One more chance

A LOT of Green hearts were broken last Tuesday as the buzzer sounded on Game 5 of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals.

In what would have been the comeback game of the Boston Celtics after failing to win Game 4 at home on June 11 (Manila time), it was the Blue and Gold that flexed its championship caliber instead and rendered Leprechaun Magic ineffective at Chase Center.

On a night when “Effin’ Stephen” was not his usual productive self, the Celtics couldn’t find a way to ride that low tide and allowed a young Warrior named Andrew Wiggins to step up to the plate and unleash a barrage of spears and arrows on their usually perky opponents.

The Cs did not exactly roll over and die. They found a way to counter the Warriors’ onslaught by putting up a worthy fight in the third—the time frame notably regarded as Golden State’s strongest quarter. Boston roared away with a 10-0 run to cut the lead to one, and eventually lead.

But the Warriors regrouped and reclaimed lost territory, locking the Celtics down with stellar defense and raining more poisoned arrows their way, courtesy of Wiggins. And yes, a deadly back-up named Jordan Poole conspired with the former No. 1 pick for the Celtics’ complete take-down .

And that was it. It seemed the poison in the arrows took effect and rendered the Celtics paralyzed. In the final 12 minutes, not even Red Auerbach could rescue the Cs as they missed dismally from the free throw line, hoisted air balls and did a little bit more of their ugly dance: The Turnover. It was Boston’s first back-to-back loss since their magical turnaround in January.*

So the Celtics are now in that proverbial difficult situation: between a rock and a hard place. Do they still have a chance?

By the skin of their teeth, they do. It will be a steep, uphill battle; a Mission Impossible almost. But until you hear the fat lady singing, there’s that sliver of a chance that they can pull off the improbable.

You see, the numbers don’t favor the Celtics at all. In the NBA, Game 5 winners coming off a 2-2 series get to win the title 73 percent of the time. Apparently fatigued, Jayson Tatum and company displayed little or no crispness at all in the fourth quarter of Game 5. With hardly any ball movement, defense that sagged and limped at times, and energy that came in spurts, the Cs were a shadow of their amazing selves in the playoffs, and in Games 1 and 3.

If there is any single variable that could have spelt the game differently for the Celtics in Game 5, it would have to be their turnovers. The Celtics had 18 turnovers in Game 5, which translated to 22 points scored by Golden State. According to records, if they have 16 turnovers in a game, they lose for sure. No need to do the math there.

Jayson Tatum knows it. “We’re hard to beat when we don’t turn the ball over. And clearly, we’re easy to beat when we do turn the ball over,” he told The Athletic.

That, plus their free throws. Boston missed ten free throws against am elite offensive team. Had they converted those, who knows how the game could’ve ended?

So if the Celtics are able to freshen up, keep their confidence, conquer their frustration with game officials and get their mojo back, they may just write the most amazing comeback story of the NBA finals.

They have dealt with adversity before. Behind 3-2 to the Milwaukee Bucks in the East semis, they won Game 6 and disposed of the Bucks in Game 7.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, they toppled Miami, the No. 1 team, in a tough, grind-out game to reach the NBA Finals. If they can channel their former selves again, cut down on mistakes, get over the hump twice even if Game 7 will be played in Sanfo, millions of Green hearts will be deliriously happy.

Jaylen Brown is looking at things with an assassin’s mindset. “Tough loss, but we’ve got an opportunity to even it back up on our home floor, push to a Game 7, and I’m looking forward to that challenge,” he said.

Dynasty or destiny? Here we go again.