When they got off to a great start, people didn’t want to buy what we were seeing.
When the playoff started, the narrative around this team seems to change with every game.
No team in the league has the goalposts moved quite like the Boston Celtics, that’s their reality.
In fact, things are great.
Everything is right there for the taking as long as this team just plays to their normal level.
At the same time, a 2-0 lead is not a 4-0 series win.
With a run this important, I am choosing to respect the Basketball Gods and respect the opponent.
I suggest you do the same.
Approach this the same way the team is.
One game at a time.
Remember being up 2-1 in the Finals?
The talk was the series was over.
It was, but for the Celtics.
Instead, enjoy the fact that finally, the Celtics didn’t fuck around and drop Game 2.
The beauty of all this?
The Celticscan play even better.
We did not watch them at their peak last night, think about that.
But for now, we enjoy the moment.
That thought giving Jaylen a supermax was a death sentence for the team and the franchise.
And yet all Jaylen does is get better.
Year after year, playoff run after playoff run, and now here we are.
All you have to do is watch how Jaylen played.
Aggressive, with force, under control, locked in.
When we get this version of Jaylen, it usually means he plays inside/out.
Given what he went through last ECF, that makes me very happy.
He looks ready for the moment, which is all part of the maturation process.
We’re entering Jaylen’s NBA prime, and look at the player he is becoming.
This is why you don’t trade Jaylen Brown for an aging str.
This is why you pay him all the goddamn money you’ve got the option to.
This is why the franchise was patient with the Jays duo.
I’ll just ask you this, does that seem crazy right now?
The Celtics are who they are because they HAVE BOTH players.
For them to win the title, they will need BOTH players to play to their potential.
That’s how it’s always been, and it’s how it always will be.
Now we just need it 6 more times.
- Since the second KP went down, something flipped with Jrue Holiday.
That’s really the only way I can explain it.
Prior to that moment, Holiday had a 36% TS%.
He couldn’t make dick.
He smoked every bunny, missed every 3, it was scary as shit given his previous playoff runs.
Holiday has a 70% TS%
That’s right.
We already know you’re getting All NBA level defense and great poise offensively with Jrue.
The question was always going to be about his offensive production, regardless of what role he was given.
Brad Stevens traded for Jrue for these exact moments.
It was never about the regular season or even the early rounds of the playoffs.
As we know, when the Celts backcourt is effective, they become nearly impossible to beat.
- To be an NBA player, you need the memory of a goldfish.
For things to work, everyone has to be ready to let it fly when they have their opportunities.
If you hesitate, it all falls apart.
Bald Derrick’s confidence never wavers.
He stays with it, and the second half was an example of why that’s so important.
He’s been nails in every single series, and last night may have been his best performance yet.
Every counter Rick Carlisle tried, Joe had an answer for.
And let’s face the facts.
In Game 1, the Pacers point per possession were the 67th highest of their season.
In Game 2, they only scored 110 points and most of that was in garbage time.
So maybe, just maybe, Joe Mazzulla knows what he’s doing.
- The best part of this entire win was the fact that Al Horford only played 24:58.
Coming off his 40 minute run in Game 1, this was music to my ears.
If so, he’ll get 5/30-6/6 off.
Everywhere you looked, the Celts found a way to win that category.
Nice bounce back game for Payton Pritchard, who really needed it after his Game 1 stinker.
I found this pretty interesting.
Shocking, but somehow true.
Did you know both Oshae Brissett and Svi Mykhailiuk have more career ECF points than Joel Embiid?
I couldn’t believe it either, but it’s true.
Well, that’s exactly how the Celts weathered the storm early in this game.
Outside of him, the Pacers don’t really have any legitimate size.
When the Celts are aggressive and attack the offensive glass, good things tend to happen.
- Crazy to think we’ve gone this long and haven’t even mentioned Jayson Tatum’s performance yet.
Much like DWhite, Tatum’s first half was complete dogshit.
Easily the worst he’s played on both ends the entire season.
But that brings me back to the goldfish mentality.
He always seems to find a way.
Will he be slandered today?
We know by now that it doesn’t matter what Tatum does, the narrative around him is insane.
But none of that shit matters.
Shit happens this time of year and a successful run needs injury luck.
After years and years of brutal playoff paths, things have opened up for the Celts this year.
That’s how it goes sometimes.
Let them get it out of their system and pay them no mind.
Al was right there on pretty much everything, and Siakam still buried jumper after jumper.
- As I said, the first half from Jayson Tatum was completely unacceptable.
What I can’t live with is not playing defense and poor body language.
There should never be a time where it feels like Tatum is just floating through a game.
You have to lock in defensively in that frame if you want to win the title.
For me, that’s non-negotiable.
The Ugly
- By now you should know the rules.
This team wins 5 games in a row, we get to skip this section as a treat.
Off to Indy with a chance to effectively end this series.
You go up 3-0, and I would be even more cautious with KP.
When you’re this close to the Finals, you cannot allow for any hope.
you could’t give your opponent any reason to believe a comeback is possible.
You step on their throat and you go up 3-0.
Do that, and you put yourself in the best position possible.
