The Celtics Choked Away A Prime Opportunity To Make The Finals, And Now Their Season Is Over

Jesse D. Garrabrant. Getty Images.

(click as you read the blog for the full effect. Once it's done just scroll up and hit play again).

Please, join hands and take a minute to join me in a moment of silence for the 2019-20 Boston Celtics. 

Amen.

So here we are. Sad, defeated, frustrated, with a heavy dose of depression mixed in. Or as I like to call it, every year of my 33 years of life at the end of basketball season minus one magical run a billion years ago. As soon as the final buzzer sounded last night and the Celts dream of an 18th banner were deader than dead, I knew in my heart that I should turn off my computer, put my phone away and stay off the internet. But you know how when you get dumped and then your smoke GF starts posting all these pictures of her new boyfriend who is way more attractive than you, you simply can't stop scrolling through her timeline? Over and over again you keep telling yourself that it should be you. Well that was me last night. I kept refreshing my Twitter timeline, I saw the tweets, I saw the videos, I saw the celebrations, and it only made things worse.  

Because make no mistake about it. The Celtics blew what was their best opportunity at a championship in the last 10 seasons. I don't think that's all that hyperbolic or overly dramatic. Name a season where they had a better opportunity to reach the top of the mountain? After some reflection, I look at things like this. The 2019-20 season coming to an end the way it did doesn't sting as much as 2018 did. Losing Game 7 at home to LeBron? Brutal. It wasn't as maddening as the 2019 season where we saw the best player on team quit in the second round and the general dysfunction that existed on that roster. But it is the most frustrating end to the season of the previous three because of their opportunity. Because they literally threw this series away. God damn is that fucking annoying. 

I also understand that emotions are going to be high right now. There are going to be people out there that call for drastic changes. Trade Player X, fire the coach, blah blah blah. Let's all relax and have a little perspective. This roster needs improvement around the edges and that's about it. Let's not pretend like they were a shit show the entire year. It was actually the exact opposite. Let's not be dramatic. 

Now before we dive head first into the pain, I also have to thank you, the fine reader of this blog. You are the reason this blog exists. Experiencing the ups and downs (and boy are there downs!) of this team and this season with a bunch of internet strangers who are just as mental as I am is why I have the best job on the planet. I cannot express how appreciative I am of the clicks, the interactions, all of it. It's why I never take this job for granted. Sure, this blog is mostly just a therapy sessions for me and all that, but I know that there are people out there just like me and I wouldn't want to go through this journey with any other fanbase other than the stoolies. 

OK, have I stalled enough yet? Do we have to keep going? The answer is yes. Because the #1 rule of this blog is we do not run from the pain. We experience it, we blog it, we digest it, and we turn the page. So let's do it I guess.

The Good

- Despite the gigantic pile of dogshit that was this series and Game 6, one of the undeniable positives of not only this series but the entire playoff run was the development of Jaylen Brown. That's why he's getting the top billing in this blog. He was by far the best and most consistent Celtic in this series, and it was more of the same last night to the tune of 26/8/4 on 10-17 shooting

If we're being honest, the way Jaylen started the fourth quarter I was certain he was going to will this team to victory. When you talk about this team, a lot of people mention Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker before you get to Jaylen. They talk about him like he's at best a #2-3. Well I dunno folks. After putting up 23/7/3 on 55/50% and 2.8 3PM in this series and 21/7/2 on 47/36% with 2.5 3PM for the entire playoffs, everyone needs to start putting more respect on Jaylen's name. It's why I go crazy when last week I heard the hot takes that this team needed to split up the two Jays because this team hasn't won a title. What a moronic idea. The future of the NBA is in two way athletic wings, and you have two of the best in the entire NBA. 

There was no quit in Jaylen in this series. He showed up every night and delivered. Sure he had his mental lapses on defense every once in a while, but think of how far he's come since his 2016 rookie season. He's only 23 years old. I walk away from this postseason run more confident than ever that Jaylen is going to blossom into an absolute stud.

- Then there's the other Jay. The efficiency and slow starts are still a major issue and in my opinion will be the next level of Tatum's development, but man is he something special too

The impressive part of his night last night was even though his shot wasn't falling and he was cold as ice, he still found a way to make an impact with his passing. He had 8 assists in the first half, finished with 11, and there is no denying that his playmaking took a huge step forward in the bubble. The one downside to his postseason run was his three point shooting got worse with each series he played in. He shot 37% for the playoffs, but just 30% on 8.7 3PA in the ECF. But at the end of the day he still put up 26/10/6 in the series. It wasn't like he didn't show up. He just needs to find ways to get off to better starts. That's not anything new, and luckily he has time to figure that shit out. 

- That's it. I probably shouldn't have even had a Good section but you know what this is the last postgame blog of the year and I wanted to watch those highlights so fucking sue me.

The Bad

- The reality of the situation is, this is what happens when you throw away playoff games. Blowing a 14 point fourth quarter lead in Game 1 only to follow that up by blowing a 17 point lead in Game 2 is not how you win a series. In fact, it's the precise way you lose it. Having two games with at least 19 TOs doesn't help. Coming out and laying an egg in Game 4 when you had just snagged momentum is the exact opposite of what you want to do. That's where the frustration part comes in. It's not like this was just a terrible matchup and the Celts were overmatched which would suggest they need drastic changes. They threw this series away through careless basketball. They panicked in the big clutch moments. Some might say they pooped their pants.

We've seen what this team looks like when they are overmatched in an ECF. Remember 2016? This wasn't that. I also don't accept the "youth" card either. Yeah these guys may be young in terms of age, but they are not young when it comes to playoff experience. That's what makes the lack of execution so infuriating. There really is no excuse for blowing games like they did, and then how they closed Game 6. They choked. Period.

- For the second straight game, the Celts once again got off to a brutal start. You would think they would have learned from their Game 5 that maybe coming out and shooting nothing but threes isn't the best strategy, especially with your season on the line and the fact that none of them are going in. Well what did they do? They came out and took 14 3PA in their first 22 FGA, also while turning it over 4 times and playing zero defense on the other end. Once again they shot themselves in the foot before they even had time to catch their breath. What's annoying about this is we JUST SAW that the best way to beat this Heat team is to be aggressive and attack their zone. Not settle for jumpers. Yet here we are, doing the same shit that always digs them an early grave.

Jayson Tatum shot 29/21% in the first quarter this series while taking the second most FGA. Over half of his first quarter FGA were threes. I don't have to explain to you why that is an issue right?

- Let's talk about Marcus Smart because I have a feel a lot of Celts fans are going to be rather upset about his night. For me, I'm conflicted. On one hand, things usually don't work out when Smart is second on the team in FGA with 22, while also going 4-13 from three. But here's the thing. It was his early 4 3PM that kept the Celts in the game in the first place. They needed his shooting early so it leaves my brain in quite the pickle. 

The other side of that coin is though, when Smart lets it fly early like that, chances are he's going to let it fly like that late. There's the issue. He had a real tough 1-6 second fourth quarter and was just 4-13 (0-5) in the second half. He finished with just 1 AST. As we know, that is not the version of Smart that makes this team successful. They are at their best when he's a past first player. In Game 6, he was very clearly a shoot first player and this is usually what happens when he does that.

- Then there's Kemba. It's important that we are fair here when it comes to evaluating Kemba's ECF. He doesn't and shouldn't get a pass just because we like him. The truth is, he was a no show in the second half and fourth quarter of this game. Just 4-10 (2-8) in his 18 second half minutes and 2-7 in the fourth quarter while being a -10. Defensively he has issues guarding bigger players, so if he's not showing up and being efficient on the offensive end, it's tough. I thought he rushed multiple threes in the fourth that were almost panic shots. 

For the series, Kemba put up 19/4/4 on 42/34% shooting. Not bad, but not nearly good enough. His knee wasn't an issue as far as I'm concerned, he just couldn't make shots when this team needed him to step up and be the closer. That's tough. 

- As good as Daniel Theis was in Game 5, that's how bad he was in Game 6. Bam ate him alive, there's really no other way to say it. Fuck that person who called that matchup a wash, whoever you are.

- I don't know how to feel about Hayward. The way he gutted things out after coming back from injury was great. His actual production outside of Game 3, not so great. They needed him to have the night Iguodala had off the bench and instead he had his worst game of the series. Part of me wants to give him a pass, but at the same time if you're going to be active I need you to show up. Sadly, he did not.

The Ugly

- Brad certainly does not walk away from this without blame. Again, if we're being honest about things, there's no denying he was outcoached by a wide margin. His decision to go back to Theis instead of Grant in the fourth proved to be costly, and once again there was no sort of offensive strategy to finish this game. That cannot happen. While I am adamant that you can't let the players off the hook for their own decision making, you can point to Brad when it comes to having a plan. It did not seem like he had one to close out any of these games in which the Celts lost. It felt like he had no counter when it came to limiting Bam. As we know the zone gave this team issues for way too long in this series before they ultimately figured it out.

It wasn't as bad as 2019, that shit was horrific. But it still wasn't close to being good enough.

- OK, let's talk about where the Celtics lost this game. It came in two separate stretches in the fourth quarter. Up 96-90 with 9:15 the Heat took a timeout. These are the Celtics possessions immediately following that break

Smart foul

Smart missed three

Kemba missed three

Smart missed 16 footer

Jaylen missed 12 footer

Before you knew it, after a Tatum made three it was 100-98. Meanwhile the Heat realized nobody could guard Bam and he went on a run. That's the first half of their fourth quarter collapse. Nothing at the rim, no aggressive plays, they settled.

Then comes the brutal stretch where they ultimately ended their season. 

I don't even know how to explain this. Brad took a timeout after the Tatum turnover with 4:30 left in the fourth, and this is what they came out with. Absolutely incredible. Brad talks all the time about not going for home run plays, and that's exactly what this team did. By the end of that run it was 102-116. If you look at the Heat, almost all of their baskets during that stretch were at the rim. What do you think happens when one side settles for bad threes and the other gets layups? You get a 28-8 run shoved right down your throat.

- So many missed layups. No doubt the Celts left at least 10 points on the board because they missed wide open layups.

- If this performance felt familiar, it's because it was

OK, we've gone on long enough. You get the idea by now. The Celts had every opportunity to take care of this series and reach the Finals for the first time since 2010. They blew it, plain and simple. What was a pretty awesome season ended in frustrating fashion, which is very on brand for this team. 

So take the day, go through what you need to go through and before we know it it'll be January. 

Now say it with me, let's go Heat.