Ouster of top-seeded Bucks impactful
ATLANTA — It appeared that a significant obstacle in the Celtics’ path to a title was cleared Wednesday night when the eighth-seeded Heat stunned the No. 1 Bucks in Game 5 to win their first-round series.
But the Celtics, at least outwardly, did not view the result as a huge surprise.
“Just some high-level basketball, some great individual performances, some great team performances,” forward Jayson Tatum said before the secondseeded Celtics eliminated the No. 7 Hawks on Thursday night in Game 6 of their first-round series. “Obviously, I guess it was a 1-8 seed, but it was two really good teams with some great players and great coaches. Just some good basketball to watch from both sides.”
Last season, the Heat lost to the Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals, and their core mostly remains intact. Also, Miami got a boost from Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo’s back injury that sidelined him for most of Game 1, and all of Games 2 and 3.
“Miami is a really good team,” Tatum said. “They have a great coach and obviously they got some great players and they made great plays. I guess people weren’t expecting them to win, but I wouldn’t call it an upset.”
Celtics guard Marcus Smart said he was not surprised by the Heat’s win, either, pointing out that they tend to raise their level in the postseason.
“But I am surprised [the Bucks] went down the way that they went down,” he said. “That just goes to show you that it’s the playoffs, anything can happen. You’ve got to be ready at all times.”
After Milwaukee was eliminated, the Celtics emerged as heavy favorites to win the championship. They are less than
2-1 favorites, with the Suns the next closest at 4-1.
Will be missed
After Smart was selected by the Celtics with the sixth pick of the 2014 draft, he wasn’t quite sure what to expect when he arrived in Boston. At Oklahoma State, everything was structured and the media presence was minimal.
He was on his own in a big league in a big city. But Celtics vice president of public relations Heather Walker ensured the transition would not be too challenging.
“When I first got here, when it came to the media, there were a lot of things I didn’t know, a lot of places I didn’t know where to go, and I would just contact Heather,” Smart said. “And it was like she knew everything at every time, and I really didn’t have to do anything because she was there. If I needed a place to go in Boston, I would [contact] Heather and she would know. With media, if I didn’t understand a thing, she made it very clear. Everything was so easy for her.”
Walker, 52, died Wednesday following a nearly two-year battle with brain cancer. Smart said Walker’s death at a young age was particularly emotional for him because his mother, Camelia, died from cancer in 2018.
He said he was thinking of Walker’s family, including her two young daughters.
“She was just so loving and caring and she cared for others, so every day it was always something sweet and something she could do to make your day,” Smart said. “So this is definitely tough to have to go through. My heart goes out to her family.”
The Celtics wore warm-up shirts honoring Walker for Game 6.
Fine line
Coach Joe Mazzulla said the Celtics lost some of their pace when they coughed up a fourth-quarter lead in their Game 5 loss Tuesday night at TD Garden.
Tatum on Thursday agreed there is a fine line between trying to run out the clock and not abandoning the previous game plan.
“Mostly I think we’ve just got to be aware and continue to play the way that got us that lead,” he said. “Naturally, the effect of you have the lead in the game, the clock is winding down the last couple minutes, you essentially want to take some time away, but you still want to get the best shot. So if that’s in the first six seconds or last six seconds, each possession is different.”