With How The Playoffs Are Currently Unfolding, The Celtics Need Handle Their Shit And Win Game 4
Heading into the 2024 playoffs, once the brackets were set and we all saw the Celtics potential path back to the NBA Finals, pretty much everyone had the same (correct) take.
There should be no excuse for a healthy Celtics team to handle their business and get back to the Finals.
You could have made the case that most of their threats were on the other side of the bracket and that things had broken their way after having brutal paths the last few years.
As any Celtics fan will tell you, unfortunately, these games are not played on paper. There's always a chance they fuck around and lose a game they shouldn't, which is exactly what we saw in their Game 2 home loss to the shorthanded Heat. It's the difference between having the opportunity to close out the series tonight in Game 4 or having to do it later, and the one thing that the Celts have never really been great at is burying a team when they have the upper hand. Going for the throat and not playing with their food has felt like the final infinity stone for this team, and tonight is yet another opportunity to put the pressure on.
Even if you're not a math guy, it's obvious as to why heading back to the Garden up 3-1 would be drastically different than 2-2, and given what we saw in Game 3 I can understand why some might feel confident. As long as the Celts hold the Heat to under 50% shooting from 3 by actually playing defense, things tend to work out. The Heat have lost 5 of 6 in the playoffs vs BOS when shooting under 50% on threes, and both games this series have been blowouts when they don't hit that number.
But the importance of the Celts handling their business tonight and then again in Game 5 is bigger than just winning this series. Remember that potential playoff path? Well through 3-4 games, things are opening up even more
- The Bucks are down 3-1 and are extremely injured
- The Sixers are down 3-1 and look like a cooked product, once again not able to survive without Embiid on the floor
- The Suns are eliminated
- The Clippers/Mavs look destined to play a 7 game series, and should LAC advance, Kawhi's knee is cooked
- The same could be said for Cavs/Magic, who are playing a series that feels like it's going the distance as well
- The Nuggets played with their food in Game 4, and now are dealing with a Jamal Murray calf strain
We live in a world where the Celts next round opponent could be coming off a grueling 7 game series, and then on the other side of the bracket two former MVPs could be knocked out entirely. That doesn't mean NYK/IND wouldn't present challenges, but avoiding MVP level talent never hurts.
In the West, with the Wolves already through and able to rest, who's to say the Nuggets don't go at least 6 against LA? Their record without a starter this season is pretty terrible, and Jamal Murray is a rather important playoff piece. The point is, it's entirely possible their series goes even longer than most expected (most had a sweep), and as we've seen the Wolves certainly look ready for the moment in their 2nd round matchup. I'm going to assume the Thunder are ending their series tonight as well, so they'll also be rested for a potential series against DAL/LAC, and I don't think it's a stretch to say they'll be favored regardless of who it is.
So when you take a step back and look around at everything currently transpiring across the playoff field, it becomes even more important that the Celtics take advantage of this potential opportunity. Handle your shit and move on because at no point in the entire Tatum/Brown era have things unfolded for this team like we're currently seeing. It's why Game 2 was so goddamn annoying. This is it, this is the time to strike. The health is there, the talent is there, the system is there, and the path is there.
But these are also the Boston Celtics. A team that when given the opportunity of taking the easy path or the hard path has done nothing but choose the hard one. It's almost as if they're a collection of masochists or something. Win Game 1 by a billion and play the same 8 seed at home in Game 2 to take a commanding 2-0 lead? They chose pain. Win Game 3 on the road to regain momentum and have another chance to take a commanding series lead? We're about to find out what they choose for Game 4.
All season long the entire roster talked about how important it was that they handled their business quickly and didn't let series extend longer than they should. They already failed their first test with that earlier in the series, but nothing is a chance to right the ship. If they truly want to show they're different this time around, today is where that starts.
They may never get a playoff path opportunity like this again, so for the love of God please don't waste it.