Just When You Thought Things Couldn't Get Worse, The C's Lie Down In Game 3 Of The ECF

 

    It is hard to remember a more pathetic performance in a must-win playoff game than the one submitted by your Boston Celtics tonight in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Kaseya (huh?) Center. They never bothered to even show up as the Heat broke their will and destroyed them 128-102 to take a 3-0 series lead. FYI teams in NBA history that have trailed 3-0 in a playoff series are 0-149 in winning that series so yeah, Boston's season is for all intents and purposes over. Who would bet on this group of gutless players and inept head coach to be the one to break that neverending streak? Game 4 is on Tuesday (8:30, TNT) so I hope that the Celts enjoy their last few days on South Beach before their season abruptly ends well short of their goal of an NBA title (that will make it 15 years and counting for that once proud franchise). 

    There really is not that much to say after an ass-whooping like what we just witnessed. It will surely cost head coach Joe Mazzulla his job-making it four head coaches for the Celtics in four seasons which is gross-but for once, he was far from the major problem in this disaster. Nope, getting swept by Miami (which is the lock of the century now) should make Boston's front office take a long hard look at their overrated roster. Were we naive to think that the Celtics' star tandem of small forward Jayson Tatum (14 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals) and shooting guard Jaylen Brown (12 points, 6 rebounds) are really good enough to lead them to a championship? They were two wins away last season but now, it feels like they are way behind with no titles on the horizon. 

    For the second straight game, another undrafted (sorry Coach Spo for pointing this out) nobody for the Heat had the game of his life. Step right up immortal point guard Gabe Vincent who dropped a game-high 29 points right on Boston's face. If that wasn't bad enough, former Williams College star forward Duncan Robinson added 22 points and guard Caleb Martin (Game 2's unlikely star) notched 18 points off the bench for the home team that can now taste another NBA Finals appearance-this time against Denver who is similarly up 3-0 on the overhyped Lakers. The Heat's superstar small forward Jimmy Butler (16 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals) and center Bam Adebayo (13 points) barely had to break a sweat as their minions did the job for them in Game 3. Shooting guard Max Strus added 10 points in the embarrassing defeat for the C's. 

    This was a true stinker of the highest order as Boston was never reasonably competitive: they trailed 30-22 after the first quarter, 61-46 at halftime and 83-63 headed into the final frame which prompted Bazooka Joe to pull all his starters for good. The Celtics might as well have not been there since the Heat shot a blistering 56.8% from the field and hit 54.3% (19-of-35) of their 3-pointers. Watching this team has become a painful chore akin to hate watching a TV show that you used to love; you know that you should just tune out but for some silly reason, you keep coming back and pretending that it is going to get better. It is not but at least this farce will reach its rightful conclusion on Tuesday. Get this terrible product out of our faces because we cannot take it anymore. Yuck.

The Celtics Are In Serious Trouble After Choking Away Gm. 2 & Losing 111-105 To The Heat In ECF

 

    One of the many givens in the NBA playoffs is that when the home team loses Game 1 of a series, they are basically a lock to even the series with a win in Game 2. Too bad nobody told the Celtics that as they watched Miami close on a 24-9 run tonight as the Heat stunned the TD Garden with a 111-105 victory. Miami heads home with a shocking 2-0 series lead and the possibility of them sweeping Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals is now squarely on the table. There are many reasons why the Celtics find themselves in this major hole but the crazy part is that despite their superior talent, this is the rare instance in the league where the more connected team (the Heat) continue to find a way while the C's self-destructed in crunch time yet again.

    Miami's star small forward Jimmy Butler (team-high 27 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks) was not as good as he was in Game 1 but this time, he got even more help from the Heat's nameless others. Backup small forward Caleb Martin set a playoff career-high with 25 points off the bench, center Bam Adebayo (22 points, 17 rebounds, 9 assists) just missed out on a triple double, NESCAC legend Duncan Robinson scored 15 points off the bench and Celtics Summer League alum Max Strus notched 11 points in the enormous win for the eighth-seeded team in the Eastern Conference. 

    Unlike Game 1, this loss cannot be pinned nearly as much on Celtics superstar small forward Jayson Tatum (34 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists), not when shooting guard Jaylen Brown (16 points) was nowhere to be found, shooting a terrible 7-of-23 from the field. Center Robert Williams had 13 points, backup point guard Malcolm Brogdon scored 13 points off the bench and guard Derrick White notched 11 points off the bench. For Boston, two of their starters were complete black holes offensively as point guard Marcus Smart (7 points) and center Al Horford (2 points) combined for nine points in 52 minutes of action. Yuck.   

    Both teams had huge runs in the first half as the C's led 25-24 after one quarter and the Heat rallied to take a 54-50 advantage at halftime. An awful third quarter doomed the home team in Game 1 so at least they rectified that by making Game 2's third quarter their best frame (outscoring Miami 33-21). Going into the fourth quarter up eight points (83-75), most teams would be in good position to squeeze out a win but not this flawed team that fell to 4-5 at the Garden this postseason-while the other three teams remaining in the playoffs are all still unbeaten at home. After weirdly not playing a single minute in Game 1, backup power forward Grant Williams (9 points) reappeared in 26 minutes off the bench. He actually played pretty well considering how sporadic his playing time has been this postseason but he made the fatal mistake of getting in Butler's face and talking trash to the last guy in the NBA that you want to do that to. On the one hand, you appreciate Grant's willingness to mix it up (Tatum would never dare to do something like that in his entire life) but that blowing up in his face was so predictable.

    Miami had seven more steals (9-2) as sloppy Boston committed its usual truckload of turnovers (15-10). Even if we did not admit it, tonight was basically a must-win for the Celtics since so few teams comeback from a 2-0 series deficit in the NBA. With that said, Boston's season will unquestionably be on the line Sunday night (8:30, TNT) in Miami for Game 3. Not much else needs to be said; if they win they at least will get another game at the Garden but if they lose and go down 3-0 (which no NBA team has ever recovered from), goodnight Celtics. 

Jimmy Butler (35 Pts, 6 Stls) Is Still A Bad Man As Miami Takes Game 1 Of ECF From Boston 123-116

 

    The roller coaster of emotions that is the Celtics showed no signs of slowing down as they followed up Sunday's Game 7 blowout of the Sixers with a humbling 123-116 loss to the Heat tonight at TD Garden in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Miami's superstar small forward Jimmy Butler (game-high 35 points, 7 assists, career playoff high 6 steals, 5 rebounds) was predictably brilliant as the Heat used a ridiculous third quarter (where they outscored Boston 46-25) to overcome a 13-point deficit and hang on for a 1-0 series lead. The C's apparently have not learned anything from their past mistakes as they lost Game 1 of the ECF last year vs. Miami and they even gagged away Game 1 against Philly a few weeks ago. The good news is that they obviously won both of those series but how many times can you count on that happening?

    We expect Butler to be a bit of a one-man show but that was far from the case this evening since center Bam Adebayo added 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists, point guard Gabe Vincent (WHO?) and shooting guard Max Strus both scored 15 points apiece while small forward Gabe Martin and backup point guard Kyle Lowry each notched 15 points off the bench as well. For the home team, their superstar small forward Jayson Tatum had about the quietest 30-point performance that you will ever see. Somehow he did not take a single shot in the fourth quarter as his team tried to rally (outscoring Miami 25-20) and he compounded that with three mind-numbing turnovers including two traveling violations. 

    Boston's star shooting guard Jaylen Brown put up 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists but he also was not much of a factor particularly after his hand started gushing blood late in the contest (seriously, that still hasn't fully healed yet?). Point guard Marcus Smart (13 points, 11 assists, 2 steals) had a double-double but he was pretty quiet after a great first half. Center Robert Williams (14 points, 7 rebounds) was in the starting lineup again and came out strong but he was mostly relegated to the bench in the second half which was strange. Backup point guard Malcolm Brogdon scored 19 points while guard Derrick White tossed in 11 points off the bench.

    The first quarter was pretty competitive as the Celts led 30-28 and then 66-57 at halftime. The Heat's offense was pathetic in the regular season where they were the lowest scoring team in the league but they have picked it up in a major way during this unlikely playoff run. Still, how do you let Butler and this collection of undrafted nobodies set a franchise record for points in a quarter (on the road no less!)? Miami beat Boston at their own game because they shot better from the field (54.1%-51.9%), hit six more 3-pointers (16-10), they had twice as many steals (12-6) and they committed three less turnovers (15-12). 

    It is impossible to predict anything with the C's this postseason but they did win Game 2 vs. the Sixers so I would expect a better and more focused effort on Friday (8:30, TNT) against the Heat. The difference though between Atlanta, Philadelphia and Miami is that the Heat are not going to just fall apart on their own. This is a very proud group that has been to the Eastern Conference Finals in three out of the last four years and they made the NBA Finals in the 2020 bubble. Boston will have to contain Butler more and make sure that the others do not go off as much as they did in Game 1. Nobody thought that this series would be easy for the Celtics but this was a sobering punch to the mouth right away, good times!