They pass a surprisingly tough test
ATLANTA – Perhaps it was the fear of being forced to the brink, or fatigue after six games of matching blows with the Atlanta Hawks, but something motivated the Celtics into being their best selves in the final five minutes Thursday.
They were sick of the Hawks, damn tired of Trae Young, fed up with battling the Atlanta bigs for offensive rebounds. Down 3 points with five minutes left, the Celtics made the decision to play like they were the better team,
The result was an 11-point run, in which the Celtics played stellar defense, converted big shots and imposed their will when it counted. Of course, if they had just done this Tuesday in Boston they would have been resting, but they atoned for that gaffe with a 128-120 win at State Farm Arena.
The Celtics won their first-round series, advancing to play the rival Philadelphia 76ers, but the hope is Boston learned something from this six-game experience. Winning playoff games are hard, it requires contributions from not only the superstars but the bench. They require constant adjustments and no mental lapses.
Entering the series as heavy favorites didn’t serve the Celtics well. They played around too much with the Hawks, especially in Game 5. But Joe Mazzulla found out first-hand about playoff coaching and how Quin Snyder turned a 41-41 team into a formidable opponent with such adjustments.
“I thought our guys did a great job at the end of just locking in,” Mazzulla said. “They wanted to win. They kept the momentum, the energy, the edge of the game, and they executed. I thought last game because of my play calling, we played slow. I kind of learned from that. At the end of the game, when you can put pressure on defenses by playing with a sense of pace, it can really help you.”
Depth has been the Celtics’ strength this season and that depth won this series. Marcus Smart showed the Celtics faithful his full experience in the fourth quarter. After entering the game with 6:43 left and the Celtics down 1, Smart committed a quick turnover and then missed consecutive open threes.
He was pulled for Grant Williams at the 5:01 mark and quickly returned 30 seconds later for Malcolm Brogdon. Smart sparked the game-ending run, being the facilitator in the middle of the Atlanta trap and finding open shooters. He found another struggling teammate, Al Horford, in the corner for a go-ahead three, then added a 3-pointer for an 8point lead with 91 seconds left.
Meanwhile, Mazzulla changed his approach after the Game 5 late breakdowns, encouraging his club to push the ball in the final minutes and trust their skills as opposing to running down the clock.
Jayson Tatum didn’t necessarily try to win the game with his scoring. He made both of his shots in the final period, including an emphatic rebound jam, leaping over two Hawks defenders for a late dagger. Yes, the Celtics were tired of this series. They didn’t want to be the Milwaukee Bucks, upset and dismissed from the playoffs by the eighthseeded Miami Heat.
They are the highest-seeded team in the Eastern Conference playoffs now, and will have home-court advantage as long as they’re still alive.
Of course, Mazzulla and the players said they weren’t affected by watching the Bucks meltdown against the Heat, but it had to have an effect. There is no elite team in the NBA this season. The Celtics are one of the better teams, maybe the best, but they’re going to have to earn this trip back to the Finals.
This Atlanta series proved that. Snyder made adjustments throughout the series, exposed Celtics weaknesses such as defensive rebounding and their drop defensive coverage.
And the Celtics worked feverishly to improve those shortcomings, especially in Game 6.
After punishing the Celtics defense Tuesday, especially in the fourth quarter, Young was 1-for-13 shooting in the second half. He did not score a basket in the game’s final 19 minutes, 59 seconds. He missed some open ones, but the Celtics emphasized challenging him more at the rim. No easy ones.
“Just understanding it was time,” Tatum said about the late run and the defensive effort. “It was a back and forth game. We could feel it. Everybody was locked in, getting blocks, chasing down rebounds, hitting big shots. We’ve been in that situation before as a unit. Just finding the way to win, making plays.”
The hope is the Celtics take when they’ve learned strategically and mentally from this series and they become a better and more efficient team.
This test against the Hawks was unexpected but not useless. Of course, the Celtics would have preferred finishing it in five games, but they responded by winning in a raucous environment against a team that was not daunted.
Talent won out Thursday but also execution and motivation. The Celtics had every reason to end this now, give themselves a few days of rest and reflect on how to approach the next step.
Like the 2008 team that went seven games against the eighth-seeded Hawks in the first round, this bunch may be better in the long run for this experience. They are definitely a more tested team now than they were two weeks ago.
“I know the narrative [was] we were supposed to sweep them or it was going to be a cakewalk but the playoffs, that’s why it’s so special,” Tatum said. “Each game is different. Each series is different. I would say at this point the playoffs haven’t gone as what everyone would expect.
“It was a great test for us, they definitely tested us. That was a fun game to be a part of, and a fun game to win.”