Down 2-0 to Knicks, Celtics will rely on, not abandon their identity

The Boston Celtics didn't become champions with a foundation they were willing to abandon when adversity arrived.

They also didn't reach at least the Eastern Conference Finals in five of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown's first seven years together with a fickle identity.

In the moment, being down 2-0 to the New York Knicks as the series heads to the "Big Apple" feels like a greater test of their faith than ever before.

Maybe that's true.

After all, the Celtics aren't just dealing with a rival that brushed off a pair of 20-point second-half deficits on the TD Garden parquet. They aren't just fighting through a bone bruise in Tatum's wrist, Brown's knee injury, and Kristaps Porzingis's energy-zapping non-Covid illness.

Boston's also trying to block out perhaps inevitable change when this playoff run ends. The thought that becoming the first franchise since the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors to lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy in consecutive seasons could keep this team intact may exist in the minds of some within the organization.

There's also the pressure of again trying to maximize what could prove their best opportunity for years to come. Hindsight may reveal it was paramount for them to capitalize on a talented roster ownership has remained over the second apron to preserve.

But despite the precarious situation the Celtics are in, the identity some want them to doctor, is one they'll lean on further. Forget past accomplishments, this is the same approach that propelled them to those 20-point advantages.

"We have a way that we play. We have an identity, and it can't waiver just because we're missing shots," voiced Tatum at the Auerbach Center on Thursday. "I always say, you've got to be the same person when things are going well, and when things aren't going well."

It's all one needs to hear to understand this group's resolve. They missed 45 threes in the series opener, a record for an NBA playoff game, and fared 10/40 from beyond the arc in Wednesday's 91-90 loss. But Boston's process was sound for the most part. It was typically a case of reliable shooters not convert on quality looks.

And as Joe Mazzulla pointed out to Hardwood Houdini, the Celtics are winning on the margins.

"We shot more free throws, and we got 10 more shots than they did, and we shot 10 more layups than they did last game. And then we got 16 offensive rebounds to, I think to their 12 -- it was 10 -- and then 25 points on turnovers. So, we've leaned into the margins.

"To me, when you're not executing the way you need to on the offensive end, it puts more pressure on the situational stuff that you have to get better at," continued Mazzulla.

"All those situational things become even more magnified when you're not able to execute the way that you may usually do on the offensive end. And so we have to be much better at those things," he conveyed. "But we've won the margins in both games. We just have to win the game."

The Celtics will lean on their identity to salvage this series

While Al Horford "can't put a finger on" the root of why Boston is a frigid 25/40 from three-point range, as his star teammate pointed out, the Celtics have to trust their preparation and can't shy from quality shots, as they did at times in Game 2.

"Guys work really hard on their game and their craft and prepare to be in those moments to hit open shots and it just hasn't happened the last two games," said Tatum. "But you can't lose your confidence."

And while there's a heightened sense of urgency after losing Wednesday in what Payton Pritchard labeled a "must-win game," this group has had to work out of shooting funks before. They take comfort in drawing on their experience navigating this challenge.

"It's something we're working through right now as a group, as a team, and it has happened to us before," expressed Horford on Thursday. "And sometimes when you're able to win the game, a lot of that stuff goes away," he continued. "I expect us to be better."

The Celtics are winning on the margins. Their process is mostly sound, and their faith in their identity appears unflappable.

But now it's on them to add the two missing ingredients from the start of this series: playing with poise while managing a sizeable lead and as the Knicks counter, and channeling their inner-Taylor Swift to shake off their shooting woes and turn a proven process into the desired results.