The Boston Celtics team is looking to change the narrative. Yes, they are one of the better teams, but the ongoing concerns of not being able to close out games and big moments and potentially shrinking in the playoffs remain. Therefore, people have been cautious about penciling this Celtics team into the NBA Finals.
But they have been dominant in this regular season, and they looked like the better team in the league throughout large portions of the year. However, their most recent game against the Atlanta Hawks did not help ease the voices of skeptics.
But can you see the Celtics team overcoming the final hurdle this year?
Boston Celtics Poor Close
The Boston Celtics led 74 to 56 at halftime. At one point, the lead was as big as 30 points. However, the Celtics allowed the Atlanta Hawks to not only have the lead late but also escape with the win. Additionally, this was a game in which the referees did not allow the defenders to play physically within reason toward the end, especially.
Yes, the Boston Celtics shouldn’t have made it this close in the first place, but it was still frustrating to watch the refs not let some things go on both ends, especially when the offensive player initiated contact with the forearm. This is where the announcing crew got one aspect wrong. They said the game had something of a playoff feel. But there were a couple of ticky-tack fouls, especially late in the fourth, that you hope the officiating crews let go come the postseason.
Boston Celtics Need To Learn From This Loss
Ultimately, nights like this will only help the Boston Celtics. It’s hard to be battle-tested, and it’s hard to see how good you truly are when you run up the score on teams early. It is impressive that the Celtics won by big margins, but as stated, long-term, it isn’t as beneficial. In this game in particular, we saw a lack of playing in the clutch and knowing who the go-to scorer should be in moments like this.
Lessons For The Boston Celtics
While you want to have the ball in your best player’s hands, if an isolation play doesn’t look good or it seems like a player is having trouble getting their shot off, you would like to see a little more team cohesiveness on the offensive end for the Celtics. But credit the Atlanta Hawks. They never gave up, and they turned up their defensive intensity especially and made all of the right plays at the end to take this game from the Boston Celtics.
About the Author
Gabriel is a lifelong sports fan. Pick a sport, and he’ll enjoy talking about it with you! From football to soccer, combat sports, and volleyball! You can follow Gabriel on Twitter @BigTenGabriel to enjoy all of his great content. Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel, where we do several shows daily.
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