The better team doesn’t always win, as we found out in 2023
The Boston Celtics are down two gut-punches to none in this second round series against the New York Knicks. In both games they led by 20 points and both times they couldn’t execute down the stretch. They aren’t done, this is a 7 game series. But they have reduced their margin of error significantly.
On the optimistic side, I still feel in my heart of hearts that the Celtics are the better team. They have the talent, matchups, and on-paper advantages to win 4 of the next 5 games. I picked them to sweep the series and still believe they will win out.
However, we learned in 2023 playing the Miami Heat that sometimes the other team just out-executes you. They got down 3-0 in that series and made a furious comeback attempt that ended up fizzling out in game 7 (in part due to Tatum’s injured ankle). That’s the thing that can happen when you don’t take care of the early games.
So now I open the discussion to you. Do you still believe that the Celtics are winning this thing? Or do you think it is more realistic to admit they are likely done?