“Yes.”
That was Joe Mazzulla’s one-word response when asked if he still believes that it’s “always good to go through adversity” after the Boston Celtics’ Game 5 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
A loss in which the Celtics were up by 13 with 5:58 to go. A loss in which they coughed up the ball five times in the fourth quarter. A loss in which they could have closed out the Hawks and avoided another trip to Atlanta.
Learning from one’s mistakes is a valuable tool, but there comes a point where said learning needs to turn into action.
Boston hasn’t gotten to that point yet.
For the duration of this core’s existence — that’s Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and the surrounding revolving pieces — the Celtics have struggled to close out games. And “struggled” might be putting it lightly.
The Celtics have suffered from a serious case of complacency. When they go up big, they completely change their style of play, and when their opponent jumps at the chance to make a comeback, they fail to kick things into high gear again.
What is usually a vibrant, springy offense turns into sludge. The ball sticks to everyone’s hands, double-teams breed sloppy turnovers, and drive-and-kick three-pointers morph into isolation step-backs.
And so far this postseason, the Celtics, a team defined by their shooting, have failed to hit a three in the clutch. Not a single one. 0-for-6.
On the defensive end, Boston’s crisp rotations shift into a complete meltdown.
In Game 5, the Celtics only turned the ball over nine times, but five were in the last quarter. They shot a subpar 7-of-13 from the free-throw line, and four of those misses were in the fourth. Atlanta only attempted ten free throws, but five were in the final period.
Any and all execution went out the window for the Celtics as they began to count their chickens before they hatched. The fourth quarter was one long inbounds ball roll in an attempt to waste time. Only instead of wasting time, Boston should have been closing out the series.
The Hawks took advantage of the Celtics’ laziness.
“Got to give them credit,” said Jayson Tatum. “They played well. They made big-time shots at the right time.”
Atlanta does deserve credit. They drained shots, they got stops, and they made the most out of an opportunity that was handed to them.
As much as the Hawks should receive recognition, they wouldn’t have been in a position to get it if the Celtics played up to par.
In a two-point…
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