The Boston Celtics will have to dig deep to recover after losing two straight games to the Cavs. Are the only players capable of making that possible injured?
The greatness of Brad Stevens and the underrated talent/depth of the Boston Celtics’ roster has been something special.
After losing their two best players for the season and relying on youth and inexperience the rest of the way, not many could predict playoff success. Boston instead knocked off two of the most talented teams in the Eastern Conference, beating both the Milwaukee Bucks and the Philadelphia 76ers.
In what feels like forever ago, the Celtics also built a 2-0 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Suddenly even again at 2-2, questions are arising if the young core has hit a wall.
The Cavs’ role players stepping up, LeBron James, youth or even Boston’s paltry road playoff record are all possible culprits as to why they’ve struggled back to back games.
Boston Celtics: 9-0 at home, 1-6 on the road in the 2018 playoffs
— Laieke Abebe (@StrikaNation24_) May 22, 2018
But never in the history of the NBA has a team traveled so far losing its two best players and being partly led by a 20- (Jayson Tatum) and 21-year-old (Jaylen Brown). So is it time to wonder if the Celtics are finally missing their stars? Some are starting to think so.
Tried to tell y'all @KingJames and Cavs weren't in trouble against the star-less @celtics. B4 series, I picked Cavs in 6. Sticking with it. Boston isn't good enough with just role players. LeBron has to win just one road game. He will do it in Game 5.
— Rob Parker (@RobParkerFS1) May 22, 2018
The #Celtics dominated the first two games in Boston. Idiotic pundits started calling for them to trade Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward.#Cavaliers embarrassed the C's in Game 3 and were never particularly threatened in Game 4.
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) May 22, 2018
Suddenly, 2-2 series and a reminder: Stars matter.
While “role players” is a tough label to maintain when describing the Celtics, there are some valid points made. No matter the potential of their young studs and the consistent sturdiness of Al Horford, they currently don’t have a healthy force a nature. Someone capable of taking their game to a level that only a handful of players can reach.
Not since the 2004 Detroit Pistons have we seen a team without a true superstar make the NBA Finals. And considering that Pistons team ended up champions, Boston should easily be using their success as motivation internally. But there are vast differences, not the least of which is the fact that that Detroit team was led by veterans. The league has also bcome more star-driven over the last 14 years.
When facing the likes of LeBron James or Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant In the future, superstar power is eventually needed. Having Kyrie Irving, arguably the best finisher in the game, has its advantages. Being equipped with a sharp-shooting, well-balanced Gordon Hayward on the wing can’t hurt either.
During Boston’s best moments this season, some wondered if they could possibly be better without superstardom. Given their putrid road postseason record (1-6) there’s probably still very few out there with those standing beliefs. Finishing 18th in offensive rating and 20th in points per game shows overall room for improvement, regardless of their finish this season.
The best defense in basketball can no longer propel an average offense to a championship with the way the game has changed. With respect to the brilliance of Brad Stevens and the surprise of the roster in total, that doesn’t improve without Irving and Hayward.
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For all we know, the Celtics could run off back-to-back wins and shut everyone up, but that no longer feels like a probable result. Like Kaufman said above, stars matter and they always have. As we get into the dog days of the playoffs, mediocrity surfaces and energy wears thin. That’s normally where you find your superheroes. The Celtics have two currently sidelined, and they may miss them now more than ever.