Down 2-1, Do You Believe?

[zeitgeist49]

We all expect the Celtics to win tonight. If they don't, it will be a stunning loss. If we don't win this series against the Heat, it will be on Tatum and Brown's wildly inconsistent play. 

[Roy H.]

Headline from an alternate universe: "Celtics, NBA Twitter react to Boston’s Game 3 win"

 https://sports.yahoo.com/celtics-nba-twitter-react-boston-034546785.html

[celticinorlando]

Must win tonight. Lose and the series is most likely over. Team needs to act accordingly.

[Who]

Must win tonight. Lose and the series is most likely over. Team needs to act accordingly.

I'd say we still have a 75-80% chance of winning the series if we lose tonight.

I'd put our chances of winning the series at 98-99% before tonight's game.

[Roy H.]

Must win tonight. Lose and the series is most likely over. Team needs to act accordingly.

I'm worried about Smart and Timelord.  I think we're close to unbeatable with a (semi-) healthy starting five. 

[celticinorlando]

Must win tonight. Lose and the series is most likely over. Team needs to act accordingly.

I'm worried about Smart and Timelord.  I think we're close to unbeatable with a (semi-) healthy starting five.

Not having smart or Williams tonight would be tough. Gotta hope they can gut it out as long as they can.

[td450]

We all expect the Celtics to win tonight. If they don't, it will be a stunning loss. If we don't win this series against the Heat, it will be on Tatum and Brown's wildly inconsistent play.

I get that Jaylen had 7 turnovers. He should be criticized for that. But he otherwise submitted a willful performance, scored 40 on 14-20 shooting and almost stole that game, despite very little help.

When things go well, Tatum is an MVP candidate,  A top 5 player. When things go wrong, "Tatum and Brown..."

[Kernewek]

We all expect the Celtics to win tonight. If they don't, it will be a stunning loss. If we don't win this series against the Heat, it will be on Tatum and Brown's wildly inconsistent play.

I get that Jaylen had 7 turnovers. He should be criticized for that. But he otherwise submitted a willful performance, scored 40 on 14-20 shooting and almost stole that game, despite very little help.

When things go well, Tatum is an MVP candidate,  A top 5 player. When things go wrong, "Tatum and Brown..."

Indeed.

Ball man go swish = good
Ball man no go swish = bad

C’s in 6 until it becomes C’s in 7.

[Vermont Green]

I don't know what to believe with this team.  They have at times played better than I imagined possible and also worse than I could have imagined.

[LilRip]

I originally predicted C’s in 6. But this team is still growing. So I’m going with C’s in 7, yes, on the Heat’s home floor.

[Moranis]

The team that wins tonight will win the series. 

[ozgod]

I think we win in 7. It will take that long for this team to really start to cut out the concentration lapses and realize they are the better team and play like it.

[Donoghus]

Absolutely. 

Expect a big bounceback tonight.  I think the only question will be whether this goes 6 or 7.

[Smartacus]

I do believe! Frankly I thought they had it at half time of the last game when they were down 13. Lets see them respond like they did in Milwaukee. Break out the war drums, put your head down and go to work.

[td450]

I don't know what to believe with this team.  They have at times played better than I imagined possible and also worse than I could have imagined.

The way I look at it is that this team is built to win a title, but only within a certain framework. We know the same guys can be just another team if they drift from that framework, because that's the recent history. They don't have a generational superstar, at least not yet. When they have the personnel to play their brand of defense, it then falls on some very good but imperfect players to move the ball, provide the scoring and hold up under pressure.

Wathing all this, the main wobble factor is Tatum. I thought it would be Smart, and maybe the bigs, but it has turned into Tatum. He doesn't have to score 30+, but he does have to score 20+, promote ball movement and make decent decisions. Brown could cut down on the sloppiness too, but he mostly held up his end pretty well.

We aren't going to win if Tatum plays that badly. When the shots aren't falling, he has to play with intelligence. We don't have the ball handling if he doesn't do that.