In 2020 and with the easiest path that they'll ever see (think the Bruins last postseason) in real life, it shouldn't have ended like this for the Celtics. Being overmatched in the NBA Finals vs. the Lakers (as painful as it is to say this) would have been understandable and the end to a wonderful season. Instead, dreams of another Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals meeting will have to wait for at least another year as Boston lost 125-113 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals tonight vs. Miami in the Disney World bubble. It sucks that it had to come against my favorite team but in a weird way, it was very refreshing to see a team-first club succeed in a league that's typically dominated by stars and little else (see: this season's Lakers). The Celts might have more top-end talent but that couldn't have mattered less as the Heat used great teamwork, balanced scoring and better coaching (and front office moves!) to reach their first NBA Finals since 2014.
Boston trailed for most of Game 6 but of course they led by six points (96-90) after a bucket by Jaylen Brown (team-high 26 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals) early in the fourth quarter. From there, Miami went on a crazy closing run of 35-17 to take it. From the outside, this might have been a stunning ending but not if you've watched the C's blow leads and falter in fourth quarters repeatedly in the Toronto series and basically every game vs. the Heat. Bam Adebayo (career-high 32 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists) was the best player on the court this evening and likewise the best overall player in the entire series from start to finish. Jimmy Butler added 22 points and eight assists while Duncan Robinson added 15 points and six rebounds while crafty veteran Goran Dragic notched 13 points and seven assists. Miami basically only used two guys off their bench but that's all they needed as rookie shooting guard Tyler Herro (19 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds) closed out his star-making series with a flourish and old man Andre Iguodala (15 points, 2 steals) had his best game as a member of the Heat. Jae Crowder is also going to the NBA Finals after he put up nine points, six rebounds and two blocks to close out his former club.
Jayson Tatum (24 points, career-high 11 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals) had a weird Game 6 as he went scoreless in the first quarter before taking over in the second quarter. Hopefully this pumps the brakes a bit on those that want to say he's one of the best players in the league. Yes, he had a really good season and he shows signs of being a special player all the time but a better, more complete player takes over that series and doesn't get overshadowed by Adebayo or frankly anyone else on Miami. Kemba Walker (5 assists) and Marcus Smart (8 rebounds, 2 steals) both scored twenty points but the real cause of Boston's downfall was their brutal 3-point shooting (15-for-46, 32.6%) which was reminiscent of their Game 7 loss two years ago to LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. I have been a Brad Stevens honk going back to his magical days at Butler but is it time to wonder if he'll ever get over the hump of the ECF? Furthermore, would it kill him to try and change things up in an elimination game when guys like Smart (4-for-13), Tatum and Walker (both 3-for-10) have no solutions to a contest that's quickly slipping away from their grasp then to continue to jack up dreadful 3-pointers with no hope of going in.
Gordon Hayward (12 points) just wasn't enough of a factor either in 32 minutes off the bench. Five different Celtics made appearances off the bench but they still managed to get outscored by the unlikely Herro/Iguodala tag team by a count of 34-17. Maybe Danny Ainge could have made a move or two at the trade deadline (groundbreaking idea, I know!) like Miami did to pick up valuable experienced veterans like Iguodala and Crowder. It was easy to make fun of what seemed like minor moves at the time but who's laughing now? Trader Danny gets way too fixated on hoarding draft picks which doesn't make sense since when he's not in the lottery where he can get studs like Tatum or Brown, he honestly does not draft all that well. Like at all. Tatum, Brown and Kemba are a great base to start with but like Stevens, this seems to be their ceiling if they don't decide to further reinforce things by surrounding them with more quality players.
Miami led 33-27 after the first quarter then Boston responded to outscore them 33-29 in the second quarter to cut it to a one-possession game (62-60) at halftime. Both teams scored 26 points in the third quarter which should have set up a fantastic fourth quarter but instead the Celtics chose to collectively pee their shorts. They should be embarrassed as the Heat outscored them by 10 (37-27) with a possible Game 7 looming on Wednesday night. Instead, Game 1 between the Lakers and Heat will begin that night (9, ABC). Just like the ball, these numbers don't lie: Miami shot nearly 13% better from the floor (56.3%-43.4%), 15.5% better on 3s (48.1%-32.6%), they attempted 11 more free throws (26-15) and hit 10 more of them (22-12). The Heat also grabbed nine more defensive rebounds (38-29) and handed out four more assists (30-26).
Bigger picture, other than some obvious moves by Ainge (another big guy, please!), we can only hope that this serves as another valuable lesson to this team's nucleus of what it takes to win more often at this level. From all accounts, they are likeable guys that put in the work and have more important things than just basketball on their minds 24/7. This is all well and good but professional sports are a results oriented business and going out with a whimper like this will never be an acceptable conclusion for such a proud franchise. The sad reality is that they were frontrunners who started the postseason 6-0 in the bubble, only to sputter to a 4-7 finish after this final debacle.
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