The playoff run at a glance
After comfortably securing a second-place finish in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics were paired up against the Orlando Magic in the first round. Despite being one of the best defensive teams in the NBA, they were unlikely to cause the Celtics any real problems.
Despite losing Game 3, Boston were in cruise control throughout, winning the series 4-1 and booking a spot in the semi-finals against the New York Knicks.
Ahead of the series, no one truly believed that the Knicks would be able to hurt the Celtics. During the regular season, the Knicks lost all four games against Boston, and went 0-10 against them, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
But in truly incredible fashion, the Boston Celtics threw away a pair of 20-point leads in the opening two games on home court, with Jalen Brunson coming in clutch in the fourth quarters to snatch a stunning 2-0 advantage heading back to New York.
In Game 1, Boston shot 25% from behind the arc, missing an NBA playoff record 45 threes. Game 2 was not much better, shooting 10/40 from the three-point line.
The Celtics' 'live by the three, die by the three' style of basketball was coming into question, as they were staring down the barrel of a shock exit.
And truly, they never recovered from that moment. Their performances improved, but the team split the next two games, meaning the Knicks were just a win away from the Eastern Conference Finals.
And matters were made even worse for Boston when their best player, Jayson Tatum - who was putting in a great performance with 42 points - ruptured his achilles in Game 4, truly ending their chances of a comeback at that moment.
Despite winning Game 5, the New York Knicks clinched the series at Madison Square Garden, handing the Celtics a humiliating 38-point defeat. In truth, Boston completely folded in Game 6, and their title defence ended embarrassingly.
The biggest disappointment of the series
The Boston Celtics' lack of adaptability and, consequently, a loss of confidence, were the biggest factors in why they lost this series. They were clearly cold from the three-point line in the opening two games, so they needed to start playing safe and taking simpler opportunities by driving to the hoop. But they just refused to do that.
Of course, when it is working and they're draining shots from deep, they are almost unplayable. But against a team that have the Clutch Player of the Year in Brunson, and were fighting like dogs defensively, you have to accept the fact that you just need to mix it up sometimes.
Jayson Tatum was called out for his poor performances in those two games, but looked a lot better before he suffered his terrible injury. Jaylen Brown also had an underwhelming series and failed to step up in their talisman's absence.
Brown averaged 21.3 points per game in the series on 29% shooting from three, with teammate Derrick White far more consistent at 39%.
They also desperately missed Kristaps Porzingis, who was unable to play consistent minutes due to a mystery illness, while Jrue Holiday began to look like a player who is no longer at his best.
The future for the Celtics
Sport is a funny thing, because a team that were the favourites to go back-to-back and win another NBA title now have a very unclear and uncertain future.
The Boston Celtics are a roster that is worth a whopping $500 million. Frankly, it is hard to justify that even if you are champions, and now even more so after a semi-final defeat. And with Tatum likely to be ruled out for the entirety of next season, there simply have to be changes.
Porzingis is in the last year of his contract, Holiday has really struggled this postseason and looks to be on the decline, while Al Horford turns 39 this summer.
Brown is in the second season of a five-year contract worth $285 million, and Tatum’s $313.9 million five-year extension begins next season.
Things look very different now for the 2024 champions, and they have to unload some salary. This postseason was probably the last time we saw this version of the Boston Celtics together.
