There are only three teams left in the 2023 NBA Playoffs–the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets. As the Nuggets await their opponent in the NBA Finals, the Heat can close out the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday with a win and a four game sweep over the Celtics.
We know the Heat were dominant in their game three win on Sunday in Miami. They put the smackdown on a Celtics organization with a convincing 128-102 win to take a three games to none series lead.
However it is comments made by the great Magic Johnson that are noteworthy. Johnson, who was a three-time NBA MVP with the Los Angeles Lakers, and won five NBA Finals with the Lakers in the 1980s, tweeted out, “In my 44 years of being associated with the NBA, I never thought I’d see a Boston Celtics team, a team with 17 Championships, quit. I know Celtics fans all over the world must be devastated and disgusted.”
It is the four letter q word that is the most significant in the tweet. Sports teams throughout the world are encouraged to never give up, regarding the circumstance. For the Celtics to be accused of quitting by one of the greatest players of all-time has strong significance.
JOIN OUR NBA GROUP CHAT (DISCORD) HERE!
Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 27)
What we saw in game three were poor performances from the Celtics two biggest superstars–Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. They were a combined -48 with six turnovers. They also combined to make only one three-pointer in 14 attempts.
Now there is talk that the days of Joe Mazzulla as the Celtics head coach may be numbered. In his post game press conference from game three, he stated, “I just didn’t have them ready to play.” That may be fine in a single game in the regular season, but not in the postseason. Now we know Mazzulla came to the Celtics under difficult circumstances (after the firing of Ime Udoka due to an improper relationship with a female employee), and should be given credit for leading Boston to 57 regular season wins. However, as long as there is discontent in Boston, there will be a growing sentiment that the Celtics might make a coaching change with this veteran group. One rumour is Brad Stevens, the Celtics president of basketball operations, will return behind the bench.
For FREE!
