How fitting is it that the C's got me Believe-ing again on Ted Lasso night?
It won't be easy, and Miami is still in the driver's seat, but at the very least, the Celtics had a little pride and didn't just roll over and die. We saw the real Boston Celtics in the second half, highlighted by an 18-0 run in the 3rd. They're now 3-0 in elimination games these playoffs.
Tatum finally had a superstar performance (his first since a 50 burger in Game 7). He even scored his first 4th quarter basket of the series! His 34/11/7 led the way for the C's.
If you're a loyal DOL reader, you know I'm a narrative guy. The C's still have a looong (1 o for each win) way to go, but wasn't it nice to see Jeter and A-Rod in the house watching a team leading a series 3-0 with a chance to go to the championship?
In my Game 4 preview, I asked who's gonna be Dave Roberts tonight, and it looks like Grant Williams decided to steal the show with four huge three-pointers and some stellar D.
Seeing the C's knock down 18 threes was incredible, but the night's biggest story is the Celtics' defense. Grant was far from the only Celtic to hold down on the defensive end; it was a collective effort #cliche. After allowing 121 ppg through the first three games of the series, the C's held Miami to 99 points. That's Celtics basketball.
We're gonna need more from Brogdon and Jaylen. In Juice's defense, he's banged tf up. A 7/16 night isn't great, but it got the job done tonight. Malcolm, on the other hand, is in a wicked funk. The rim is the size of a Cheerio for him rn; he's averaged 1.0 PPG over the C's last two games. Not ideal from the 6th Man of the Year!! Especially when Miami's undrafted guys have been fantastic this series...but I still believe in our guys. I need to see 30+ from the Jays.
Chuck said in the postgame, and I wholeheartedly agree if the C's win Game 5, Game 6 is Miami's Game 7, but we cannot look ahead. Yes, winning a playoff basketball game feels great, but the C's are 2-5 at home in their last seven playoff games. Going home should be good, but there's no room for error anymore. We cannot play with our food. Teams leading series 3-0 are 150-0 in NBA history. That's a nice big round number; it's time to break that streak. Please, at the very least, force a Game 6. We can't have the season end at the Garden again (I was there, and it was super unfun). Much love to old man Al for having probably his best game of the playoffs so far—going 3/6 from deep in a +23 night. He's spot on here with Abby; we gotta play TEAM ball and keep the ball moving—no more iso BS.
I'm just trying to stay positive. Some day a team will come back from a 3-0 series deficit. I'm not Broadway Joeing this for the C's. I'm still quite worried, buuuuuut they were one of the best teams in the entire league all year. They've got a border-line top 5 star in Jayson Tatum. Jaylen Brown (deservingly so) made 2nd Team All-NBA this season. We're deep, and plenty of other guys help carry the load, but it comes down to the Jays. This is a legacy series for them. If they somehow pull this off, even if they lose the NBA Finals: Presented by YoutubeTV again, they'll have done something no team has ever done in the 76-year history of the National Basketball Association.
For now, the Boston Celtics are still alive, Thursday night we'll see if they make it to the weekend. If there's ever been a team built to come back from a 3-0 hole, it's these Boston Celtics. #BleedGreen P.S. D-White deserves his flowers. He hit three threes again tonight in a solid 16/2/2/2/2 night.
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