Don't Be Surprised If The Celtics Lose The Finals- Here's Why
The Boston Celtics blew Game Four in embarrassing fashion. The Dallas Mavericks were at home, and the Celtics shot poorly, so that might just be a blip on the radar and an outlier.
Still, I would not be surprised if the Celtics blow this 3-0 lead and go down in history as the first team to do so.
The Porzingis Injury
If Kristaps Porzingis plays, he'll be playing hurt. If he doesn't, that's even better for Luka Doncic and co. Porzingis is central to both the Celtics' offense and defense. Though Al Horford has played well in his absence, he's an aging, inconsistent player who isn't nearly the player the star European is.
The Mavs Have Nothing To Lose
Everyone who's ever played a sport knows it's easier to play when the odds are stacked against you. You have nothing to lose at that point- it's easier to play loose and not get tight when everyone expects you to lose anyway.
The Celtics have historically had issues playing well when the pressure is on them. They were down 3-0 against the Heat last year and came all the way back to force a Game Seven—just to lose in the Garden anyway. The Celtics have already blown multiple games at home during the playoffs. If that happens in Game Five, the Mavericks have a very serious shot at coming back.
They Almost Lost Game Three
The Celtics nearly blew a 21-point lead in Game Three. Well, they did blow a 21-point lead and arguably got relatively lucky to come out on top in the end. If Luka hadn't infuriatingly committed those two fouls down the stretch, we might be looking at a 2-2 series right now.
Their offense stalled to a halt. Instead of continuing to run the score up, they made the classic mistake of constantly trying to run down the clock. The result was a series of jacked-up threes and disastrous possessions. They've shown consistently that they struggle to close out large leads.
Jayson Tatum's Lack Of Leadership And Toughness
Tatum shot 37.5% in Game One and scored 16 points. He shot 27.3% in Game Two and scored 18. They barely won that game, too, by the way.
It's still up for debate if he's even the best player on the team. That begs the question: when the fourth quarter rolls around, and the Celtics need a big shot, who's taking it?
The Odds Are Stacked Against The Mavericks
This inquiry and its theoretical, purported outcome may be entirely null. Game Four might have been nothing more than an outlier.
With that said, do not be surprised if the Dallas Mavericks go down in history as the first team to come back from a 3-0 lead.
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