Langone: Celtics’ loss no reason for panic
Improved toughness, minor tweaks should be offseason priority for C’s
Massive missed opportunity?
Yes.
Cause for panic, a roster overhaul and firings?
No. Not even close.
Yet, after the Boston Celtics lost Game 6, 125-113, to the Miami Heat on Sunday night and saw their season come to an end in the Eastern Conference finals for the third time in the last four years, the sentiment toward the C’s seemed pretty doom-and-gloom on social media and beyond.
The Celts clearly weren’t ready to take the next step. They were outmuscled by the Heat. They lacked poise in key stretches. They forgot how to attack a zone defense — something you’d maybe expect from a team full of 12-year- olds. They fell in love with the 3-point shot. Really, they just lost their way, and eliminated what would’ve been a delicious NBA Finals rematch with the Los Angeles Lakers.
But, hey, it wouldn’t be 2020 if we got what we wanted.
The Celtics’ issues were clear and unsettling. They’re also easily solvable with the personnel they already have in the room. Roadblocks are expected when your best player is a 22-year- old Jayson Tatum and your second-best player is a 23-year-old Jaylen Brown. Gifted young stars, who are franchise players, learn from tough experiences.
There’s no denying that the Celtics let a golden chance in the Disney World bubble slip away. The heavy favorite and topseeded Milwaukee Bucks had already been disposed of in the second round by the Heat, opening the door for the C’s. There was no home-court advantage and no travel to deal with. Everything was right there for them. They just couldn’t get it done.
For that, however, Miami deserves an enormous amount of credit. The Heat are 12- 3 in the playoffs, they have an elite coach in Erik Spoelstra, they play with an edge and can beat you in a multitude of ways. They deserved to win the series because they rose to the moment.
It was laughable to see the same people using the buzz phrase “the Celtics are the better team and the more talented team” throughout the series, then change their tune after it was done and criticize Celt
for Rex Burkhead.
“Trying to do too much. That simple,” said Newton. “I lost the defender and you’re scrambling you just kind of assume that people are going with certain people, and he just peeled back and I didn’t take it into account. But things like that just can’t happen.”
But again, Newton did not want to downplay the fact that the Patriots won the game and, in the end, rather handily.
“Playing in this league you’re not just going to steamroll every team,” said Newton. “At one point, I did look up at the stat line of total offense, and we did surpass 400 yards (406). So let’s not be naive about the fact that when we did get it rolling, we got it rolling. With Sony (Michel) running the way he’s running, (Burkhead) playing the way he’s playing, that position group, the running backs, had the light shining on them all day and it showed by the production that they gave us.”
Newton also talked about his documentary series “86 Nights,” the title of which refers to amount of time he was without an NFL contract. He said he wanted to show in the docuseries the more human side of his life away from football.
Asked if he’s still motivated by the fact that he went unsigned for so long, Newton did not mince words.
“Man, listen, I’m a person that takes anything to heart. I mean anything,” said Newton. “This whole decision, and not to keep beating a dead horse, this is a business trip for me. The fact that I don’t have none my children here in Boston with me and the fact that I haven’t been able to see them (regularly), that’s angering in itself for me. I
wake up every morning missing the hell out of my children and knowing that, if I don’t do what I’m supposed to do, then this could be good riddance for me and that’s as serious as I’m making it and that’s as serious as it is. Not only to mention I have so much to prove, I could care less about other critics, but I have so much to prove to myself. I see a lot great football being played, I have seen a lot of great football being played over the time that I was injured and whatnot and you have to question yourself and question the man that you are and say ‘Can you still play at a high level?’ So there’s an expectation that I have for myself.”
Asked what it would take to turn this “business trip” with the Patriots into a long-term relationship, Newton said that for now he’s focused on taking care of his on-field performance.
“It’s always about taking care of business. And my focus is so near-sighted that I’m trying to make things
work. And if I’m looking for long-term results with not too many things to have leverage on, then that’s not good,” he said. “For me, I’m just looking at the opportunity that I have been given, and it’s a great opportunity, I’ll tell you that, and I think people already know that. And it’s just up to me on how do I finish what I started. It’s not necessarily about the things that people want to make it about. It’s about going out each and every week and first off winning. And then everything else falls in place.”
And asked how he’s liked living in Boston so far, Newton said he really hasn’t had much of a chance to get out and about that much. But the town has made a couple of impressions on him.
“From what I do see, the traffic can be brutal,” he said. “But just the ambience that you get from the lights and seeing people out, slowly coming back out, its a really neat city that loves their sports. And you can’t do nothing but respect that.”