The Boston Celtics’ playoff woes at the TD Garden continued, as they succumbed to a shock 120-95 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. One of the key reasons for Boston’s surprise defeat was their horrendous performance from beyond the arc. They converted only 8-of-35 three-point attempts, a woeful 22.9% conversion rate.
With their three-pointers not falling, the Celtics should’ve pivoted to attacking the rim, but Kristaps Porziņģis’ absence severely affected their ability to dominate in the paint.
The center has missed Boston’s last three outings with a soleus strain that he suffered in their Game 4 win over the Miami Heat in the previous round. The Celtics would’ve hoped to have him back in the starting lineup during their two-game road trip to Cleveland, but that won’t be the case.
Per the NBA’s latest injury report, Porzingis is yet to recover completely and has been ruled out of Game 3 against the Cavaliers.
Porzingis’ absence will put the onus back on Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White to play well and reclaim home-court advantage. If the Celtics return empty-handed from Cleveland, they’d need to win three straight games to avoid elimination from the playoffs.
Jayson Tatum ditches Celtics’ ‘super team’ narrative
Despite Kristaps Porziņģis’ absence, the Celtics are the heavy favorites to beat the Cavaliers and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals because their roster is head-and-shoulders above any other team in the league in quality and depth. That was reflected in their impeccable regular season campaign, where they finished with a league-best 64-18 record, even with their starting center missing 25 games.
Boston was so dominant that the difference in the number of wins between them and the New York Knicks, the second-seed in the East, was bigger than the difference between Western Conference leaders Oklahoma City Thunder and 10th-placed Golden State Warriors.
Despite their dominance, Jayson Tatum rejected the notion that the Celtics were a super team. Following Boston’s surprise loss to the Cavaliers, the superstar forward said,
“I mean, that’s the narrative that you might see on TV. The idea that we have a super team, it’s twofold, right? We didn’t have the Coach of the Year, we didn’t have the MVP, we only had two All-Stars. You say we’re a super team but we didn’t get awarded like we are.”
Per Tatum’s argument, the 2019 Warriors couldn’t be considered an outright super team either, as only Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry earned starting positions in the All-Star Game, with Klay Thompson getting a place on the bench.
The Celtics superstar shunning the super team tag suggests that some players on the roster are genuinely upset about the lack of recognition or they’re feeling the pressure of being title favorites. Regardless, they’re on the back foot against the Cavaliers and need to win at least one game in Cleveland to reclaim a series lead when they come back to the TD Garden for game 5.
