The Boston Celtics can be the 14th team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the NBA postseason if they can win their next three straight against the Miami Heat. The previous two Cs team to do so won the NBA Championship.
It’s not impossible…but advancing to the NBA Finals is quite a long shot for the Boston Celtics in 2019-20. After an inspiring Game 3 effort that seemed likely to give way to a series-tying Game 4, the opposite happened and now the Cs are facing the prospect of leaving Walt Disney World empty-handed.
Winning three straight elimination games is not unprecedented by any stretch, but very few teams in history have been able to do so, especially in the conference finals:
The Heat are the first team to take a 3-1 series lead in the Conference Finals since the Cavaliers against the Celtics in 2017.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 24, 2020
Teams to take a 3-1 series lead in this round (Conference/Division Finals) are 50-4 (.926) all-time. pic.twitter.com/h4NtQ2nKHU
Per Yahoo, these are the 13 teams that have been able to overcome being down 3-1 in the history of the NBA playoffs:
1968 Eastern Division Finals: Celtics defeat 76ers
1970 Western Division Finals: Lakers defeat Suns
1979 Eastern Conference Finals: Bullets defeat Spurs
1981 Eastern Conference Finals: Celtics defeat 76ers
1995 Western Conference Semifinals: Rockets defeat Suns
1997 Eastern Conference Semifinals: Heat defeat Knicks
2003 Eastern Conference First Round: Pistons defeat Magic
2006 Western Conference First Round: Suns defeat Lakers
2015 Western Conference Semifinals: Rockets defeat Clippers
2016 Western Conference Finals: Warriors defeat Thunder
2016 NBA Finals: Cavaliers defeat Warriors
2020 Western Conference First Round: Nuggets defeat Jazz
2020 Western Conference Semifinals: Nuggets defeat Clippers
As you probably noticed, the 2020 Denver Nuggets showed up twice. Could they be a team of destiny (if so I’d lose tonight if I were the Lakers) or could their multiple 3-1 comebacks this postseason be attributed to the lack of a homecourt in the bubble?
Who knows. What we do know is that the Boston Celtics have a chance to add their name to a presitgious list of teams–one that includes two championship winning teams in 1968 and 1981. Given the way the Miami Heat are currently playing, it seems more liely there will be a gentlemen’s sweep than there will be a banner and (virtual) parade in Boston this year…unless of course the 2019-20 Cs are championship material.