Tolled in high confidence
Still time for C’s to convince themselves
CLEVELAND — Isaiah Thomas is out for the remainder of the playoffs, but when you consider the way the Celtics have been playing, said remainder won’t be changing. Two more games and a cloud of Cavaliers dust will finish off this Eastern Conference finals.
All bets are off now that the All-Star guard is hors de combat with a right hip impingement/tear — not that they were ever on in the first place.
Thomas’ injury is but the latest brick in the indignity. What’s made the 2-0 deficit and 57-point cumulative differential harder to fathom is the way it’s all gone down.
The Celtics have done a good job of motivating themselves through the doubts of others. Thomas has managed to make it all the way to second team All-NBA despite — and because of — the giant chip on his shoulder.
And the club has been critical of that nebulous and amorphous gang of those who from the start have given it no chance in this series. They rip those of little faith, and, while the C’s have done a great job all season of hushing the haters, there is clearly a different group they have yet to convince. Themselves.
The C’s can talk all they want about people selling them short against the steamroller that is the Cavaliers, but the fact is that through two games, they have, without question, been among the doubters.
Oh, they can talk all they want about how they ain’t scared of LeBron James and Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving and anyone else wearing the wine and gold, but they have played with an apprehension that makes lie out of any confident comments.
If the Celtics believed they were a match for the Cavs, they would be stepping into their perimeter attempts with purpose, not short-arming the shots and offering prayer while the rock is on its way hoopward.
They would be self-assured in their defensive rotations and undaunted even when it doesn’t work — not rattled and deflated by each Cleveland punch to their solar plexus.
And for all their talk of solidarity and determination, encouraging though it may be, the Celts have not been able to convince themselves they can share court space with the Cavaliers. They won’t say that, but they don’t have to. Their actions have said it for them. Loudly.
With Thomas now out and mulling treatment options, there may be no way for the C’s to hallucinate themselves into thinking they have even a remote chance to steal one of these two games in Cleveland.
But they can, however, at least act like the team that won 53 games and impressed opponents with their willingness and ability to bring it most every night.
It has been difficult to watch the air go out of the Celtics with each missed open 3-pointer and with each easy Cavaliers bucket. They have been overpowered not just physically, but mentally.
Making the Friday wreckage even harder to take was the way the Celts continually complained about calls. The club’s fans understandably don’t like seeing that kind of thing when LeBron, right in his belief or not, is animatedly pleading for whistles while his team is up 20. But it’s a bit unseemly, too, when you’re getting outscored by a 2-to-1 margin in the second quarter and you’re picking up technical fouls.
It had the appearance of getting sand kicked in your face at the beach and running to the lifeguard stand instead of dealing with the issue personally.
Let’s say, merely for the sake of argument, that the referees cost the Celts 10 points. So would they be happier with a 34-point loss?
It is basketball fact that the more assured and aggressive team gets the benefit of the calls because it is moving decisively, not reaching on defense and flailing on offense. And while the C’s certainly had their muddled moments in losses during the first and second rounds, this has been a far deeper dive.
On Monday, the Celtics eliminated the Wizards.
Then they became the Washington Generals.
Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue was being kind after the 130-86 Game 2 decision. He was asked if there was any concern the Cavs could lose focus when things are coming so easily.
“No,” Lue said. “I mean, it’s one game. I don’t care if you win by 200 points. It’s one game, and we know this team is a very scrappy team. They play hard. They compete. We made shots tonight, and we got a good defensive effort. But they’re greatly coached. We know that. You guys all know that.
“We’re going back home. We’re not going to get comfortable. We understand that this is a good team. They’re not No. 1 in the East for no reason. Tonight was one of those nights, and that’s it. We won, and we’ve got to move on. We’ve got to get focused for Game 3.”
Lue is correct that there was a reason the Celtics finished with the first seed in the conference. It was because he chose to rest his regulars at points during the season, most notably down the stretch, and, thus, collect a few extra losses. He wasn’t concerned about ceding homecourt advantage to the Celts or anyone. And the Bostonians haven’t done anything to make him second-guess that strategy, a fact that, with Thomas done, can be extrapolated to Games 3 and 4.