The Celtics didn’t go down without a fight, but at the end of the day, a loss is a loss, and they bowed out of the playoffs in round one after relinquishing a 3-1 series lead to their rivals, the 76ers. By the end of the night, the only feeling fans could really have was just a sad acceptance.
The Sixers looked like the better, more talented team, and the Celtics were relying on a lot of unproven players trying to rise to the moment. While it worked wonders in the regular season, it didn’t translate to the playoffs, at least in the matchup against the 76ers, and the Celtics' season is over.
Celtics never should have been East favorites
And maybe the lesson here is that, as good as the Celtics looked at times during the regular season, the playoffs are like a whole different sport. You’re playing another team that is at full strength, gameplanning for every minute, and bringing nonstop maximum effort.
Those were margins that Boston won on during the regular season, but by the end of the series, Philly was able to neutralize most of those advantages and make the Celtics look pretty ordinary. It’s a harsh reality check after an incredible regular season, and it shows that the Celtics probably need to rethink their plug-and-play approach to an extent and take a hard look at which players are actually viable when the stakes are heightened.
Mazzulla should have trusted his depth more
Another part of it has to be the fact that Joe Mazzulla largely gave up on the depth that got him there until it was too late. The Celtics next-man-up mentality worked all season long, but as soon as the playoffs started, Joe shortened his rotation and rode his starters into the ground.
Not only did it result in Jayson Tatum eventually getting injured, but it also removed the edge the team was gaining all season long from guys like Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, Luka Garza, and others. He finally went to them in Game 7 with no Tatum, and they fought admirably, but at that point, it was too little too late.
So, sadly, we’re now in this weird in-between territory where, despite getting humbled, it’s fair to wonder how much of that could have been different if Mazzulla had coached a better series vs. how much the talent on the roster just isn’t as good as we thought.
Either way, it’s a somber ending to an improbable season, and in spite of all the success, it’s hard to process it in the moment, and Cs fans are going to have a bad taste in their mouths for quite a while.
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