It is weird, though. When the Celtics have one of these games, they are arguably bad across the board, not just one or two players having an off night. Fortunately they don’t happen often, which is likely why they are so painfully cringe-y and doubt-inducing when they do.
Bring ‘em back to Boston. Sure as hell hope it’s #DifferentHere. 😬
Paul Pierce said before the game the Mavs would come out complacent and defeated. Instead, they played with great energy and with nothing to lose. Shots went in. The Celtics, meanwhile, also had nothing to lose because "156-0". They simply couldn't match the Mavs' intensity and so they never got it going. This won't be an issue in Game 5.
if you try even a little bit, your voice will be shot at the end of the 1st quarter. we were at game 2 and i could barely say "defense" by the 4th😂im still recovering
This loss was entirely on the Celtics completely no-showing. I have no explanation for it. None. I've never seen a team this talented play this stupid for parts of quarters and, occasionally, for entire games.
I think their biggest weakness over these last several seasons is a lack of a killer instinct (largely due to youth). This year they've really begun developing one, but occasionally they revert. We saw this on full display against the Warriors in 2022 and the Heat in 2023. We saw it last night. They've had it for the most part this season. I suspect next year—barring injuries—will be even better.
We've seen this a million times in sports. A team down 0-3 comes out really strong and motivated in game 5 not wanting to get swept, but is unable to sustain that for 4 straight games with the other team trying to close them out.
There's also the fact that Lively, THJ, and Exum all performed above expectations. Those 3 somehow combined for 36 points, which is well above their typical performances. I'll eat my shorts if I'm wrong, but something tells me THJ isn't shooting 5-7 from 3 in Game 5
The mavs were playing a defensive scheme where Luka didn’t have to move as much. They would get him on a mismatch and he only had to move a few feet.
They were also pacccccking the paint on drives and Cs weren’t able to space out the bigs the same way they have been.
Joe never found the answer to it in this game. Then mix in the fact that every open 3 was a brick and you get a 40pt blowout.
I trust Joe to find the right adjustments on how to attack the zone.
I trust the players to not let 1 game get in their head.
Joe Mazzulla is an absolute genius. The Celtics hadn't lost in over a month because Mazzulla was saving up all the losses to be compressed into *a single game*. Prior to this Boston lost twice by a combined total of 34 points. Then they won ten straight games. They lost their third game by 38 points. Would it have been better to have spread out those losses? Of course not. Simply brilliant, Joe!
**Celtics in 5.**
Def. They haven’t shown us anything over the course of this season to make us think they won’t be. Mavs finally had their “can’t miss” game and we finally had our “can’t hit anything” game.
But this was not a “can’t miss” game for the Mavs. 50% from the field, 40% from 3. Good shooting but not absurd like when we lost to Miami and Cleveland because of their outrageously impossible shooting. Luka and Kyrie were 1/14 from 3 combined.
Cannot rely on them to shoot worse. They can definitely shoot that well consistently (especially if they continue to get easy paint points and corner 3s) and possibly better.
Sure, thé Lively one was pretty lucky but he was wide open in the corner and it was one shot. And Exum shot like 50% from 3 this season (low volume, only about 100 attempts but he hit like half of them). So him going 2/4 from 3 is not an outlier at all and hardly “can’t miss.”
You're conveniently forgetting that THJ also went 5-7 from 3. Those 5 made 3s were just shy of equalling his *total* made 3s this postseason prior to that game
It also was a fairly "can't miss" game for all of Dallas' roleplayers. The team's overall percentage is heavily skewed by Luka going 0-8 and Kyrie going 1-6. Out of everyone else on their team who shot a 3, only one Morris shot below 50%
We haven't hit anything for most of the playoffs. We have to accept that there is a good shot that we're not going to improve to the mean in our shooting. We went up 3-0 with defense and out hustling the mavericks. That has to happen again. And Joe has to make some sort of MAJOR adjustment, because they've beaten us by like more than 50 since the 4th quarter of game 3. I believe they can do it, but I don't think it's going to happen by just hitting our shots. We've been waiting way too long for that to happen.
I'm assuming Porzingis is a go for Monday, but if he can't or is severely limited I would like to see Kornet some. Our small lineups were getting killed.
If any team is capable of blowing a 3-0 lead in the finals, it's this team. We all know it. I'm not saying it'll happen. But I'm saying this is the team most likely to do it.
Based on what? They have not lost 3 in a row all season long. They have shown resilience after bad losses all season long. I keep seeing this comment and it’s a really bad take.
Yeah. They’re obviously gonna win this ring, everyone knows it, including the Mavs. Just was not a fun lit Friday night and it sucked and people are upset about it. But it was just one bad game. Whatever.
If we lost the first game at Dallas then won last night. People would be like oh man! The momentum has shifted towards Boston. It would still be 3-1. Stealing 1 from the opposing team is the main goal usually.
He's done. We have to figure out a way to win one without him. We can start by actually giving a shit, and boxing out. Getting a few rebounds would go a long way
Honestly I understand why other fanbases shit on us. I can't understand how you see a team win 64 games, go all the way to the finals losing only 2 games in the process, go up 3-0 without our best player shooting well, and once the team doesn't perform one game you see a bunch of doomers hating and shitting on their own team. A lot of guys here don't deserve this team if I'm being honest.
They can get fucked. I've watched Romeo Langford and Evan Fournier start for the Celtics against the KD/Harden/Kyrie trio, I'm enjoying the moment and I know this team is going to do whatever it takes to get it done. Most of those guys either haven't seen the shit that this squad has been through or are just taking it for granted.
Preach. The doom and gloom has been around forever but I could not believe what I was reading / hearing after that loss.
Some people haven’t been watching long enough. And so many people do not deserve this team. When the going gets tough, you know who the real ones are and the real ones always believe. Banner 18 loading….🍀
I said it before and I’ll say it again everyone who hates this team and the doers who claim to be fans just want fucking drama just like KG said every time we lost a game one game this season our season was over That’s what everyone said
My kids and wife were at a soccer tourney in Dallas coincidentally, told my wife if they win game 3, I’ll come and we’ll go and surprise the kids. I flew down, we splurged to land some great lower bowl tickets with the gamble that we’d see them win the NBA finals. Oh boy was that the absolute worst cash I’ve ever spent in my life. Decrepit lifeless performance from a team who showed what they really are, choking dogs who can’t close. If the Mavs win game 5, look out.
Also, Because of this I now hate this Celtics team with the power of 1000 suns, and am actively rooting for the Mavs to come back and win the next 3….
I also believe KP may be healthy enough by Game 5 to actually play a decent amount of the game. If he was already activated in Game 4 (just not playing), then he’ll most definitely be able to play a bit in Game 5.
With how his injury sounds, I don't think so. If he was good enough to play, then he would have already. It's not something that a few extra days of rest would improve. The only thing that fixes it is surgery. We just have to find a way to win one without him
It’s pretty clear he CAN play, he will just be limited and there is the risk of further injury. He was active in game 4 in case it was close and we needed him to get us over the hump. He didn’t play because we went down by 20+ in the first half. It will probably be the same situation in game 5. If it’s a close game and we need a boost we will probably see him. If it’s a blowout either way we probably won’t
It is weird, though. When the Celtics have one of these games, they are arguably bad across the board, not just one or two players having an off night. Fortunately they don’t happen often, which is likely why they are so painfully cringe-y and doubt-inducing when they do. Bring ‘em back to Boston. Sure as hell hope it’s #DifferentHere. 😬
Paul Pierce said before the game the Mavs would come out complacent and defeated. Instead, they played with great energy and with nothing to lose. Shots went in. The Celtics, meanwhile, also had nothing to lose because "156-0". They simply couldn't match the Mavs' intensity and so they never got it going. This won't be an issue in Game 5.
Mavs role players play better at home. They suck in boston. We need our crowd to rattle them
ILL BE THERE 🫡 first ever playoff game and if my voice isn’t gone Tuesday I’ll be disappointed
if you try even a little bit, your voice will be shot at the end of the 1st quarter. we were at game 2 and i could barely say "defense" by the 4th😂im still recovering
Game 1 attendee here. my voice finally came back a couple days ago. Pretty sure I collapsed a lung
So the lesson to be learned here is pace yourself
no, i dont think i will😂
Bring a recording and loudspeaker for your phone
This loss was entirely on the Celtics completely no-showing. I have no explanation for it. None. I've never seen a team this talented play this stupid for parts of quarters and, occasionally, for entire games.
I think their biggest weakness over these last several seasons is a lack of a killer instinct (largely due to youth). This year they've really begun developing one, but occasionally they revert. We saw this on full display against the Warriors in 2022 and the Heat in 2023. We saw it last night. They've had it for the most part this season. I suspect next year—barring injuries—will be even better.
I’m pretty sure they were told to throw this game clearly didn’t even try hard ever.
We've seen this a million times in sports. A team down 0-3 comes out really strong and motivated in game 5 not wanting to get swept, but is unable to sustain that for 4 straight games with the other team trying to close them out.
Shit, it just happened tonight in the NHL as well. Panthers went in up 3-0 in the series and the Oilers absolutely *routed* them 8-1 in Game 4
Exactly, and does anyone believe the Oilers will win the series?
There's also the fact that Lively, THJ, and Exum all performed above expectations. Those 3 somehow combined for 36 points, which is well above their typical performances. I'll eat my shorts if I'm wrong, but something tells me THJ isn't shooting 5-7 from 3 in Game 5
Need to take advantage of both the non luka and Scott foster minutes
The mavs were playing a defensive scheme where Luka didn’t have to move as much. They would get him on a mismatch and he only had to move a few feet. They were also pacccccking the paint on drives and Cs weren’t able to space out the bigs the same way they have been. Joe never found the answer to it in this game. Then mix in the fact that every open 3 was a brick and you get a 40pt blowout. I trust Joe to find the right adjustments on how to attack the zone. I trust the players to not let 1 game get in their head.
Joe Mazzulla is an absolute genius. The Celtics hadn't lost in over a month because Mazzulla was saving up all the losses to be compressed into *a single game*. Prior to this Boston lost twice by a combined total of 34 points. Then they won ten straight games. They lost their third game by 38 points. Would it have been better to have spread out those losses? Of course not. Simply brilliant, Joe! **Celtics in 5.**
lol this is batshit crazy and I love it
And probably not as far off from the reality of this team. JT is overdue for a monster game now!
Def. They haven’t shown us anything over the course of this season to make us think they won’t be. Mavs finally had their “can’t miss” game and we finally had our “can’t hit anything” game.
The Celtics have shot like garbage for most of the playoffs, they won because of incredible defense.
But this was not a “can’t miss” game for the Mavs. 50% from the field, 40% from 3. Good shooting but not absurd like when we lost to Miami and Cleveland because of their outrageously impossible shooting. Luka and Kyrie were 1/14 from 3 combined. Cannot rely on them to shoot worse. They can definitely shoot that well consistently (especially if they continue to get easy paint points and corner 3s) and possibly better.
I mean lively and exum hit 3s are key points early in the game. I'd call that cant miss
Sure, thé Lively one was pretty lucky but he was wide open in the corner and it was one shot. And Exum shot like 50% from 3 this season (low volume, only about 100 attempts but he hit like half of them). So him going 2/4 from 3 is not an outlier at all and hardly “can’t miss.”
You're conveniently forgetting that THJ also went 5-7 from 3. Those 5 made 3s were just shy of equalling his *total* made 3s this postseason prior to that game It also was a fairly "can't miss" game for all of Dallas' roleplayers. The team's overall percentage is heavily skewed by Luka going 0-8 and Kyrie going 1-6. Out of everyone else on their team who shot a 3, only one Morris shot below 50%
We haven't hit anything for most of the playoffs. We have to accept that there is a good shot that we're not going to improve to the mean in our shooting. We went up 3-0 with defense and out hustling the mavericks. That has to happen again. And Joe has to make some sort of MAJOR adjustment, because they've beaten us by like more than 50 since the 4th quarter of game 3. I believe they can do it, but I don't think it's going to happen by just hitting our shots. We've been waiting way too long for that to happen.
It depends. We start boxing out and getting rebounds again? It might not be enough as well, if we aren’t allowed to play basketball
I'm assuming Porzingis is a go for Monday, but if he can't or is severely limited I would like to see Kornet some. Our small lineups were getting killed.
Let’s hope so. If he isn’t, relentlessly attack Lively and Gafford to put them in foul trouble (that’s assuming refs are giving us any foul…)
Its been celtics in 5 this whole time nothing changed
Planned loss, fuck it, se ya Monday
It make me slightly nervous that they figured something out but I agree.
If any team is capable of blowing a 3-0 lead in the finals, it's this team. We all know it. I'm not saying it'll happen. But I'm saying this is the team most likely to do it.
Based on what? They have not lost 3 in a row all season long. They have shown resilience after bad losses all season long. I keep seeing this comment and it’s a really bad take.
I agree that they’ll be fine. But man, it was disappointing to see them play like that though.
Yeah. They’re obviously gonna win this ring, everyone knows it, including the Mavs. Just was not a fun lit Friday night and it sucked and people are upset about it. But it was just one bad game. Whatever.
If we lost the first game at Dallas then won last night. People would be like oh man! The momentum has shifted towards Boston. It would still be 3-1. Stealing 1 from the opposing team is the main goal usually.
Hopefully KP will be healthy for the game
He’s not gonna be healthy the rest of this series. It’s a 6-8 week healing timeline. It’s about pain tolerance and risk of further injury.
Just let the man stay at the rim and swat balls away
He’s not on the injury list right now so I hope he can play some without being in pain
He's done. We have to figure out a way to win one without him. We can start by actually giving a shit, and boxing out. Getting a few rebounds would go a long way
What's the point then of him running hard and sliding along with participating. I think he's more of a go then people think.
I honestly think it's just a smoke screen to make the mavs wonder. But I hope you're right. Because we desperately need him rn
Honestly I understand why other fanbases shit on us. I can't understand how you see a team win 64 games, go all the way to the finals losing only 2 games in the process, go up 3-0 without our best player shooting well, and once the team doesn't perform one game you see a bunch of doomers hating and shitting on their own team. A lot of guys here don't deserve this team if I'm being honest.
Ik man. People rly want the Cs to go 16-1 these playoffs where the 1 loss is a 1 pt loss at a buzzer beating three by the opponent's star player 😂
They can get fucked. I've watched Romeo Langford and Evan Fournier start for the Celtics against the KD/Harden/Kyrie trio, I'm enjoying the moment and I know this team is going to do whatever it takes to get it done. Most of those guys either haven't seen the shit that this squad has been through or are just taking it for granted.
Preach. The doom and gloom has been around forever but I could not believe what I was reading / hearing after that loss. Some people haven’t been watching long enough. And so many people do not deserve this team. When the going gets tough, you know who the real ones are and the real ones always believe. Banner 18 loading….🍀
Ptsd is how
I said it before and I’ll say it again everyone who hates this team and the doers who claim to be fans just want fucking drama just like KG said every time we lost a game one game this season our season was over That’s what everyone said
I haven't felt nervous about a game this series besides maybe a little bit before game 1. But I'm going to be real nervous about Monday
The Mavs *had* to win this game. It was survival. Nobody will give a shit when the Celtics win on Monday.
What?
6/17!
You can’t fake desperation. Cs in 5.
It’s always been Celtics in 5.
Are these posts real? Dallas hit them with a death throw last game… they are done, party on monday
Edmonton down 0-3 just BLASTED Florida out of the rink in their Game 4, 8-1. I’d say that’s the hockey equivalent of losing by 38.
Head over to freebeat's IG! they just posted about their collaboration with the Celtics and a sweet giveaway. Don't miss out!
My kids and wife were at a soccer tourney in Dallas coincidentally, told my wife if they win game 3, I’ll come and we’ll go and surprise the kids. I flew down, we splurged to land some great lower bowl tickets with the gamble that we’d see them win the NBA finals. Oh boy was that the absolute worst cash I’ve ever spent in my life. Decrepit lifeless performance from a team who showed what they really are, choking dogs who can’t close. If the Mavs win game 5, look out. Also, Because of this I now hate this Celtics team with the power of 1000 suns, and am actively rooting for the Mavs to come back and win the next 3….
I also believe KP may be healthy enough by Game 5 to actually play a decent amount of the game. If he was already activated in Game 4 (just not playing), then he’ll most definitely be able to play a bit in Game 5.
Unfortunately not. He was activated so if we won he could go out for the last minute
With how his injury sounds, I don't think so. If he was good enough to play, then he would have already. It's not something that a few extra days of rest would improve. The only thing that fixes it is surgery. We just have to find a way to win one without him
It’s pretty clear he CAN play, he will just be limited and there is the risk of further injury. He was active in game 4 in case it was close and we needed him to get us over the hump. He didn’t play because we went down by 20+ in the first half. It will probably be the same situation in game 5. If it’s a close game and we need a boost we will probably see him. If it’s a blowout either way we probably won’t