2017 NBA Playoffs Roundup, Day 19: Wizards hold a lead, the only thing that can stop the Warriors and Gordon Bae-ward
Boston needs better pregame speeches
The first quarter woes continue for the Boston Celtics.
In Game 1, they gave up the first 16 points of the contest, trailed 20-3 at one point and were down by 14 at the end of the first quarter. In Game 2, they faced another 14-point deficit at the end of the first quarter.
In Game 3, the Celtics reached a new low in preparedness out of the opening gate, surrendering a 22-0 run after the game was tied at 12. The Wizards led by 22 heading into the second period, and unlike Games 1 and 2, they were able to sustain it the rest of the way.
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The difference? It’s a hell of a lot harder to pull off miraculous comebacks when you don’t have the support of a roaring TD Garden as fuel in the tank.
There were plenty of areas for concern in Game 3. Isaiah Thomas only had 13 points on eight shots the very next game after his 53-point supernova, the Celtics were out-rebounded by 12 and they only shot 35.1 percent from the floor.
But every problem in Thursday night’s bloodbath traces back to the trend of unbelievably slow starts, which Boston badly needs to correct in this series.
Whether Brad Stevens needs to start plagiarizing his pregame speeches from Hoosiers or the trainers start spiking the team’s Gatorade with Adderall, this Celtics have to do something to stop coming out with such poor energy and focus.