First the “Bruins”, now the “Celtics.”
MIAMI — The Celtics had their souls taken on live television.
The Celtics never wanted to finish their unfinished business. They never truly wanted to pay that price. Despite the playoffs being laid out to their advantage, they continued to cheat the game en route to this series.
…The Celtics are not the model organization in the NBA. They don’t work hard enough. They are not willing to sacrifice everything for victory. On Sunday at Kaseya Center, they looked like a bunch of green-clad frauds.
…Game 3 was nothing more than a stage for the world to see how broken the Celtics are.
The 128-102 loss to the Heat was their most embarrassing performance in decades…This series was lost in Boston, when the Celtics realized the Heat had an answer for everything.
The naming of Joe Mazzulla as the permanent coach in February is looking more like a premature decision as playoff losses and excuses mount. He’s completely clueless as to how to beat the Heat and that was evident Sunday.
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The Heat knew the Celtics were ready to break and the moment Miami didn’t relent in the opening minutes, the Celtics started crying.
The team’s disintegration occurred far before they arrived in Miami. It hasn’t been the same for months. Mazzulla’s stubbornness didn’t help. And management not adding to the coaching staff after the departures of Ime Udoka, Will Hardy, and Damon Stoudemire was downright negligent and absurd.
Mazzulla will never admit he needs help or that he is completely disconnected from his players. But that appears to be the case, and calling more timeouts isn’t the answer. The Celtics were exposed Sunday…
Mazzulla was asked whether he’s lost the team, but it’s pretty obvious he has. He finally acknowledged all is not well and no scheme adjustment over the next 48 hours will fix that.
They had to win this game and instead they played with no passion or fortitude, as if they were ready for this charade to end. The players won’t say that. Professional athletes will never publicly say they’ve quit. They’ll just show it in their actions.
The Celtics have made their point. They’re ready for a vacation. They’re ready for a break. But there’s one more game to play, one more 48-minute, nationally televised chance to embarrass themselves and the once pristine reputation of the franchise. Oh joy.
The Celtics quit on their coach and themselves and they’ve lost faith because they don’t believe their coach is equipped to lead them past this challenge.
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It’s time to go home now for good.
