![]() There is a wave of anger from New England and a rising expectation elsewhere Mazzulla will pay the price for this 0-3 hole the Celtics find themselves in. There's an art to being a shield - and this wasn't it. He's in the midst of learning many lessons in his first playoffs as a head coach, and this was yet another one. He was so over-the-top in trying to rip the attention toward himself and away from his team, a group that had played so lifelessly, that his tactics were transparent. "I have to get them in a better place ready to play, and that's on me." "I just didn't have them ready to play," Mazzulla said, over and over. "But we've just got to have some pride."Īnd then there was Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, whose game plan to accept all the blame for the loss was as ineffective as his strategy was for the game itself. "Obviously, we're in a tough position," Tatum said after an anemic 14 points on 6-of-18 shooting. It could've come off as confident Tatum has had some awesome road playoff games in his career, but this was such a flat note that it was hard not to make it a symbolic connection to the outcome. ![]() Miami chic, no doubt, but it came across as such the wrong tenor after what happened in front of the typical "white out" Heat playoff crowd. Jayson Tatum, who seven days earlier had played one of the finest games in NBA history as he set a record in scoring 51 points in a Game 7 Eastern Conference semifinals victory, dragged himself to the postgame podium wearing the all-white suit he'd picked out for this game. Team president Brad Stevens stood outside the Celtics' locker room after the game stunned at what he'd just seen, making sure to give credit to the Heat for their vanquishing. In a matter of days and three losses, this has transitioned from a team favored by the computers and the sportsbooks to win the title to a franchise in crisis.Ĭeltics owner Wyc Grousbeck spent much of the third quarter, as his team was getting outscored 32-17, looking at his phone in his courtside seat trying to focus on anything else. It's going to be like a dam straining against a flood. There's going to be a push for firings, trades and makeovers in Boston. When that happens in pro sports, there is typically a blame game that demands action. This is a hugely talented, experienced and expensive team that is on its way out of the postseason with a dud. To let the overwhelming disappointment of being thoroughly dominated and humiliated cause an angry response. It is going to be tempting for the Celtics to make "Game 3" a watershed moment. "But we have respect, deep respect, for Boston." "That was a solid, mature, professional approach," Spoelstra said Sunday night, realizing his job is now shifting to managing massive success. 8 seed that was three minutes from not making it out of the play-in tournament, had to take measures to hold all the emotions in. Miami coach Erik Spoelstra, in the midst of painting his masterpiece by being on the verge of a career-affirming improbable Finals appearance for a No. Unexpected success is often the sweetest, and the Heat and their fans were floating on that emotion. The Boston Celtics have played hundreds of memorable playoff games in their storied history, but for the foreseeable future, just saying "Game 3" is going to sting without any needed context.įrankly, the Miami Heat have a pretty good catalog of playoff moments, yet their 128-102 victory to take a 3-0 Eastern Conference finals lead might get its own special heading. MIAMI - Demons were born Sunday night, those thoughts that stick in the head and on detractors' lips. Why Game 3's loss could mean so much more for Celtics, Joe Mazzulla You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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