Salt in the wounds for Celtics fans as former players dominate NBA playoffs

Tuesday night was already bad enough for the Celtics as they fell flat on their face at home in Game 2, losing to the 76ers in embarrassing fashion, 111-97. Their first-round playoff series is now tied at 1-1 as things swing back to Philadelphia, with the Sixers finding belief and momentum, and feeling good about themselves.

To make matters worse, after Celtics fans watched Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown’s supporting cast completely no-show a playoff game, they flipped the channel to see what was going on in other NBA playoff series, and were greeted by the sight of nothing but recent ex-Celtics stealing the show.

Jrue Holiday and Robert Williams showing out for Blazers

In San Antonio, it was practically a Celtics alumni game. Jrue Holiday looked great, leading the Trail Blazers to the upset win, showing a ton of poise on both ends, as he always does, and finishing with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks.

One of his main running mates in that one was another old friend, none other than the Timelord, Robert Williams, who put up 11 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks, including a huge dunk to help close this game out down the stretch.

Both former Celtics were great on both ends, and the Blazers absolutely don’t steal this win without them.

Luke Kornet suddenly carrying massive burden

On the other side of the court, the Spurs caught a brutal break as Victor Wembanyama suffered a hard fall and was quickly ruled out with a concussion. This meant another recent Celtic coming into the limelight as Luke Kornet took over the center duties and finished with 10 points and 9 rebounds in the losing effort.

Marcus Smart leading the Lakers

As if that game wasn’t punishment enough, the nightcap didn’t make fans feel any better as they watched Marcus Smart looking like one of the best players on the floor for the Lakers, helping them beat the Rockets and jump out to a 2-0 lead in that series behind his 25 points, 7 assists, and 5 steals.

So, on a night where the Celtics outside of Tatum and Brown combined for just 42 points on 16-46 shooting and 6-30 from three-point land in an ugly playoff loss, Holiday, Timelord, Kornet, and Smart combined for 62 points on 23-41 shooting, knocking down 8-15 from deep.

Yes, I know. Context. Blah, blah, blah. This isn’t an apples-to-apples situation. This isn’t me showing regret about any moves or anything like that. It’s just a simple observation that on this one night, all of the current Celtics role players laid an egg, while many of their former ones shined in new homes around the league. Fun.

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