PLAYOFFS 2023 - EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS GAME #3 - POST GAME MIAMI HEAT - AWAY

Celtics Wrap: Boston Wilt To Heat In Blowout Game 3 Defeat
The Celtics are now facing a 3-0 series deficit

NESN by Greg Dudek

The Boston Celtics had absolutely no answer for the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday night and were dealt a 128-102 drubbing at Kaseya Center.

The Celtics have fallen into an insurmountable 3-0 series hole — no team in NBA history has ever overcome such a deficit in a best-of-seven series.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The Heat have completely broken the Celtics.

The Celtics have been a shell of themselves in this series, especially Sunday with the Heat running them out of the building. And it comes on both ends of the court. Miami eviscerated a Boston defense that showed zero resistance as the Heat shot 56.8% from the floor for the game. This time it wasn’t Jimmy Butler alone carving up the Celtics, either. Instead, Miami’s supporting cast led by Gabe Vincent torched the Celtics time and time again.

The defensive play is vastly different compared to what the Celtics displayed last year under Ime Udoka. The Celtics and Joe Mazzulla made it clear after losing to the Golden State Warriors that they were prioritizing offense over defense and it certainly shows.

Boston’s offense was just as bad as it put up its lowest-scoring output of the playoffs in the first half. The Celtics spacing looks way off and the Heat have taken away what Boston does best, which is shoot 3-pointers. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were the poster boys for the Celtics 3-point woes as they combined to hit 2-of-14 shots from beyond the arc.

In practically a must-win situation, the Celtics wilted against the Heat and turned in arguably their most pathetic performance of the season.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Vincent stepped up for the Heat by netting a playoff career-high 29 points on 11-for-14 shooting. He connected on six 3-pointers as the Heat shot 54.3% (19-for-35) from downtown.

— Caleb Martin was immense off the bench again. He scored 18 points to go along with four assists and three rebounds. Martin also finished with a game-high plus-34 rating.

— Robert Williams showed the most consistent effort out of anyone on the Celtics. He recorded eight points and eight rebounds, six of those were of the offensive variety.

WAGER WATCH
Al Horford had struggled mightily from beyond the arc, hitting just three of his last 22 3-point attempts entering the contest. With that in mind, FanDuel Sportsbook set Horford’s over/under for made triples at 1.5 with -108 odds on the Over. Horford knocked down two treys in the first half to hit the Over as a $100 wager would have netted a total of $192.59.

UP NEXT
The Miami Heat will bring their brooms to Kaseya Center on Tuesday night looking to close out the Boston Celtics and advance to the NBA Finals. Tipoff for Game 4 is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.

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Boston Globe said the Celtics lost 1280-102. It actually felt like that.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/05/21/sports/celtics-heat-live-score-analysis-nba-playoffs/

Celtics are on brink of elimination after epic 1280-102 Game 3 loss to Miami
By Chad Finn, Nicole Yang, Khari Thompson, Conor Ryan and Katie McInerney Globe Staff, Boston.com Staff  and Globe Staff,Updated May 21, 2023, 4 minutes ago


MIAMI — No NBA team has won a playoff series down 0-3, and the Celtics likely won’t be the first after collapsing in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday in Miami.

The Heat won, 128-102, in a contest that felt over shortly after the ball was tipped. Boston lost the lead with 5:48 to play in the first quarter and never regained it.

The star of the show was Gabe Vincent, the undrafted guard who scored 29 points — his career playoff high. He was 6-of-9 from 3. He scored more points than Jayson Tatum (14) and Jaylen Brown (12) combined.

Inexplicably, the team that has been favored to win the NBA Finals is on the brink of elimination at the hands of Miami, which entered the playoffs as the No. 8 seed.

At one point in the first half, Miami led by 22. Boston entered the second half down by just 15, and a comeback wasn’t out of the question. But the Celtics sunk only one of their 13 attempted threes and went 7 of 23 from the field.

The Heat won despite Jimmy Butler shooting 5 of 13 from the field and adding just 16 points. He was the Heat’s fourth-leading scorer.

With 7:20 to play in the second quarter, fans at the Kaseya Center began chanting “Let’s get the sweep!” It’s not out of the question. Boston will try to keep its season alive with Game 4 back here on Tuesday.

It’s over — 10:49 p.m.
The star of the show was Gabe Vincent, the undrafted guard who scored 29 points — his career playoff high. He was 6-of-9 from 3. He scored more points than Jayson Tatum (14) and Jaylen Brown (12) combined.

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They want Haslem — 10:45 p.m.
NY: We’ve reached the point in the game where the remaining Heat fans are chanting for Udonis Haslem to check in.

Heat 115, Celtics 88 — 10:41 p.m.
Heat 115, Celtics 88 | 3:47, fourth quarter

KT: My thoughts exactly, IT.


What a rout — 10:36 p.m.
The Heat are up, 112-83, with 4:43 to play.

NY: Remember when Marcus Smart threw a chair after the Celtics lost to the Heat in Game 2 in the bubble?

Can’t wait to see what’s in store tonight.

CF: Gabe Vincent is 6 of 9 from 3. Celtics starters went 6 for 28 ... and that includes White’s 3-for-6.

Is it time to pull the starters? — 10:29 p.m.
CF: What do we think of Mazzulla pulling the starters with a quarter left? I’m fine with it.

KT: Yeah, they’re done. Down 25 with 9 minutes remaining. Might as well focus on Game 4.

CF: THERE’S A GAME 4?

Heat 95, Celtics 70 — 10:25 p.m.
Heat 95, Celtics 70 | 9:45, fourth quarter

KT: Who was that that said they’re pulling for Boston on the TNT broadcast? This team went from title favorites to pity party real quick. Was that you, Reggie Miller?

CF: It was Reggie. Great talk show guest, atrocious analyst.

End of third quarter: Heat 93, Celtics 63 — 10:20 p.m.
Gabe Vincent leads all scorers with 18 points.


Where is Jaylen? — 10:15 p.m.
Heat 89, Celtics 60 | 1:43, third quarter

CF: Jaylen is 2 for 20 from 3 in this series. Over the last two games, he’s 13 of 40 overall.

KM: Our seats are right in front of a section of suites that definitely have the booze flowing and they are loving this.

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CF: Thirty seconds into the quarter, Smart had a hustle putback plus 1 to cut the gap to 12 at 61-49. The Celtics have been outscored 30-11 since.

Heat 89, Celtics 56 — 10:09 p.m.
Heat 89, Celtics 56 | 4:44, third quarter

CF: Looking forward to seeing what Justin Champagnie can do.

And, why is Al Horford coaching this team?

CR: Jaylen Brown now 0-for-7 from 3-point range.

Heat 83, Celtics 56 — 10:02 p.m.
Heat 83, Celtics 56 | 6:41, third quarter

CF: Will Gabe Vincent make more threes than the Celtics tonight? They currently lead, 5-4.

KT: I’ve seen enough.


Heat take a 23-point lead — 9:57 p.m.
KM: Gabe Vincent sunk a three from the top of the key to put the Heat up, 74-51, and prompt Joe Mazzulla to call a timeout. We’ve got 8:59 to play in the third quarter.

NY: After that Gabe Vincent three-pointer, Jimmy Butler trolled Al Horford by kneeling down and motioning for a timeout. Looked like he stared Horford down.

KT: The Celtics are making Adebayo look like 2009 Dwight Howard tonight.

CF: 2009 Dwight Howard ended a Celtics season too.

NY: However, maybe the timeout motion from Butler is what Horford needed to see. He did say after the Atlanta series that he is the wrong person to trash talk. Currently, Horford is 2 of 5 from three. We’ll see how he finishes.

Heat 69, Celtics 51 — 9:51 p.m.
Heat 69, Celtics 51 | 9:58, third quarter

CR: Man, Jimmy Butler is cooking Derrick White in this game. Recipe for disaster with Brogdon also going ice cold so far tonight.

CF: White isn’t big enough to defend him.

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And we’re off — 9:47 p.m.
CF: Miami needs to go cold. Tatum needs to go on a tear, with help from someone like Brogdon or White.

Random, but it befuddles me why they don’t post up Tatum more. Get him the ball in better spots. Not everything has to start 28 feet from the hoop.

First-half analysis — 9:37 p.m.
NY: Celtics enter the half down by 15. A comeback is not out of the question.

KT: It is if the Celtics keep playing like this ... yikes. Tatum and Brown are a combined 9-24 from the field and 1-7 from 3. Miami is getting the looks it wants inside and out, and even making a few tough ones. Malcolm Brogdon is 0-4.

CF: Jaylen started 4 of 5. He’s 1 for 8 since. Hasn’t made a 3. Dogged it back on D on that Strus 3. Took a 3 with 9 seconds left in the half.  He’s got to get his head in the game.

NY: As one fan noted, it’s not as if playing with a lead has worked well for Celtics in the past, so might as well try something different.

KT: So, how do they fix this? What has to happen?

CF: Defending for 24 seconds would be a good place to start. It’s also stunning how difficult it is for the Celtics to get easy shots.


End of first half: Heat 61, Celtics 46 — 9:30 p.m.
NY: The Celtics double-team Jimmy Butler again and it leads to an airball. My guess is they will continue that strategy.

CR: Thank goodness the Celtics decided to not go with that defensive strategy at all against Butler on Game 2.

Heat 61, Celtics 44 — 9:27 p.m.
Heat 61, Celtics 44 | 1:30, second quarter

CF: They’ve got a run in them. But Spoelstra, unlike SOME COACHES. will call a T.O. if the Celtics chop off a chunk of the lead.

NY: Double-teaming Jimmy Butler leads to a Jimmy Butler turnover. Who would have thought.

KT: Your guy Cody Zeller is out here swatting shots, Conor.

NY: Cody Zeller actually just came up huge there. He blocked Derrick White’s layup, which would have cut Miami’s lead to 13. Instead, Jimmy Butler get a bank shot on the other end and draws a foul on Grant Williams (but misses the free throw).

Heat 59, Celtics 42 — 9:21 p.m.
Heat 59, Celtics 42 | 3:10, second quarter

NY: (Can’t wait to see us all pick the Celtics again for Game 4.)

KT: Sigh. So much for the Celtics won’t embarrass themselves and drop three straight rationale

NY: Finally, a Celtic (Grant Williams) decides to pick on Cody Zeller.


— 9:20 p.m.

Heat 51, Celtics 33 — 9:16 p.m.
Heat 51, Celtics 33 | 5:56, second quarter

The Heat have their biggest lead of the night after an 8-2 run.

KT: Adebayo is dunking all over the Celtics. First a thunderous lob, then a slam on Jaylen Brown

NY: And Marcus Smart just did something really stupid, trying to draw an ill-advised defensive foul on Kyle Lowry. Instead, it was a charge. The Celtics are in the bonus, so it would have sent Smart to the line, but just not the right circumstances to try something like that.

CF: I miss watching Ime read this team the riot act.

NY: Moments later, Robert Williams bit on a Jimmy Butler pump-fake, picking up his third foul.

KT: Is there such a thing as too much love and trust?

NY: And now, Marcus Smart got T’d up.

‘Let’s get the sweep!’ — 9:11 p.m.
Heat 45, Celtics 32 | 7:20, second quarter

NY: Heat fans are starting are “Let’s get the sweep!” chant.

CR: The only thing this game is missing is a Cody Zeller dunk. Celtics just aren’t getting any stops against this team.

NY: Oh, and by the way, Jimmy Butler was not on the court as the Heat continued to build this 13-point lead.

CR: Miami is now shooting *checks notes* ... 66.7 percent from the field so far in Game 3.

CF: Heat are shooting 66.7 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3. Vincent, Martin, and Robinson are a combined 10 of 11. They’re hitting everything, and the Celtics D stinks.

NY: The key for the Celtics is not revert to “your turn, my turn” / hero ball. There is still plenty of time left. As Conor mentioned, the Heat are shooting at what you think would be an unsustainable rate.

Heat 34, Celtics 25 — 9:07 p.m.
Heat 34, Celtics 25 | 9:50, second quarter

NY: The return of successful backdoor cuts by Duncan Robinson!

End of first quarter: Heat 30, Celtics 22 — 9:01 p.m.
KM: Jaylen Brown (8 points) and Caleb Martin (8 points) are the leading scorers through 12.

NY: Maybe it’s just the angle of our seats, but Jimmy Butler, on multiple drives to the basket, decided to kick the ball out instead of going up for a shot. Kind of surprising to me. This postseason, Jimmy leads the league in number of first quarters with 10-plus points. Maybe he wants to get his teammates involved early — he does have three assists — but one led to a turnover.

CF: Celtics didn’t get a point from the Smart-White-Brogdon trio. Missed all five of their shots.

NY: Also, coaches just get one challenge — regardless of whether or not it’s successful.

Mazzulla uses challenge — 8:59 p.m.
NY: Joe Mazzulla is using his coach’s challenge in the first quarter in hopes that Robert Williams doesn’t pick up his third foul. Huge review coming up. If the call stands, the Heat will have the ball up 10 with 15.1 seconds to go in the first.

CR: What a complete mess.

UPDATE: The challenge was successful, so perhaps it will be a turning point for the Celtics. Now, Robert Williams has just two fouls, his basket was deemed good, and he’ll go to the line for a free throw.

CF: Like I said, definitely not a charge.

Heat 30, Celtics 20 — 8:55 p.m.
Heat 30, Celtics 20 | 31.5, first quarter

CR: Brogdon 0-3 from the field in just 4 minutes. Two missed shots from 3-point range.

NY: The home crowd is booing Grant Williams whenever he touches the ball.

CF: Brogdon needs to get it together. He’s now 0 for 4 and has forced some stuff.

Tatum back in — 8:51 p.m.

Heat 21, Celtics 16 — 8:50 p.m.
Heat 21, Celtics 16 | 4:21, first quarter

NY: Robert Williams checks in and picks up two fouls in one minute. Not great. Grant Williams subbed in for him.

CF: Does this count as double bigs? A big and a half?

KM: Max Strus’s three to put the Heat up five just lit this place up.

CR: Where were you when the Miami Heat became the Golden State Warriors? 3 straight treys from the Heat after starting 1-4 from beyond the arc.

KM: Shaughnessy is incensed that Jaylen was looking for a foul call while Strus sunk that three.

CF: So am I. Strus slowed up initially after making the long pass and still beat Jaylen by a mile for the open 3. Inexcusable.

(He did get fouled. Doesn’t matter.)


Jaylen Brown showing up — 8:45 p.m.
CR: Jaylen Brown with 5 points on 2-of-3 shooting to open the game. Just a bit better than his 1-for-7 start in Game 2.

CF: Yep. He was 3 of 12 at halftime in Game 2. What I’d like to see from him tonight is a few more assists tham turnovers. He’s basically 1-to-1 in the playoffs.

KT: Jaylen is hitting those fadeaways he was missing in Game 2. It’s making a big difference tonight.

Celtics 12, Heat 9 — 8:40 p.m.
Celtics 12, Heat 9 | 7:13, first quarter

NY: Al Horford made his first three, so the Celtics are probably hopeful more are to come.

KM: Horford was 5 of 29 (17 percent) from three over his last six games prior to tonight.

NY: Kevin Love just went back to the locker room after that Heat timeout. Caleb Martin, who scored 25 off the bench in Game 2, is set to check in. Love, the weak link against Boston’s small lineup, opened the game with two baskets.

CF: It was clear Love was hurt. Kept signaling to the bench. Celtics didn’t take advantage of it on the possession where Butler poked the ball away from Tatum.

Heat 7, Celtics 3 — 8:34 p.m.
Heat 7, Celtics 3 | 10:30, first quarter

NY: And instead, Kevin Love ends up scoring Miami’s first 5 points.

And we’re off — 8:32 p.m.
Again ... TNT always starts on time.

Lineup notes — 8:27 p.m.
NY: The Heat are sticking to their same starting lineup, even with the Celtics going small. Kevin Love only played 14 minutes in Game 2, so his playing time will likely be cut short again if the Celtics repeatedly pick on him defensively.

CR: Charles Barkley picking the Celtics to win Game 3

KT: GUARANTEE

Shaughnessy: I counted out the Red Sox in 2004, so I’m not saying it’s over until it’s over for the Celtics — 8:25 p.m.
By Dan Shaughnessy

A lifetime of incorrect predictions has taught me that it’s dangerous to prematurely state that any series is over. Yogi Berra was right. It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.

In this spirit we look at the Boston Celtics, who came into the Eastern Conference finals heavily favored to return to the NBA Finals. The Celtics lost their first two games at home and arrived in Florida desperate to avoid going down 3-0 Sunday.

History is not the Celtics’ friend — even for a franchise steeped in history. Boston is 0-5 lifetime when trailing a conference final, 2-0. And 3-0 makes things virtually impossible. No team in NBA annals has won any series after trailing, 3-0. That covers 149 series over the last eight decades. The LeBron James Lakers at this moment face that insurmountable hurdle in their conference final vs. Denver. The Lakers are unlikely to be the first.

There’s the hedge . . . “unlikely.’’

There was much hysteria and resignation in my Globe inbox and over social media after the Celtics blew a 12-point fourth-quarter lead in Game 2 on Causeway Friday.

But I find myself reluctant to say it’s over. I don’t trust the Celtics when they are good and I don’t trust them when they are bad.

Read the full column here.

Predictions for tonight — 8:20 p.m.
CF: Celtics win, presuming some reasonable developments occur: The Heat cool off from 3, Joe Mazzulla doesn’t forget to use Derrick White, Tatum and Brown have normal games for once, and Rob Williams gets the brunt of the single big minutes if Al Horford continues to struggle early. It shouldn’t be too much to ask.

NY: I’ll probably keep picking the Celtics until they lose. Their backs are up against the wall, which is when they’ve played their best basketball.

KT: Celtics win. They’ve played better on the road than at TD Garden this postseason. They have a bad habit of not showing up until their backs are against the wall, but have somehow won the must-win games. Tonight should be the same.

CR: Feels like the Celtics give us little reason to have faith in them. Still, I can’t see Boston dropping a third straight game. Beyond some expected adjustment, it seems inevitable that the shooting totals in this series are going to balance out for both teams. Miami isn’t going to keep shooting 43.9% from 3, nor are the Celtics going to shoot 31% from beyond the arc.

What it looks like inside Kayesa Arena — 8:05 p.m.
We’ve got a late-arriving crowd here in South Florida.

Interestingly enough, the Heat outdraw the Celtics. Miami ranked fifth in average attendance this season, and Boston ranked ninth.

The Celtics drew the second-most fans while on the road, beat out only by the Warriors, so expect to see plenty of green sprinkled in the stands ... eventually.

A late arriving crowd for Game 3.
A late arriving crowd for Game 3.KATIE MCINERNEY
What to make of Jayson Tatum’s substitutions — 7:50 p.m.
By Adam Himmelsbach

Rotations are never set in stone, but it feels as if Jayson Tatum’s substitution patterns have shifted almost nightly during the playoffs. During the regular season, he most often sat for the final few minutes of the first and third quarters, and played the entire second and fourth. Or, he would play the entire first quarter and sit the start of the second, and then the entire third quarter and sit the start of the fourth.

In Game 2, Tatum played the entire first quarter and then returned to start the second. Then he played the entire third and returned to start the fourth. It didn’t work.

During his 3:11 break early in the second quarter, the Celtics’ 11-point lead was wiped away.

His second break came with 8:47 left in the fourth and Boston leading, 91-84. He appeared a bit fatigued on a couple of preceding plays, so maybe he needed a quick breather, but it felt odd for him to be on the bench as the game approached crunch time. In this case, the Celtics at least played the Heat even without him.

Which Celtics player needs to step up tonight? — 7:35 p.m.
CF: More than anyone else, Jaylen. He was, to be kind, a disaster in Game 2. (Imagine what adjectives we’d use for an unkind analysis.) He jacked up 23 shots, three more than Tatum, and made seven, or three fewer than JT. And he doesn’t do much to help when he’s not scoring. (He has one more assist than turnover in the playoffs.) Given that he’s often a fast starter, we should know early whether he has it.

KT: Jaylen Brown has to step up tonight. He’s 2-13 from 3-pt. range this series, which is quite unlike him. His shot selection has also been questionable, as he’s been settling for fadeaway jumpers off of one-on-one matchups. The Celtics are at their best when they’re raining threes. Brown and “Elite shooter” Al Horford have to knock a few down tonight.

NY: You could make a case for basically everybody in the rotation. The player I’ll be watching is Al Horford, who is in a major shooting slump — 5 of 29 (17 percent) from three over his last six games. If Horford continues to struggle, then Joe Mazzulla may want to reconsider playing him 30 minutes per game. Grant Williams or Rob Williams could play more instead.

CR: There’s no shortage of options here, especially in Boston’s starting lineup. I think the Celtics desperately need a bounceback game from Jaylen Brown. Through two games, he’s averaging 19 points while shooting .386 from the field and .154 from 3-point range. Add in his turnovers and defensive lapses and Brown’s struggles have played a major role in Boston’s 0-2 deficit.

What do you guys think? — 7:20 p.m.
CF: Everything with Butler is a troll. It’s his fuel. What I really want to know is who Tkachuk is honestly rooting for, given he was classmates with Tatum in St. Louis from seventh to ninth grade. Don’t think Florida would like the answer.

NY: Maybe a combo?

KT: Jimmy is just supporting the Panthers. He’s not thinking about y’all, Bruins fans.

CR: I’ll go with Butler just repping a fellow South Florida team. Now, if we spot Butler sinking jump shots in a Grant Williams jersey? That’s an A+ troll job.

Is Jimmy Butler just a supportive Miamian, or an exquisite troll? — 7:10 p.m.
Either Jimmy Butler is just a good neighbor, or he’s an exquisite troll.

Butler wore a Florida Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk jersey during a gym session a few days ago. On one hand, it feels like it’s just real recognizing real.


Tkachuk scored the game winner in the Panthers’ epic four-overtime Eastern Conference final opener against the Hurricanes on Thursday, then did it again (took just one overtime this go around) last night to put Florida up 2-0. Tkachuk is the Panthers’ equivalent of Jimmy Butler, so it’s no surprise Butler would show love.

That said … Tkachuk was an absolute pest while helping Florida get past the Bruins in the first round a few weeks ago. He scrapped with Linus Ullmark, he chirped plenty of players, and he scored five goals en route to ending the Bruins’ dream season.

Butler is public enemy No. 1 in Boston right now, the same way Tkachuk was during that series. Even if he’s not trolling, the fit won’t get him any new fans in Boston. You do have to respect it, though.

Joe Mazzulla says Derrick White will start — 7:03 p.m.
Joe Mazzulla is abandoning the double-big starting lineup, returning to the small unit with Derrick White instead of Robert Williams. White also started the second half of Game 2.

Himmelsbach: Derrick White needs to start over Rob Williams in Game 3 — 6:55 p.m.
By Adam Himmelsbach

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla helped swing the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the 76ers in Boston’s favor by putting center Robert Williams back in the starting lineup in Game 6 in place of Derrick White. Williams gave the Celtics another body to throw at league MVP Joel Embiid, and P.J. Tucker’s limitations allowed Williams to act more as a roamer on defense.

Mazzulla has stuck with the same group against the Heat in the conference finals, but it has not gone well. In 14 minutes together, the double-big pairing of Williams and Al Horford has been outscored by 51.6 points per 100 possessions. Yes, that’s an extremely small sample size, but the Heat simply pose different challenges.

Jimmy Butler has actively sought out matchups with Williams in space, and Horford has struggled to contain center Bam Adebayo. Mazzulla seemed to have some reluctance about the double-big group after Game 1. When he was asked about it, he paused for about two seconds before answering.

“That’s a good question,” he said. “Like I said, I thought each lineup presented things that did well.”

Then the Horford/Williams pairing returned at the start of Game 2 and lasted less than five minutes, as the Heat took a 4-point lead. The two never shared the court again.

White, an All-Defensive team selection, blocked two of Butler’s shots in Game 2 and continues to be a force from beyond the arc. He’s made 6 of 10 3-pointers in this series and the Celtics have a plus-9.0 rating with him on the court. Malcolm Brogdon is the only other Celtic with a positive rating in the series.

But White hasn’t played more than 23 minutes in any of the last four games. It’s time for him to reenter the starting lineup in Game 3.

Finn: It’s not over, but there’s not much reason to still have faith in the Celtics — 6:40 p.m.
By Chad Finn

Before tipoff of the Eastern Conference finals, ESPN Analytics tweeted that the Celtics had a 97 percent chance of defeating the Heat in the series.

Whatever their data-based rationale, giving the flawed but fearless Heat a 3 percent chance of prevailing over a Celtics team with a habit of drop-kicking prosperity seemed absurd and disrespectful at the time. Any roster with Jimmy Butler on it and Erik Spoelstra coaching it has more than a 3 percent chance of achieving just about anything.

Now? That projection feels like a punch line, a painful wallop-packing truth about the differences between what the Celtics could be and what they are. That punch line will sting the Celtics into the fast-approaching offseason if they don’t get their act together immediately.

FORGET FEELING THE HEAT..........WE HAD A NAPALM BOMB DROP ON US!

Tatum 1-7 from 3pt and a total of 14 points!
Brown 0-7 from 3 pt and a total of 12 points!

ALL I CAN SAY IS NO LEADERSHIP AND NO SUPERSTARS! THIS TEAM IS A JOKE!

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Bueller?  Bueller?  Anyone?!!!!

OK, bobh, NOW was are the odds that the Celtics win the next 4 games/Win the Series?  Maybe I'm stating it wrong but the largest payoff would have been to do a 7-game parlay of MMMBBBB in that order and the odds on that would have been astronomical.  But that option is too late now.  There has to be a Vegas option now that given MIA has won the first 3 games, what is the line that the Celtics win the next 4?  

What I'm getting at is this seems like a parlay bet now.  Maybe that's the proper call.  I just don't know how Vegas states it.  But it's Vegas.  you can bet on grass growing if you want.  Regardless the odds still have to be extremely large given that the current record is 0-149 I believe.  But you can't get to those odds until the first 3 games have been played.    

I guess you could check the Lakers line as well.  They're in the same boat.  Except they are losing tonight.  That would be REALLY flushing $10 of your lottery money down the drain.  

db

IF WE ARE AT THE BLAME GAME PHASE OF OUR SEASON HERE ARE THE TWO PARTIES TO BLAME:  OWNERSHIP AND BASKETBALL OPERATIONS!

Ok you were delt a bad hand with the IME sexual harrasment episode, so you had to hire a new coach. OK, but do you go and hire an assisant coach with no NBA head coaching experience, knowing he had to lead a group of players who were picked to go to the finals next season and had two young and so called superstars on your team that you have to pamper?

OWNERSHIP - This ownership group goes back a long way 20+ years, they have seen the Good, Bad, and the Ugly and and they are supposedly astute business men, one of which heads up Baine Capital in Boston and is looking to buy an NFL team. They made a fatal error in agreeing with Basketball Operations to select such an inexperienced head coach with the star calaber players they have on the roster. They are idiots!  They could have selected someone like Frank Vogel who was with the Celtics organisation and was a head coach with several NBA teams.

Second, Ownership trusted an inexperienced Head of Basketball Operation with their recommendation for head coach without kicking the tires and interviewing other candidates!

BASKETBALL OPERATIONS- Clearly Brad Stevens is not the seasoned basketball executive everyone though he was. He was green on the job and he had no feel for the operations side of the business.

Second, he suggest Joe as a replacement for IME without thinking the process through as to "What if Joe fails, and can he gain the respect of the key players - Brown, tatum, Smart , Horford?"

Third, the regular season is just that...........IT ISN'T THE PLAYOFFS, as they are worlds apart!  So why do you not let the season be completed, and then decide or not decide to award Joe the perminent position as head coach?  Logic dictates yes!

BUT OH NO, what do the Celtics do but elevate Joe to the permanent head coaching position with a multi year contract without seeing what he does in the playoffs, which is now a complete disaster.

THE FALL OUT- In all probability, the season will end without the Celtics going to the finals and banner #18.

Second, now what do you do with Joe? The players have rejected his game plans as seen by a no effort game 3 against the Heat.   2 of you star players are one year closer to potentailly bolting for free agency.

Third, what top player in their right mind would entertaine coming to the Celtics as a free agent this summer with the prospects of playing for Coach Joe?

Fourth, look at the moves Brad made at the trading deadline..............god awful .... tomato cans........... and WYC gave Brad the signal to spend and GO TO WAR!  WYC statement sounds more like a way of selling more tickets rather than actual a call to arms!

Fifth, we have no first round pick in this years draft!

This my fellow Celtic Fans is no way to be treated by an orgainization after the loyalty we have shown over the many years, many of which were down years until we won #17. Now we are 15 years removed from Banner #17 with no clear prospects of future success. This is a raging dumpster fire in progress!

THIS TEAM NEEDS TO BE RECONSTITUTED EVEN IF IT MEANS PARTING WAYS THROUGH A TRADE WITH ONE OR MORE OF YOUR STAR PLAYERS!


112288

I am so sick of Mazzula taking responsibility for crappy coaching then apologizing afterwards. Send him packing. Let him get his head coaching experience somewhere else:

"Coach Joe Mazzulla took the brunt of the blame after the game.

“I just didn’t have them ready to play,” Mazzulla said. “I just didn’t have them execute the proper game plan. I didn’t put them in the right mentality to be ready. It’s my job to make sure that they’re connected and ready to play and I didn’t do that.”"

Pumpsie Green wrote:I am so sick of Mazzula taking responsibility for crappy coaching then apologizing afterwards. Send him packing. Let him get his head coaching experience somewhere else:

"Coach Joe Mazzulla took the brunt of the blame after the game.

“I just didn’t have them ready to play,” Mazzulla said. “I just didn’t have them execute the proper game plan. I didn’t put them in the right mentality to be ready. It’s my job to make sure that they’re connected and ready to play and I didn’t do that.”"

In other words, "Fire me, fire me, fire me!

THE BOSTON SPORTS RADIO STATIONS - WEEI 93.7 FM & THE SPORTS HUB 98.5 FM ARE KILLING THE CELTICS.  THEY ARE ALL SAYING THAT THE THE TEAM INCLUDING BROWN AND TATUM QUIT ON THE GAME AND THE COACH.

EVERYONE IN BOSTON IS SAYING THAT THIS TEAM IS DISFUNCTIONAL INCLUDING TATUM AND BROWN. THEY DON'T LIKE EACH OTHER AND THOSE BAD VIBS TRICKLE DOWN THROUGH THE TEAM.

BASICALLY, THEY SAID DO YOU WANT TO GIVE MAX CONTRACTS TO PLAYERS THAT HAVE NO DOG IN THEM!

WOW NEVER THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD GET TO THIS POINT!

112288

My neighbor is a cardiologist.

He tells me they never speak of a patient as having passed until all vital signs are gone.

I'll hold my commentary for now, and hope for a Red Sox style miracle.

(You thought I was going to say he had to revive me during the game, didn't you?)

I have been a Celtics fan since I first started watching basketball at age 8 or 9 during Russell's last couple years, and I do not remember seeing a Celtics team quit like they did last night. I'll always be a Celtics fan and will always bleed green, but today I am not proud to be a Celtics fan.

Before we go to an off season filled with questions and uncertainties, my only hope is they play hard on Tuesday and fight to the bitter end. So at least when we put on our Celtics gear we can at least hold our heads high.

When I was in Vegas last week visiting my friend (whose family owned Ozumas) and his two young daughters ("Uncle Bob" had to deliver a bunch of Rubik Cubes personally) we were having dinner at his house Thursday night.  After the girls went to bed around 8 or 9 or so CQ and I sat around, nibbling at the remaining sushi and started drinking in earnest.  I estimated the two of us killed roughly a liter of tequila mas o menos 100ml, probably more.  My stomach felt worse last night (not from drinking, I didn't touch a drop) and I feel just generally worse this morning than I did that following Friday morning.  I live an embarrassingly unstressful life, I'm not used to this shite anymore.

A 26 point blow out.  I don't even know what to say about this, I'm that stunned, but somehow I think I'll come up with something.

Gabe Vincent outscored All-NBAers Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined by 3 points.  Our superstars were a combined 12-35, 1-14 from 3.  That's 7% from 3 for those weak on math skills and don't have access to a calculator.  They had 4 assists and 6 turnovers.

The Celtics, as a team, shot under 40%.  The Celtics, as a team, shot 26% from 3.  Our top 7 players (the starting 5 plus RWill and Brogdon) were a combined 24-64, 37.5%, which means they shot worse than the team as a whold.  They shot a combined 6-31 from 3, 19.4%.  Derrick White is shooting 9-16 from 3 for the series, 56%, while the rest of the team is shooting 22-90, 24.4%.

Cameron Tabatabaie @CTabatabaie
yesterday
Mazzulla deserves plenty of blame, but that man is going to lose his job because his two All-NBA players are playing like cowards. That’s sucky.

I agree with all of this, except Joe losing his job.  So, where's this at?  Our core is backing Joe.  The Js, Smart, Al, RWill are all standing by their man.  Grant and Payton, for obvious reasons, probably want out; Payton because he wants to play and he's not going to behind White and Brogdon, and Grant because he was a key rotation player all season and then inexplicably got benched in the playoffs.  IF Jaylen Brown signs an extension this offseason then Joe will almost certainly be safe because that negotiation will revolve around what makes Jaylen happy.  If Brad Stevens feels he needs to trade Jaylen because he's not feeling good about his future with the Celtics then Joe should go too because, without the support of both of the stars he doesn't have the playoff performance to hold his own.

Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
yesterday
Joe Mazzulla was asked if he has lost the locker room: "Yeah, it’s why I need to be better to figure out what this team needs." Why has that happened? "I’m not sure."

And that's why you should be fired.  You're 3 games in, things have been getting steadily worse, and you don't know why.  The team he inherited from Ime Udoka was 2 wins away from #18, and who's bench got upgraded with the addition of Brogdon and the settling in of Derrick White, and here we are on the verge of being eliminated in the series earlier than the one we got past last year.  This team is better than last year's team, but they're performing worse.

Gary Washburn @GwashburnGlobe
yesterday
Joe Mazzulla: "I didn't have them ready to play. That's on me."

This is the 3rd game your job was to "have them ready to play" and this is the 3rd game you failed at that.  If you're not going to make a lot of in-game changes with timeouts, if you're going to let the players "figure it out", then all your job boils down to is "getting them ready to play".  Based upon your coaching style you had one job, Joe.  One.  And it's not like this is a new thing, is it?  How many games this season did we see this team lose games they shouldn't have lost because our opponents were inferior, but we played down to them, or because we took our feet off the gas and lost a big lead because our players weren't "ready to play"?  You NEVER see the Dubs do that, certainly not in the playoffs.  You NEVER saw any of Pop's Championship teams do that.  Showing up "ready to play" is a requirement for a Champion.  


The other 5 Celtic players (Grant, Sam, Luke, Moose and Payton) were a 15-26, 57.7%, and 5-11 from 3.  How does that taste?  The players that Joe never let leave the bench kicked the everlovin' snot out of the players Joe went with.

The forgotten Celtic, Grant Williams, tied All-NBA player Jaylen Brown with 12 points, only 2 points behind MVP candidate Jayson Tatum.  Having shown what he can do I guess it's back to the bench for him in game 4, huh?

We took 17 more fgas than Miami, we were just so completely inefficient we not only still lost but embarrassed ourselves.

The Heat shot 56.8% and 54.3% from 3.  This is the 2nd game out of the 3 played in which the Miami Heat scored >50% from the field and >50% from 3.  This is what you get, when you prioritize offense over defense and your offense is "all about the 3".  When they're not dropping you've got nothing.  We've all wondered at one point or another during this season who these Celtics are, what are their identity?  Well, now we know and it sure isn't defense.  Brad Stevens wanted to make us into another Golden State Warriors.  His miscalculation is that they have at least one, if not two, of the best shooters of their era.  More 3pt shooters is good.  Better 3pt shooters is better.  

The Celtics gave up 30+ points every quarter.  We scored 39 points in the 4th, when the scrubs came in.  We scored 63 points through 3.  That should be a halftime score for a team that averages between 115-120 ppg.



Souichi Terada @SouichiTerada
yesterday
Jaylen Brown: "It's an obvious letdown. We felt like we let our fan base, our organization down. We let ourselves down. It's collective. We can keep pointing fingers. But in reality, it's just embarrassing."

Thanks, Captain Obvious.


https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401547673


Bob


.

Post game Pouting:





So who poked the bear this time?
Better yet, who poked an entire pack of bears?

The only way the bear doesn’t get poked is if the Celts don’t show up to the arena at all.
I was just kidding but apparently our beloveds took me serious.

What I was trying to say the other day is that great players don’t need shyt talking to get going. They just look up at the scoreboard.
Tonight’s scoreboard didn’t look very nice until the lights went out.

Yo-Ami. Miami….
Let’s face it. These Sun Devils are on a run.
I don’t know what’s gotten into the Yo-ami Heat. It certainly ain’t the Celtics.

Our Celts got mauled and it was quite embarrassing

Yo-ami-128  Boostown-102





Not put to good use. Not a one gobbled down.  Saving them for game 4?

Screw the nuts. Maybe we should’ve just handed out game balls to everyone




Now down 3-zip.
It ain’t over, but Lizzo has booked a flight to Yo-ami and is due to arrive Tuesday
afternoon for the dress rehearsal.

How is this for a bit of a box score-

Tatum 14 pts in 33 minutes
Brown 12 pts in in 27 minutes
Grant 12 pts in 28 minutes
Payton Pritchard 12pts in 12 minutes.
Malcolm Br0gd0n-  Zero pts in 18 minutes




Malcolm



4th quarter Joe finally said “F this! We gave you 3 quarters now I’m going to have a seat.
“Hey, tall useless one get in there. Gordon err I mean House err I mean ahh, hell…
Sam, Git in there.
Uhhh Preacher! No sorry, Pritchard git in there.
Where’s Muscatel oops my bad again Muscala. hee hee, That name is almost the same as mines. How could I mess that up too.  Mike..git in there!  
Y’all Git in there and stop the bleeding.”

Sam doesn’t waste any time fouling the ever dangerous super duper Duncan on a 3
Good job. Good effort.

Payton: ‘Everyone’s watching. Show time! My chance to show out and get out’

Post Game Eddie House said
“Damn that, Lets call it like it is. I believe the Celtics have quit on their coach”

It appeared that Joe Mazzulla quit on his team when he was no where to be found during a timeout. Not so.
Al hid Joe’s clip board and then took over the huddle.

At this point, stomping on Joe would be nothing short of an act of redundancy Redundancy: ‘The state of being not or no longer needed or useful’ Hmmm.
Let’s be honest.
The C’s are a captain-less ship floating in the abyss.

We all know by now that at this point that this job is too big for Joe.
However, I really believe that he can become a very good coach.
(Spoelstra had his moments earlier in his career too)
But this AIN’T Job Corp.
This IS the NBA not the G league.
Go practice where they practice until you’re ready to show and prove.

Too late for that.

We have a team in a year that the pathway to the finals and winning it all was wide open.
We have a team that was the overwhelming pick to win #18
We have a team that appears to have given up.

Notables-Quotable:

BTW I refuse to post comments from Earvin Johnson, Charles Barkley’s and other players who never wore green.
As far as I’m concerned they can go to hell or wait to be sent there.

It’s none of their damn business!

This site is for Celtic family business only.

Al:
     “What is it 0-149 when a team is down 3-0”?
       “We ain’t out yet”
       “Our backs are against wall now” (stolen from Reggie Miller)


Reporter: ‘Seems like the team quit out there. What happened?’

Jaylen Brown: (Long Pregnant pause) “ummm” (another Long Pregnant pause)
It did feel like it took Brown 9 months to say..

”I don’t know where to start”

“We been here before” (3-0? No you haven’t)


Raunchy Reggie Miller after yapping about flagrant fouls for almost a half an hour: Then says “I don’t know what a flagrant foul is’
Followed by “Where’s the hard foul to send a message”

Coach Joe:“It’s on me”

“I didn’t have them ready to play”

“I didn’t have the right game plan. Thats on me”


Mazzulla fell on his sword and took part of the blame in hopes that his critics will lay off a bit.
Cute trick but it’s not gonna work. Never does. Get ready for a summer of blues.

Since he once wore green and still is sorely missed, I’ll include

I.T. Isaiah Thomas:
“Damn they really tappin’ out”! Smh


Notable:

Fire works are coming. (Used To mean mean ain’t shyt gonna happen)

Changes are going to be made. Most definitely.

Don’t count an JB getting a max deal anytime soon. Not with the Celtics.
According to Nose McGillicuddy, AKA Stephen A….
“The Celtics are not going to pay it”.


Post Game Pettiness:

Tatum on the bench in the 4th yelling at the officials while his season slips away.

TNT showcasing the Heat bench for what seemed like an hour with 3 minutes to go. Front running bast%$.

I would personally like to extend an invitation to myself to fly out to Miami and drown that Despicable little runt, Kyle Lowry in the deepest part the ocean, while pretending to perform water aerobics.


There is at least one more game come Tuesday evening but my once eternal optimism has turned transient.

Down 0-3  it looks like the Celtics unfinished business is about to be finished unfinished.

NYCelt wrote:My neighbor is a cardiologist.

He tells me they never speak of a patient as having passed until all vital signs are gone.

I'll hold my commentary for now, and hope for a Red Sox style miracle.

(You thought I was going to say he had to revive me during the game, didn't you?)

NY CELT, WHAT ABOUT BEING BRAIN DEAD!

112288

112288 wrote:

NYCelt wrote:My neighbor is a cardiologist.

He tells me they never speak of a patient as having passed until all vital signs are gone.

I'll hold my commentary for now, and hope for a Red Sox style miracle.

(You thought I was going to say he had to revive me during the game, didn't you?)

NY CELT, WHAT ABOUT BEING BRAIN DEAD!

112288

My question for your neighbor would be did he ever open the chest cavity only to discover there wasn’t a heart?

IMO, one of the biggest issues with this current team is the ongoing whining by the players about no calls or bad calls from the refs.  The crew on the broadcast brought this issue up early and often.

Whining about calls means you aren't getting back on defense.  If that happens once or twice, that's fine.  They are just snowballs.  Keep it up and those snowballs become an avalanche.

Last season, Ime was not able to fix this, no matter how much we implored him to do so.  This season, it is the same, there are no consequences for this behavior.  

Lastly, the whole "Unfinished Business" message screams entitlement.  Print out those t-shirts after you complete the dang business!  The rest of the league ain't buying the message. You don't "deserve" anything, you have to go out and earn it.

On a personal note, last night was the first time Mrs. gyso said anything negative about the C's during a game.  Mind, she doesn't watch all of them, but last night, she said, "This is painful to watch."  So we didn't.  

Goodnight Irene.

Damn, that was rough. Joe very clearly outcoached. Brad is partly to blame for the 3-heavy system. The game has evolved, and teams can take away the three now, especially in a playoff series where teams really get to know each other. Good teams can adjust to take what the opposing defense gives them. This team just doubles down harder on 3s. There is another disturbing notion that is growing in my mind; maybe this team is just really not that good, and we and the media have been over estimating their talent. Despite schemes and analytics, basketball is simple - put the ball through the hoop and prevent the other team from doing so. Our team struggles too often to put the ball in the hoop. Tatum is over rated - you never know what you're going to get with him. I used to think Jaylen was under rated, but despite all the talk about how smart he is, he continues to make god awful decisions. And he can't dribble. Still. Al is just old - it's remarkable he is as effective as he is at this age (this is not a complement). Smart has heart, but too many bad decisions. He does make some big shots, but often his prior play led to the circumstances necessitating the big shot. Rob is a natural wonder, but I don't feel like he has been developed or coached to reach his potential. Brogdon is solid and a great 6th man. White has his moments, but can get psyched out. The Celtics had that red hot start, but then they were pretty average. They are a good regular season team, but not a true contender. Nothing would make me happier than if they make me look like an idiot for posting this, but I don't see it.

112288 wrote:THE BOSTON SPORTS RADIO STATIONS - WEEI 93.7 FM & THE SPORTS HUB 98.5 FM ARE KILLING THE CELTICS.  THEY ARE ALL SAYING THAT THE THE TEAM INCLUDING BROWN AND TATUM QUIT ON THE GAME AND THE COACH.

EVERYONE IN BOSTON IS SAYING THAT THIS TEAM IS DISFUNCTIONAL INCLUDING TATUM AND BROWN. THEY DON'T LIKE EACH OTHER AND THOSE BAD VIBS TRICKLE DOWN THROUGH THE TEAM.

BASICALLY, THEY SAID DO YOU WANT TO GIVE MAX CONTRACTS TO PLAYERS THAT HAVE NO DOG IN THEM!

WOW NEVER THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD GET TO THIS POINT!

112288

They did quit on their coach-and they are SOFT. I wrote that on the game thread. Of course its easier to quit on the coach if the coach has no clue what he is doing out there. He is in WAY over his head.

I agree with you Shamrock, this team started so strong at 21-4, but could never figure out a system that could work to be developed and in place when the 3’s are not going down. Joe wasn’t smart enough to work on putting something like that in place. I still remember the Denver game in Boston, our defense created alot of offense, we attacked Jokic; but this series we had one good half in game 1, and one good quarter in game 2. A total collapse both ends, shocking….we played a game 4 collapse/give up in game 3, Riley was grinning. They were toying with us and abusing us, J’s came up so small. Never did I see that kind of performance/quit in a Celtic star in this type of playoff game. They have totally tuned out Joe, even in the huddles/TO, oh remember we don’t need timeouts.

I don’t have the time to list everything I’m seeing wrong on the floor and have seen from the coach. Agree Stevens could have done a much better job and made the wrong choice, but could have given him way more help. I just can’t believe we have sank so low and still have another game to play. On J’s, ultra talented, but such non leaders, don’t know how to really play the game at the highest level. Both can run faster and jump higher than Jimmy Butler, but so what? All they ever relied on was their attributes, is it too late for them to learn the subtle aspects that the real greats have to have down? They were shut down easily, systematically, it’s a copycat league, plenty of coaches will follow Miami’s defensive schemes. We need a whole new coach and system so bad.

Pumpsie Green wrote:

112288 wrote:THE BOSTON SPORTS RADIO STATIONS - WEEI 93.7 FM & THE SPORTS HUB 98.5 FM ARE KILLING THE CELTICS.  THEY ARE ALL SAYING THAT THE THE TEAM INCLUDING BROWN AND TATUM QUIT ON THE GAME AND THE COACH.

EVERYONE IN BOSTON IS SAYING THAT THIS TEAM IS DISFUNCTIONAL INCLUDING TATUM AND BROWN. THEY DON'T LIKE EACH OTHER AND THOSE BAD VIBS TRICKLE DOWN THROUGH THE TEAM.

BASICALLY, THEY SAID DO YOU WANT TO GIVE MAX CONTRACTS TO PLAYERS THAT HAVE NO DOG IN THEM!

WOW NEVER THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD GET TO THIS POINT!

112288

They did quit on their coach-and they are SOFT. I wrote that on the game thread. Of course its easier to quit on the coach if the coach has no clue what he is doing out there. He is in WAY over his head.

+1

So blatantly obvious, he thought he could revolutionize the game, we don’t need no time outs. When in reality he had no X’s and O’s at all, so let’s have Smart shoot rushed 3’s

gyso wrote:IMO, one of the biggest issues with this current team is the ongoing whining by the players about no calls or bad calls from the refs.  The crew on the broadcast brought this issue up early and often.

Whining about calls means you aren't getting back on defense.  If that happens once or twice, that's fine.  They are just snowballs.  Keep it up and those snowballs become an avalanche.

Last season, Ime was not able to fix this, no matter how much we implored him to do so.  This season, it is the same, there are no consequences for this behavior.  

Lastly, the whole "Unfinished Business" message screams entitlement.  Print out those t-shirts after you complete the dang business!  The rest of the league ain't buying the message. You don't "deserve" anything, you have to go out and earn it.

On a personal note, last night was the first time Mrs. gyso said anything negative about the C's during a game.  Mind, she doesn't watch all of them, but last night, she said, "This is painful to watch."  So we didn't.  

Goodnight Irene.

Did somebody read my post and base an entire article on it 40 minutes later? You decide.

Celtics won't start winning until they kick this infuriating habit

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/celtics-wont-start-winning-until-163500482.html

I hope our next head coach knows what to do against a zone defense. I’m guessing 99 of 100 candidates will. Joe “I love you” Mazzulla may eventually be a decent coach, but learning on the job with a roster like this is crazy.

Beyond just the current coach, our star players have been maddeningly inconsistent for three coaches now. They are great when things go well, but punch them in the nose and they fold. Frontrunners is an apt description.

The Celtics have managed to turn themselves into a cliche.

"What until next year"

"It ain't over till it's over"

One thing I like most about being a Boston Celtics fan is that I can see into their history that is also a part of my history as a fan.

Before fans throw the baby out the window along with the bath water.  Take pause.  You can easily draw another bath but  replacing that baby is way more problematic..

Try to remember things that have happened in the past.

The 1983 Boston Celtics were sweep by the Bucks 4-0.  That team was loaded with talent and most of the roster was on the 81 title team.

Do you remember what Red did?  He did not throw the baby out but he knew well enough that the bath water had to go!

There will be plenty of things to dissect after the final horn sounds but right now, there is only one clear and obvious change that must to be made.

The fish smells from the head, and the head is Wyc who elevated Brad to GM who too quickly hired Joe and too quickly removed the interim tag from Joe. All bonehead moves, and we are stuck with the results. We need a wise GM, an alpha male coach, and an an alpha male player to lead this team. We have none of those three at this point. Wyc, it's your turn to right the ship.

I'm not going to add a whole lot.  All that have contributed over the last 24-48 hours have thoroughly vented and I'm not going to pile on.  I completely understand.  

Look out West.  When the playoffs started, everyone was so fascinated with all the parity and no one knew who was going to come out of the West.  Well guess what?  The fascinating playoffs out there weren't so fascinated and intriguing really at all.  There were some "surprises" for the 2nd and 3rd seeds but not really.  But when those two losers played in the second round, one of them had to advance and the other go home.
Lakers advanced by the grace of God and by the same token the Warriors mercilessly were sent packing. They were nowhere near being whole.   The last two standing teams in the WCF behaved like they were supposed to.  The Nuggets are a complete team and have been playing like one despite everyone shunning them.  The Lakers turned out to really be the Fakers.  And I'm not saying that just because I hate them.  Rob Kerplunka put together a POS trade deadline team EVERYONE was fawning over that couldn't even muster 1 game in the win column against a real, altogether fully operational playoff team. Clearly everyone couldn't see the forest for the trees since it was the Lakers. Shocker.

Now look back East.  It turned out all the surprises came from the East playoffs.  #1 Seed MIL losing to an 8th seed.  NYK vs. CLE was a joke.  BOS vs. PHI should have been a sweep.  Same with BOS vs. ATL.  Now there's an 8th seed that played horrifically all season for whatever reason(s) I don't care, somehow figures things out in the playoffs?  I say Come on, man.  Don't be ridiculous, Gus. If I were a MIA fan, I'd go MIA.  I'd be extremely PO'ed.  Here I wasted all my hard earned money all season long and you could have played like this all season??!!  Eff you!!  That's pathetic.  GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK!  Play like you usually play.

And that's my point.  The law of averages ALWAYS comes to roost in the NBA.  Now it may not happen tonight, but if we lose to MIA one more time, I PROMISE DEN will annihilate this POC team in the Finals.  Their stripes will return.  The law of averages.
That's what I hate about MIA from the smarmy, smirky President and Coach all the way down to fatass Kyle Lowry.  

I will promise everyone on this site the following as well.  We win tonight and WE WILL BE the first and probably only team in NBA history that will have been down 0-3 in a series and came back to win.

MIA is an 8th seed for a reason.  Again, EVEYONE is caught in the hype and can't see the glaring signs. And it either starts to unravel tonight or for certain in the next round.  

I think our team including the coach have not show us their old stripes at all in this series.  Tonight they will show it because this is it and we do very well with our backs against the wall.  The problem with MIA is as we are going to see they are on a 3-legged stool and one of those 3 legs is precariously place to not even be attached to the stool.  We win tonight by kicking that leg out, then just watch how quickly this team disintegrates into the POS they were all season.  

I'm done.  And BTW, Vegas doesn't know what they're talking about.  The odds of the Celtics winning the series, given now the 0-150 record thanks to true Fakers, is something like +750.  Don't waste your money.  That's $100 bet to get $750.  But the fact that that number is so low indicates Vegas believes that if that "0" is ever going to change to 1...and one day it will, this team will do it.  The Fakers before last night were +1450. Hmmm.  They knew the Fakers were a POS.  The fact that they went out in this fashion shows they really didn't even belong in the WCF.  

Give me one more game, Boston.  Play like you normally have played all season warts and all.  One game at a time.

Halleluiah. Amen. Holy #%($#!! Where's the Tylenol?!!  

db