight years together. That includes coming within two wins of lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy in 2022.
While it's a familiar state to them, it helps to have a head coach who relishes the challenge that comes with an NBA title defense, a feat not done successfully since the Warriors did so in 2017-18 with the quartet of Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson.
"People are gonna say the target is on our back, but I hope it's right on our forehead in between our eyes. I hope I can see the red dot," Joe Mazzulla told host John Karalis on Locked On Celtics.
Boston, who is returning 13 of 15 players on standard contracts with the franchise last season and could convert Lonnie Walker IV's Exhibit 10 deal to one to add him to the mix, also boasts the most talented top eight in the Association.
Furthermore, between Brown's Olympic snub, which he said is providing him with "all the motivation in the world," and Tatum getting benched multiple times in Paris, which he described as "challenging and humbling," the Celtics have ample ammunition as their upcoming title defense turns into a revenge tour.
