ORLANDO, Fla. — As Brad Stevens walked in the smallish interview room after the Celtics’ disappointing 100-93 loss to the Toronto Raptors, Raptors coach Nick Nurse arrived for his session in the room next to Stevens simultaneously, separated by thin plastic partition.
Stevens could clearly hear the glee in Nurse’s voice, the enthusiasm in which he spoke of his team’s guile and toughness in a game they essentially dominated in the second half. The momentum of this Eastern Conference semifinal series is squarely in the hands of the defending champions, after the Celtics not only blew Game 3, but allowed Toronto to control Game 4.
Advertisement
Boston was awful from the 3-point line (7-for-35). Jaylen Brown looked lost on offense and defense, when he was trounced by All-Star forward Pascal Siakam. Kemba Walker only attempted nine shots, and each time the Raptors needed a rebound, they got one, outhustling the Celtics to those critical 50-50 balls.
This game didn’t come down to execution as much as it came down to desire, and that’s really demoralizing if you’re a Celtics fan. Boston was supposed to be fuming after the Game 3 loss, where they allowed OG Anunoby to roam behind the defense and sink a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. They had that game won. They slipped on one play, but were the better team the first three games.
That wasn’t the case Saturday at the Field House. Toronto crept back into the Celtics’ heads like it was the old days of Dwane Casey and DeMar DeRozan, and the Celtics have to find a way to get their edge back.
Several players said the Raptors simply played harder. Are you serious? Harder? In one of the bigger games of the Brad Stevens era, a chance to get to within one game of the Eastern Conference Finals and a potential winnable matchup with the Miami Heat, the Celtics didn’t play as hard as they should have?
Advertisement
That’s infuriating and unacceptable. The Celtics entered Game 4 with the “we got four games to win two” mentality, and that approach causes teams to lose series. It’s mystifying that the Celtics were essentially soft on Saturday; they should have been the more passionate team. They played poorly in the first half, yet were still tied. Then, they were punched squarely in the mouth in the third quarter (yet again).
“They played harder than we did, and I think that was noticeable on both ends of the floor for the most of the game,” forward Jayson Tatum said. “[Our energy] could have been better. We were excited to play this game. Obviously we wanted to bounce back.”
Playoff games can’t be thrown away or wasted. If the Celtics went down fighting Saturday, with will and passion, it’s understandable. There’s a reason why Toronto had the second-best record in the East. But to come out passive and then again get buried in the third quarter before a futile comeback attempt in the fourth is disturbing, and an indictment on the preparation.
“They were probably more connected, just on both ends for a majority of the game,” Tatum said. “We missed a lot of shots. Didn’t play well. Still gave ourselves a chance, but it’s the playoffs. It’s tough. You don’t want [letting another team play harder] to happen, but we can’t do nothing about it now. Gotta move forward.”
Advertisement
So what is exactly forward? Get ready for Game 5 and hope you decide to play harder? Be upset the next 48 hours (as if they weren’t in the past 48) and return to the execution and cohesion of the first two games?
The Celtics need Sunday off to relax and reflect, because this is not the time for lackadaisical play or slippage. The other team offers resistance.
“They were super aggressive,” point guard Kemba Walker said. “They made great plays. They had great intensity throughout the whole game. I just thought we didn’t match those guys in the second half. But you know man, it’s the playoffs. We just gotta be better. That’s it. It was a rough night for a lot of us. We got stops, but we didn’t finish the play out.”
What’s even more perplexing is that the Celtics actually had a chance to win this game. They were a couple of big plays from cutting it to one possession in the final minutes. As poorly as they played, as mentally unstable as they were, they still pushed Toronto to the end.
Jaylen Brown, who was the culprit in Game 3 who allowed Anunoby to roam free for the winning shot, turned in his worst game of the postseason. He missed 14 shots, nine 3-pointers, and committed four fouls. It’s no coincidence that Brown’s worst game in months comes after one of his lower points as a Celtic.
Advertisement
It wasn’t from a lack of effort, but Brown was visibly discouraged at times, especially when Siakam — who had a subpar series before Saturday — drained jumper after jumper in his face.
Have the Celtics been exposed in the past two games? They claimed to be a mentally tough team, having learned from the playoff collapse last year against the Milwaukee Bucks. Chemistry is certainly improved, but the Celtics are going to have to find something within themselves to fight back in this series because they’ve lost the edge.
The question is whether they are capable of such a recovery.
“Two-two, the series is tied up. Obviously we didn’t play that well, but we gotta bounce back and be ready to fight, that’s what it comes down to,” Brown said. “We gotta be ready to fight for our lives the next game. Ain’t too much talking that needs to be done. We just gotta come out and play better.”
Gary Washburn can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GwashburnGlobe.
"choice" - Google News
September 06, 2020 at 09:37AM
https://ift.tt/33h5Tjd
After lacking desire in Game 4, Celtics face a choice and a challenge - The Boston Globe
"choice" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2WiOHpU
https://ift.tt/3c9nRHD
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "After lacking desire in Game 4, Celtics face a choice and a challenge - The Boston Globe"
Post a Comment