Celtics are on brink of history for the wrong reasons ahead of Game 7 vs 76ers
Celtics are on brink of history for the wrong reasons ahead of Game 7 vs 76ers originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Boston Celtics are hours away from Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers . They lost their 3-1 lead in back-to-back losses, but that doesn’t matter now . All that matters is this game.
If the Celtics win, they move on and face one of their biggest rivals, the New York Knicks . If they lose, they have to deal with the fallout of being the first ever Celtics team to blow a 3-1 lead .
The ramifications are big
© Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
This game matters a lot, due to the potential consequences of a loss. If the Celtics lose, they’ll have much discourse surrounding their team. The fact is, they were pegged as the team to make it out of the Eastern Conference .
If they lose, they'll be the 14th team to blow a 3-1 lead in the NBA Playoffs , and as previously noted, the first Boston team as well. Critics will call for drastic change, as they always do. However, this season might be the one where the Celtics start to listen.
Jaylen Brown will be the top player on the docket
© Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
The biggest Celtics discourse since Boston became perennial contenders has been splitting the Jays up . The usual take is to keep Jayson Tatum , and cut ties with Jaylen Brown.
Brown’s value is at an all-time high, as he was a MVP candidate this season, leading the Celtics to the playoffs without Tatum for most of the year. With that in mind, the Celtics may be inclined to finally shop him .
If they do, they would be getting something massive in return. However, these rumors have always been shut down by Boston and the Jays, so there’s also not much reason to start believing them now.
Joe Mazzulla will be as well
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Another big thing to watch is what the Celtics do with their coach, Joe Mazzulla. Mazzulla is one of the youngest head coaches in the NBA, and has brought the Celtics much regular season success , multiple playoff runs , and an NBA championship.
However, in the past two playoffs, it seems Mazzulla’s style of play is the reason for most of the Celtics’ losses. If the Celtics were to lose this series, and miss 30+ threes, the Celtics may consider moving on.
However, the same doubt for rumors about Brown should be applied to Mazzulla as well. He brought them a championship in two years of coaching, and have made the playoffs every season. Just because Boston could have two brutal back-to-back playoff series losses, doesn’t mean massive change is needed.
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