Back-to-back losses for the Celtics. The first time all playoffs long anyone has uttered those horrendous words. The Celtics have been defeated at the hands of the Golden State Warriors in both Game 4 and now Game 5. And with a Game 2 loss, that puts the Celtics one game away from elimination. But, at this point, that already seems inevitable.
The Celtics were utterly awful. And I mean awful. They started the game 0-12 for three-point shots. 0-12! It was physically painful to continuously watch Tatum, Brown, Horford, Smart, Pritchard, White, Grant Williams, and whoever else took a three during that stretch of badly missed shots. They could have had another 18 points if they made just half of their misses during that stretch. 18 MORE POINTS!
I don’t know where to go with this team after this loss. They just did not show up to play in the first half, went on a tear in the 3rd, then squandered the game back to Golden State in the 4th. And guess who showed his ugly, unwanted head again. The turnover machine. Yes, the Celtics let him back in and were giving him free rent all night while on offensive. They had 18 turnovers, with Jaylen Brown having the most with 5.
Jason Tatum and Marcus Smart were just behind him with 4, while Al Horford and Grant Williams had 2. The Warriors in total had 6. That is where this game was lost. Yet again, the Celtics can’t hold onto the ball and gave away silly turnovers, to which the Warriors capitalized.
That is why the Warriors are one win away from this group’s fourth ring, while the Celtics are going to need to play their best, turnover-free game of the year. And that is why I think it is all but wraps for them. Time and time again they have proven they can’t keep away from trying “Hail Mary”, stupid passes that always get taken away by the Warriors.
I wish I could say that “insert player name here” played awful tonight and that is why they lost. Or “insert player name here” was selfish on offense and stifled the team’s momentum. But I can’t. Sure, every single Celtics player can play better than what we saw in Game 5, but how much better? They are playing against the greatest NBA dynasty since Michael Jordan’s 1990’s Bulls.
Perhaps this is as far as this team is going to go this year. There is no shame in losing to the Warriors in the finals, though I still can’t help but feel annoyed because this was such a great opportunity for a championship.
The Celtics have a great team, though not as good as some of the teams they have already been knocked out. Boston carried a strong wave of momentum throughout the second half of the regular season, and into the Brooklyn Nets in the first round, then the Milwaukee Bucks, then the Miami Heat, and now it seems to have stalled with Golden State.
Can they realistically do the same thing next year, beating out teams like the Nets, Bucks, and Heat who will undoubtedly get better. Or what about the teams they did not have to face, like the 76ers, Mavericks, Jazz, Suns, or Raptors.
And what about Golden State? If they don’t beat them now, can they really beat them in 12 months’ time? Players like Horford and Smart are getting older, while Grant Willams and White are role player who are overperforming right now.
It is not over, as they still have another game left to play in Boston which I think they will win. The problem is, I just don’t see them winning a Game 7 in San Francsico. I could be wrong, but I think the series is just about out of hand with this loss.
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