Accidents, sickness, and choked leads: how the Celtics’ repeat bid fell quick

NEW YORK — For the sixth consecutive NBA season, the defending champions have been eradicated within the second spherical of the playoffs (or prior). The 61-win Celtics appeared like nice candidates to buck that development — they had been heavy favorites coming into the collection in opposition to the New York Knicks — however as an alternative, they’ll proceed that peculiar sample.

The Celtics choked away two consecutive 20-point results in begin the collection, misplaced their franchise cornerstone to a ruptured Achilles in Recreation 4, and trailed by as many as 41 factors within the last sport en path to their elimination.

And, although the indicators of their looming demise had been accumulating, at shootaround on Friday morning, gamers confused simply how a lot they wished to remain alive.

“We don’t need our season to finish,” mentioned Payton Pritchard. “I feel it’s nothing worse than having to go dwelling, and sit at dwelling, and never play basketball proper now. So we’re gonna do every part we are able to to maintain that alive.”

However the Jayson Tatum-less Celtics staff that stepped onto the ground couldn’t compete for a second aggressive sport in opposition to a hungry Knicks squad that hasn’t been to the convention finals since 1999. In entrance of a raucous Madison Sq. Backyard crowd, Boston fell by double-digits early, and solely watched it balloon as the sport continued.

“Extraordinarily powerful evening for us,” mentioned a disenchanted Kristaps Porzingis within the locker room postgame. “It felt like nothing was going our method.”

The Celtics’ second-round exit marked a shocking flip of occasions few may have predicted. Aside from 5 inconsistent weeks spanning from mid-December to mid-January, it was an distinctive common season for a staff contemporary off a title. The Celtics had the league’s second-best protection and third-best offense. They completed with the NBA third-best document and third-best internet ranking — and appeared poised to make one more deep run.

However, accidents started to mount within the second half of the season

Jaylen Brown started coping with a proper knee impingement that saved him out of 11 common season video games after the All-Star break. He performed by way of the knee harm within the postseason, however clearly lacked the burst he sometimes has, as evidenced by his resolution to lay-in pictures when he’d usually dunk.

For the postseason, he averaged 22.1 factors per sport on 44.1% taking pictures, slight declines from his earlier playoff manufacturing. Brown, who mentioned he thought he was turning a nook together with his well being forward of the second spherical, declined to share a lot about his standing after the Celtics’ elimination.

“Nothing to speak about proper now,” Brown mentioned. “However we’ll form of sit again and course of and see what the subsequent steps are.”

Then, there was Porzingis, who contracted an unknown sickness in late February that saved him out of practically three weeks of play. The Latvian middle was “obtainable” for the whole lot of the playoffs, however struggled together with his respiratory and lingering fatigue, and regarded like a shell of his wholesome self on each ends of the ground.

In 11 postseason video games, Porzingis averaged 7.7 factors on 31.6% taking pictures, together with 15.4% from three. That marked a large decline from the 19.5 factors on 48.3% taking pictures he averaged in the course of the common season. To make matter worse, he skilled a large vitality “crash” forward of Recreation 1 in opposition to the Knicks that additional exacerbated his on-court struggles.

“I at all times attempt to downplay it in my very own thoughts that ‘I’m good, I’m good,’ however I don’t know,” Porzingis mentioned after Recreation 6. “My system simply isn’t excellent proper now. It’s not working the best way it ought to be. Many, many bizarre issues. And it could be the very best factor I would like proper now’s simply to relaxation, simply get someplace within the solar and simply let my system form of even itself up. Nevertheless it positively was a really, very irritating time for me, and nothing a lot else so as to add, actually. It’s going to be now for me not less than a while to get well from this.”

Porzingis mentioned he doesn’t know precisely what the sickness is, nevertheless it successfully meant that the Celtics’ third-leading scorer and borderline All-Star expertise was not capable of contribute to successful for many of the playoffs.

“Even proper now, I performed 11 minutes, however I’m gassed proper now,” he mentioned. “I may simply lay down over right here and take a bit nap, straightforward. It was simply extraordinarily bizarre, and lots of signs that had been tremendous bizarre. I feel no one has a transparent reply. I’ll see how I’m going from right here.”

Jrue Vacation, who joked earlier within the season that he was getting previous, missed 19 video games in the course of the season resulting from a slew of accidents. He additionally missed three playoff video games coping with a proper hamstring pressure within the first spherical, although he was capable of return in time to face the Knicks.

Sam Hauser, a significant contributor within the Celtics’ 2024 championship, battled by way of a decrease again harm for a lot of the season after which missed three of six video games in opposition to the Knicks with a sprained proper ankle.

The accidents made the Celtics’ path tougher, however they don’t single-handedly clarify why the Celtics fell to the Knicks in six video games. The collection loss will be traced to the start of the collection, when the Celtics blew 20 20-point leads in each Video games 1 and a pair of at TD Backyard, considerably lowering their margin of error the remainder of the best way.

“It virtually feels worse [than previous eliminations],” Brown mentioned. “We had been attempting to do one thing particular — go back-to-back. We had an amazing group. We performed effectively all yr. So this most likely stings much more.”

With the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder each placing collectively historic common seasons, there was at all times a query about whether or not the Celtics may go back-to-back.

However, a second-round exit appeared unlikely contemplating the staff’s sustained success all yr — and this core’s monitor document of Japanese Convention Finals appearances. Brown has been to the Japanese Convention Finals six instances in his profession, and to the Finals twice. Postgame, he mirrored on the unfamiliar nature of getting his season finish this early.

“That’s clearly a psychological hurdle over the past, what, seven, eight years now?” Mazzulla mentioned of defending champs shedding within the second spherical. “So, [we’ll] spend time learning that this offseason.

Nobody will deny that the ultimate consequence was disappointing.

“It sucks,” mentioned Derrick White. “We’ll by no means get this season again. We’ll by no means have the identical staff once more.”

The early exit was the results of back-to-back two fourth quarter collapses mixed with a slew of accidents that made the adversity insurmountable.

It was the results of a superb Knicks staff with bodily wings that by no means stopped combating.

It was the results of an excellent staff merely not making sufficient successful performs.

“I didn’t see something completely different,” Mazzulla mentioned of this yr’s Celtics staff. “I noticed one thing higher all through the season. All people had the proper mindset and the proper course of in direction of going after it.”

Mazzulla additionally credited New York: “We simply bumped into an amazing staff within the second spherical. They acquired the very best of us.”

However, this wasn’t a few locker room in turmoil.

“A bunch of nice, selfless guys, about successful, that put their our bodies on the road, that got here into work each day, that simply added to the group,” Brown mentioned. “No conditions, no complications, no turmoil or something like that.”

The Celtics’ future is unsure

Jayson Tatum may miss all of subsequent season recovering from his Achilles tendon restore, and the Celtics very effectively may look to shed cash to get under the second apron, which means that gamers like Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Vacation, amongst others, may very well be on the commerce block. As well as, Al Horford and Luke Kornet — each key members of the present rotation — are free brokers.

By the uncertainty, Brown had a message to the followers on the podium after the Celtics’ defeat.

“I do know Boston — it appears to be like gloomy proper now, clearly with JT being out, and us ending the yr, nevertheless it’s quite a bit to stay up for,” Brown mentioned. “I need town to really feel enthusiastic about that. This isn’t the tip.”