2017 NBA Playoffs Roundup, Day 4: Lowry Lives, Rondo Renaissance And Utah Misses Gobert

Here We Go Again, Boston

If it feels like we’ve been here before with the Boston Celtics, it’s because we have.

No one expected Brad Stevens to win his first playoff series in 2015, when the surprising 7-seeded Celtics faced a LeBron James juggernaut. Losing to the fourth-seeded Atlanta Hawks in the first round last year was a disappointment, but ultimately forgivable.

Losing this series to a Bulls team that coasted through the regular season, especially as the No. 1 seed that didn’t trade for the player who’s now leading the charge against them? That would be downright embarrassing.

I can’t even pretend to imagine what Isaiah Thomas is going through right now with the loss of his sister. It’s incredible he even found the strength to play the first two games of this series at all.

But to be honest, Thomas’s defense isn’t even the problem in this series. Hell, he’s been Boston’s best player, racking up 33 points, six assists and six boards in a heroic Game 1 performance before following it up with 20 points in Game 2.

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No, the problems are the same as they’ve ever been. Stevens is now 2-10 all-time in the postseason despite being a tremendous head coach. Avery Bradley is a combined 10-for-28 from the field, and has shot 43.8 percent and 38 percent over his last two playoff series. An Al Horford-centered frontcourt is getting dominated on the offensive glass, as was a recurring theme with the Hawks.

Some of these struggles are all too familiar to anyone who’s watched Boston (or Horford in Atlanta) over the last few seasons, and they’re even familiar for those who just watched the 2016-17 Celtics season.

When the playoffs begin, possessions slow down. Offenses stall. Defenses try harder. Star players who carry the load have a harder time doing so with opponents keying in on their every move. With all that IT is going through, and after watching the Celtics’ offense plummet 13.9 points per 100 possessions whenever he sat during the regular season, none of this is that surprising.

For the one millionth time: This is why, when you have the chance to trade for Jimmy Freaking Butler rather than sit on your mountain of assets, you trade for Jimmy Freaking Butler.