This isn’t how it was supposed to go.
Even with a matchup against the Hawks, most astute observers had problems pinning down exactly how this series was going to go. Most expected a hard-fought, gut-it-out, seven-game series and a few even thought the Celtics could pull the upset in the end.
None expected to see the Celtics play two of the worst first quarters in their history. None expected this level of haphazard futility from Boston’s defense. None expected the already iffy shooting to be bad enough to make you wonder if the Celtics needed eye tests at halftime.
Suddenly, the talk has shifted to saving face… avoiding the sort of crash and burn that threatens to wipe out all the great feelings of what really has been a very good, very positive season. There is a desperation that hangs in the air after Isaiah Thomas says “They’re playing good team defense. We just as a coaching staff, as players, we gotta figure out a way to make it as easy as possible. Playoffs are about adjusting and we have to do it fast,” or when Jae Crowder says “We’ve had too good of a year to go out the way we’ve been going out the past few games.”
Maybe it’s this desperation that’s making Avery Bradley feel like he needs to do something. According to Mike Gorman, Bradley seems to think he can make it back to face the Hawks.
“The most encouraging thing I saw last night at the end of the game, Avery Bradley, without the aid of crutches, got off the bus and came walking up the aisle,” Gorman told T&R on Wednesday. “I said, ‘Wow, you’re moving pretty well,’ and he said he thinks he might be able to play before this series is over.
It was thought that Bradley, who suffered a bad hamstring injury in Game 1, would miss the rest of the series.
“I asked if he would play again, and he said he was hoping he could play next week. He said, ‘If we can extend this series, I’m hoping I can play again,’” explained Gorman. “That would really help this team because he’s their best on-ball defender and their second-best scorer, in my mind. Maybe getting Bradley back, if they can extend this series into next week, could turn this series around.”
Can the Celtics extend the series and give Bradley enough time to come back? The beginnings of games tell us all “no.” But the ends of games are enough to at least make us wonder. The Celtics did “win” the second half of Game 1 by 16 points. They did play the Hawks perfectly even after the first quarter last night. IF Boston can put a complete game together, could they take their next two homes games and force the Hawks to try to put them away on the parquet in six or face a do-or-die Game 7?
It’s certainly possible. A lot of things are possible. It’s not very probable, though, when rookies like RJ Hunter and Terry Rozier overreact on defense and give up open threes or get so caught up in the moment that they don’t realize they’ve dribbled out the shot clock. If they can learn their lessons and contribute at a higher level, then maybe Avery Bradley can sneak his way back into this series.
It’s possible if Brad Stevens finally makes a radical decision with his starting lineup to combat the Hawks strengths, or at least attack their weakness (a thin bench possibly made thinner if Dennis Schroder is out).
A lot of things are possible, especially with this team. But there is no doubt this team is starting to feel desperate. Maybe if they can grit and grind their way to some success at home, then maybe Avery Bradley will be right… maybe he’ll be able to come back and play like Avery Bradley can play… and maybe he can play well enough to put the Celtics an improbable position to overcome yet another impossible situation.
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