1. This version of the takeaway has been launched four different times. All of them felt comfortable, which is kind of appropriate, given the Boston Celtics’ Game 5 performance against the Celtics Philadelphia Seventy Sixers.
Now, just like the Celtics themselves, this version looks like it’s going to be flat, asking lots of questions and waiting for answers that just won’t come.
At this point in the season, and the movement of this team, it is inconceivable that they would play a playoff game with no energy. But here we are. And this is not one of those “feelings” either. Joe Mazzola and many of the players said the same direct words after the game.
The strange thing is that the audience can directly tell us about the information. It was one of the worst crowds the Celtics have played against in a long time. There was no life, and the team gave them no reason to stand up and cheer. Most of the game has been played with the nagging tension of sitting outside the principal’s office when they knew you were in trouble, but they’ve just told you the scale of the problem so far.
In terms of series standings, this situation is no different from last year’s second round matchup vs Milwaukee Bucks. The Celtics are down 3-2 and are heading on the road. The Sixers can shut it down and drive out some playoff demons at home in Philadelphia.
Last year, Boston put together a Big 6 in Milwaukee, behind Jason Tatum’s all-time performance. Then Game 7 was a blast for Boston. So, we’ve all been here before.
However, this doesn’t feel the same. Even down below, this team had an edge and a feeling about them that this particular group didn’t have. Some of this is the difference from Ime Udoka to Joe Mazzulla, but that’s just part of it. The players don’t play the same way either, and it’s not all just the drive, or lack thereof, from the sidelines.
This group has been feeling bad for them since about a quarter of the season mark. The play was uneven, motivation, effort and energy coming and going. So far, they’ve managed to pull it together when needed, and oh boy, do they need to now.
Keeping him on the field, this team has slipped defensively since a year ago. It’s not just about the numbers, defense has slipped across the league this season. But last year’s team dominated the game defensively. They played with frightening ferocity.
This group does not have this person.
By the end of 2022 NBA FinalsIt was clear that the Celtics needed to improve offense. But the moves that were made (in additions and lineup/scheme changes), took away some of what made Boston special.
It’s not that Malcolm Brogdon or Derek White are bad players. Not even close. But having both made the team a little heavy on guard. This, combined with the continued absence of Rob Williams, led to Mazzola moving to more senior line-ups. In order to play their eight best players, there are not many minutes for the big double sets to be on the floor.
Offense has improved. But she didn’t improve enough to make up for the slip defensively. And despite being the best rebounding defensive team in the NBA in the regular season, the Celtics have struggled mightily on the boards in the playoffs. They just aren’t like last year.
Sometimes when you plug one hole, which the addition of Brogdon and a full season of White did, you walk away from what made you special in the first place.
But it’s more than that.
By the end of the regular season, last year’s Celtics team had played with an edge and synergy that made them stronger than their opponents. They set you up and you had fun. If you knock down a Celtic, four other Celtics push you aside to pick up their teammate.
In the fourth quarter of Game 5, the Celtics were down by 14 with 9:16 left. Not perfect, but far from finished. On this play, Philadelphia put Boston in bonus the rest of the way. There should have been some life and some energy. Instead, this happened:
Jaylen Brown went down hard there. Instead of four Celtics storming in to pick him up, everyone just stopped, before two Boston players slowly made their way to get Brown to his feet.
It was one play, but that’s kind of what it’s been like for months. That edge, that chronic ferocity, that pleasure in taking down an opponent’s life that you play one by one, just isn’t there anymore.
The season isn’t over, but it’s swinging by. The Celtics can still pull them back, but in order to do so, they must become those Celtics again. There can be no low-power start. There can be no passive play. If you’re going down, go fight. That’s all we can ask for.
There is at least one more game this season. Go back to being the bully on the block. hit someone. Pick up your teammates when they are getting hit. Spirit snatched away from the Sixers with defensive stop after defensive stop. Then tell them when you do it. Play with an edge that makes everyone remember who you are. If you fell for playing this way, it’s a respectable death toll for the season. At least go fight. This is what everyone who bleeds green deserves.