DID BOSTON JUST BLOW THEIR CHANCE AT A TITLE?

NBA / Basketball

Written by Eddie Huband

About 8 minutes into the 3rd quarter in game 5, it was starting to look like a Boston Celtics coronation.

The C’s used a third-quarter barrage to erase a double-digit deficit to take a 3-point lead on the road. Everything was going in, Golden State couldn’t hit the ocean with a beach ball, and it was looking like Boston would ride the momentum into a game 6 at home, leading the series 3-2.

Source (Background Photo): Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

That all changed though, with two Klay Thompson 3’s and a Jordan Poole buzzer-beater. Suddenly the Celts were down by one heading into 4th, where things unraveled from there with ill-advised turnovers and poor execution.

Now, it’s looking like Golden State, despite not exactly looking the part of an NBA championship roster, has a golden opportunity to add another banner to the rafters.

It’s been a strange series, to say the least thus far. Both teams are obviously very good, but both are also quite flawed. You could make the case that neither team really SHOULD be here in the first place. Golden State caught Memphis without Ja Morant and also dodged Phoenix, who was the betting favourite heading into the postseason.

Boston got to face the defending champs without their 2nd best player, and still almost lost that series in 7, so you have to think if Middleton was there things would have been different.

That isn’t to say this series hasn’t been fun to watch, because it has. The point I’m making is that this year feels more wide open than ever, and if you’re a Boston fan though, you have to come away from game 5 feeling like your team may have just blown the best chance they're going to get.

Now, to be fair, I completely buried the lead. The story of this game was Andrew Wiggins, and he deserves all the credit in the world for his performance. Wiggins’ defence on Jason Tatum was outstanding, as it has been all series. He now has 27 rebounds in the last two games (both GS wins), and he’s shooting the ball from mid-range and attacking the basket with extreme confidence.

Wiggins is the Warriors' 2nd best player right now, there’s no doubt about it.

Still, in a game where Steph Curry had just 16 points and couldn’t buy a bucket, it feels like the Celtics blew an opportunity to take control. If they were banking on Steph having a one-off game, they couldn’t take advantage when he did.

When you look at the reasons why Boston lost game 5 as well as the previous home loss in game 4, it comes down to all the things that have plagued this team all postseason. Turnovers, and offensive inconsistency.

Jaylen Brown, while he’s been fantastic for the most part, played possibly his worst game of the season. He had five turnovers, but it felt like 10, and it seemed like he forgot how to dribble in the 4th quarter.

Now, this Celtics team has been up and down all postseason, so I’m not counting them out yet, especially with game 6 at home where you know the crowd will be insane.

Still, I have a hard time seeing this team winning two in a row against a Golden State squad that seems like they’ve figured some things out offensively.

No team in the league has been through more this season, and no team deserves a title more than the Boston Celtics, but in the end, the championship pedigree of Golden State may have lifted them to a title they probably shouldn’t have won with the roster they have. (Other than Steph’s Brilliance, Klay is a shell of himself, for the most part, Draymond is half washed at this point, Jordan Poole isn’t quite ready yet, and the bench is nothing to write home about)

We’ll see what transpires in game 6.