BOSTON — Game 7 wasn’t the problem.
For the first time in franchise history, the Boston Celtics blew a 3-1 lead. They did it against a Philadelphia 76ers team that is almost unrecognizable from the one that had to fight its way into the playoffs in the play-in tournament.
When Saturday night came around, the Celtics were already on their heels. And shortly before tip-off, they got word that Jayson Tatum would be out. Left knee stiffness.
“Found out, probably like 45 minutes before the game,” Jaylen Brown said. “Nobody told me anything which, you know. But mindset was the same.”
For the first few minutes of the game, it seemed as though Philadelphia would breeze to a blowout. Joe Mazzulla rolled out an unconventional starting lineup of Brown, Derrick White, Ron Harper Jr., Baylor Scheierman, and Luka Garza.
“I thought there was a couple of things we saw tactically we wanted to test out,” Mazzulla said of that decision. “Obviously, give the series a little bit of a different feel. Take advantage of the roster that we had, and take advantage of the guys that can impact plays and whatnot. So, I thought it was great by the guys, and we came up short.”
That lineup gave the Celtics some great energy. But it also failed to put points on the board.
Mazzulla quickly adjusted at the 7:58 mark, putting Payton Pritchard into the game for Harper, who did not see the court the rest of the evening.
Still, the Celtics’ offense fumbled around. Brown looked destined for a repeat of his Game 6 mess. White was the only Celtic providing anything close to consistent offense.
But runs were the name of the game.
“I felt great about how our team responded, obviously down one of — our best player,” Brown said. “Our superstar, Jayson Tatum wasn’t there, which could have helped, but I’m proud of my team.”
A second-quarter run lifted Boston back into the game. A third-quarter run took them back out of it. And then a fourth-quarter, Brown-led surge brought the Celtics on the doorstep of a comeback. They cracked open the door, just for the Sixers to slam it in their face.
Two missed shots — a Pritchard corner three and a Brown mid-range jumper — could have gotten Boston over the hump. But both missed. And thus, the season ended.
But again, Game 7 wasn’t the problem.
If anything, Game 7 was the solution.
© Winslow Townson
Joel Embiid and Hugo Gonzalez
For the first time in three games, the Celtics got back to playing Celtics basketball. The basketball that worked all regular season. The hustle. The energy. The effort.
Hugo Gonzalez screaming to the TD Garden crowd after drawing an offensive foul. Scheierman gobbling up multiple offensive boards in a single possession. Harper stopping a transition opportunity by putting his body on the line.
Brown’s shift-over blocks under the basket. White’s All-Defensive Team-caliber help defense at the rim. Fast-paced, movement-based offense that kept defenses on edge.
Those are the defining characteristics of this Celtics team.
What unfolded in Games 5 (mostly the second half) and Game 6 wasn’t that. Game 7 was. It just wasn’t enough.
“Tonight, I wish we played that style and trusted that style more even throughout the playoffs,” Brown said. “Even through wins and through losses. Obviously, it’s not always the easiest decision, but I wish that style for our team was how we empowered the rest of our group, and you saw tonight, how everybody came out and they played their tail off. I wish we trusted that more.”
“At no point during that game did I think we were going to lose it, just because of who they are as competitors and what they’ve done throughout the entire year,” Mazzulla said. “And I thought we had two, three great looks and just didn’t knock them down. But the result of that is not going to get in the way of who they are as competitors and what they’ve done in this game, but also what they did throughout the season.”
In the following days, blame will be spread. Conversations will unravel about what Boston’s best course of action will be this summer.
Fire Joe Mazzulla? Break up the Jays? Trade Derrick White?
There will be plenty of time for all of that discourse. But in the wake of one of the most disappointing defeats in recent Celtics memory, the blame deserves to be shared.
Boston couldn’t stop Joel Embiid. Not even a little bit. He saw Boston’s defense, ate it, chewed it up, and spit it back out.
“They’re a totally different team with him,” Neemias Queta said. “Great player, makes a lot of plays, makes it hard on every player on the court, whether you double or whether you can be more aggressive out there with the reaches and stuff like that. And yeah, they look a lot better with him.”
Mazzulla tried Nikola Vucevic earlier in the series. He didn’t log a single second in Game 7.
He tried Queta. He tried Garza. He tired Gonzalez, Scheierman, and even Brown. Nothing worked. Boston’s only prayer was hoping he took a three.
