The Boston Celtics lost a game they couldn’t afford to lose.
They’ve been a .500 team at home dating back to the last four postseasons, constantly digging themselves into holes they had no business getting into.
They’ve struggled mightily against Erik Spoelstra and the Miami Heat, especially in the playoffs, but it seemed like the table was set for them to get past them with ease once and for all.
With Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier out with injuries, Joe Mazzulla’s team was a 14.5-point favorite before tip-off, yet they wound up losing by ten points.
Following the loss, Celtics star Jayson Tatum claimed that the team always knew things weren’t going to be easy, mostly due to all the history that they have (via Celtics on NBC Sports Boston).
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. There’s a lot of history between these two franchises, especially recently,” Tatum said.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. There’s a lot of history between these two franchises, especially recently.”
Jayson Tatum talks about how the Heat came out and responded in Game 2 pic.twitter.com/3VrzXT5te3
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) April 25, 2024
Miami and Boston have a fierce rivalry.
It’s been that way since LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh went toe-to-toe with Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett, and it’s still that way.
Even so, the Celtics finished the season with the best record in basketball, and they have no excuse to drop a home game against a team missing it’s top two scorers.
That’s why some people still aren’t so sure about the Celtics’ chances to get over the hump and win their first title in more than a decade.
And even if they end up winning three straight and rolling through the Eastern Conference, they might have a tough time getting past, say, the Denver Nuggets in a potential NBA Finals matchup.
Championship teams don’t sleepwalk through the playoffs, not even once.
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Skip Bayless Questions Celtics Star After Game 2 Loss To Heat