Celtics have officially been eliminated from first competition of NBA season

A few days ago, I came on here and wrote about the lottery-like scenario that would need to transpire in order for the Boston Celtics to survive into the final day of Emirates NBA Cup group play.

They needed a Washington Wizards win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, a victory of their own against the streaking Detroit Pistons, and then one of the New York Knicks or Miami Heat to lose their Wednesday cup game.

To be honest, I didn’t expect this parlay of a pathway to last beyond its first leg. There was just no way that the Wizards, who had lost 14 straight, were going to show up against a Hawks team that’d won seven of its last 10.

It happened.

Washington got its second win of the season, beating Atlanta 132-113, and all of a sudden, the ball was in Boston’s court.

What would they do?

They only fought tooth and nail for their best win of the season. The back-and-forth slugfest against the top-seeded Pistons was pure cinema. TD Garden got as loud as it’s been all year long, and the Celtics fed off the energy.

A masterful second half from Derrick White lifted the Cs over Detroit, 117-114, for a gritty, team win, and a reminder of what this group is capable of.

That was the end of Wednesday’s fun.

Both the Knicks and Heat won their respective games, though Miami nearly went to overtime against the Bucks. Just like that, the Celtics’ NBA Cup dreams died for a third-straight year.

The Celtics could've advanced in the NBA Cup if they just did the easy things

As someone who thoroughly enjoys #TheCup, and the early-season chaos that it comes with, I’m thoroughly disappointed to still have never seen my team reach Las Vegas. My expectations were low coming into the competition this year, considering Boston’s group was going to be tough, but then they pulled me back in when they opened cup play with a win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Celtics as a team, this season, have probably overachieved to this point. They’re 10-8, rank high in advanced metrics, and have quality wins over good teams like the Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Yet, when it was time to capitalise on their 1-0 start to group play, they couldn’t do it. First, they lost to the Orlando Magic, falling apart in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. This is all the more frustrating when you realise the Cs have already played the Magic thrice and the cup game is their only loss.

Then, losing to the then 2-13 Brooklyn Nets at TD Garden was inexcusable. Without this loss, the Celtics could’ve had a serious chance to sneak into the knockout stage through the wild card spot.

Instead, they’re going to have to wait an entire year before they get another chance to compete in one of basketball’s most prestigious competitions.