What does this team need? Attitude.

[crimson_stallion]

Dumbest thread ever!!!, if it is something this team has is HEART!!, and a green one, they're just playing a superior team who happens to have the best player in the world and the most expensive nba roster!!, GO CELTICS!!!

Is that right?

So please explain to me then, if this team has so much heart, then:

1) Why did they fall 0-2 and look completely dominated AT HOME by an inferior 8th seed Chicago team?

2) Why did Boston lose by an average of 15.6 points across three away games in Washington?  Here's an interesting set of stats for you...

Games played at Boston
Boston: 122.5 PPG
Washington: 109 PPG

Games played at Washington
Boston: 94.0 PPG
Washington: 109.7 PPG

Notice Washington averaged the exact same scoring numbers regardless of whether they played in Boston or in Washington?   Boston on the other hand averaged -28.5 PPG in games played in Washington in that series.

When Boston played in Washington, they could not buy a basket, and in ever one of those games (except game 6) they allowed themselves to get buried in a massive whole in the first quarter, which they were never able to recover from.

That is an extremely clear indication that those games Boston lost in that series were all mental. 

Now, if you take today's game against Cleveland in isolation, then I am perfectly happy to accept excuses.  I'm happy to accept they were tired.  I'm happy to accept that they were nervous facing the Cavs, and they just needed to get the nerves out.  I'm happy to accept they were just overwhelmed with excitement after hearing of the draft lottery result, and lost concentration a little.  In isolation, I'm happy to accept whatever excuse you want to give me.

BUT when you also acknowledge the complete breakdowns that happened in MULTIPLE games across both the Chicago and Washington series, those excuses start to fall apart. Two games in Chicago, two games in Washington, one game in Cleveland.  That's 5 games out of a total of 14 played (36%) in which Boston has had complete mental breakdowns.

Majority of this team's core has been together now for two seasons, so you cannot blame chemistry or unfamiliarity.  For seemingly the first time in history, they haven't suffered a single injury during the playoffs and have been 100% healthy (knock on wood) so they can't blame that.  Bench guys have proven they can contribute (Brown, Rozier, Olynyk, Smart) so they can't blame lack of depth. The team finished with the best record in the East, so you can't say it just isn't a good enough team.

Now lets look at the "Cleveland is just too good" argument.  Boston played Cleveland four times this season. 

* Game 1, Clevleand won by 6 points
* Game 2, Cleveland won by 6 points
* Game 3, Boston win by 4 points
* Game 4, Cleveland won by 23 points

Considering that the first three meetings between these teams were split 1:2 and were all decided by 6 points or less, I'm not buying the argument that "Clevleand is just too good" or that "Lebron is just too good". 

That's garbage. 

We've played this team four times this year, and every one of those games was hard fought, competitive, and could have gone either way - except for one, in which Boston clearly didn't have their heads in the game.

So no, I'm sorry but I'm not buying the excuses, and I'm not buying the pessimism.  Other then the Warriors (obviously), Boston matches up with the Cavs just as well as any other team in this league.  We absolutely can beat them in a game. 

The Celtics can win not only a game, but in the series. Not saying Boston  SHOULD win the series, but they can.  They're capable of it if they believe in themselves, and play hard every night.

Now I do need to make something clear here.  I will not be disappointed in the Celtics if they lose to Cleveland.  I won't even be disappointed if the Celtics get swept by the Cavs.  If the Celtics play like they believe, and give it everything they have, and fight hard to the very end, and happen to lose four straight games by an average of 5 or 6 points, then I will still have complete respect for the Celtics.

However if the Celtics don't compete, then I'll be disappointed.  If they play like they have zero belief in themselves, and play every game as if they have already lost, and get blown out in four straight games, then I can't respect that. 

That's the difference between the Game 3 and Game 4 losses in Washington, and the Game 6 loss in Washington.  I had complete pride and respect for the Celtics after that Game 6 loss - they played their butts off, the competed all the way, they played with pride - and they just fell short. 

In game 3 and game 4 however, I lost all respect.  They didn't compete.  They played lazy, they committed countless unforced turnovers, they missed a million open shots, they played zero defence, they got killed on the boards.  They just showed no heart, no effort, no passion or pride.  They got blown out in embarrassing fashion. 

To make matters worse, they did the same in Game 1.  They started out Game 1 by going down 0-16 before they finally started to claw their way back in.  From memory they did it again in Game 2, but not as badly. 

You can't have those huge blocks of mental complacency.   Not when you're playing a team like the Cavs.  You can make some mistakes (everybody makes mistakes), you can miss some shots - but you cannot come with a lack of effort or with your mind not in it, because if you do they will eat you up and spit you out.