How Celtics Wrecking Opponents Could Hinder NBA Title Hopes
The Celtics on Tuesday continued their dominant run in the playoffs and showed NBA fans their Eastern Conference semifinals matchup might be another snoozer.
Boston crushed the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 at TD Garden. It was another standout performance from Derrick White, who has stepped up remarkably in Kristaps Porzingis’ absence. Jaylen Brown was efficient Tuesday night, and Jayson Tatum got his.
All of the Celtics’ playoff wins to date were by double digits and they kept up their pace from the regular season ranking first in net rating and 3-pointers. They also are second in scoring margin in the postseason, per broadcaster Sean Grande.
“It’s gonna be tough for a team to beat us four times,” Brown told reporters Tuesday, per NBC Sports Boston.
It’s hard to disagree with Brown given the historic numbers Boston put up this season. But is all this dominance a bad thing?
Now, before you overreact, this merely is a devil’s advocate and a counter meant to highlight the stakes of this postseason. It really would be a failure for Joe Mazzulla’s side if it didn’t win a championship. This Celtics core can’t come up short like they did in the 2022 NBA Finals. At least the excuse then was that the team went against the last gasp of the dynasty Golden State Warriors. There’s really no excuse now.
On the contrary, Boston was handed the East on a silver platter. Jimmy Butler was injured in the play-in tournament, which left an offensively inept Miami Heat team in the first round. Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo were hampered by injuries and both got bounced in the first round. Cleveland in the second round also dealt with injuries with Jarrett Allen missing Game 1 due to a rib injury. The New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers showed in Game 1 of their series that their offenses are too inconsistent, which this Celtics team can thrive on when they hit you with a barrage of 3-pointers.
More Celtics
This is going on narrative street, but the Celtics likely aren’t going to go through any adversity if they reach the NBA Finals. And they’re expected to go through a much more formidable opponent. Anthony Edwards is ascending to one of the best players in the league, Nikola Jokic still is the best player in the league and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander played at an MVP level this season.
It’s a small sample size, but Boston had trouble against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets and Thunder, respectively, this season. Gilgeous-Alexander didn’t play the second Oklahoma City matchup, so the C’s crushed it.
Does a team actually need to go through adversity to win a title? It’s more anecdotal. However, we could be seeing an overinflated version of the Celtics amid these blowouts. Can Brown be a top-15 player in the Finals? Can Tatum be the driver and not a passenger for the Celtics’ wins? Is this White breakout legitimate?
Those answers could be “yes” if this team makes the NBA Finals. And Mazzulla and Brown don’t need motivation to make up adversity for themselves and the team. But they are things that should be watched out for by Celtics fans, especially for those who might feel apathetic toward the blowouts.