INDIANAPOLIS — A 12 months in the past, the Boston Celtics discovered themselves in a 3-0 gap within the Japanese Convention finals — solely to then win three straight video games, and almost pull off a historic comeback.
So, whereas the Celtics now discover themselves on the precipice of advancing to the NBA Finals for a second time in three years after escaping from Sport 3 with a victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday evening, Boston is conscious that its work is way from over heading into Sport 4 right here Monday evening.
“The numbers are actually flipped,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla mentioned, when requested about what he and the Celtics can take away from final 12 months’s expertise this 12 months. “However I believe that is a state of affairs … once you’re in any state of affairs, generally you discover out why you are in it a day later, per week later, a month later, generally a 12 months later.
“So, I believe it is extra vital to simply give attention to the place we have been in final 12 months, what can we study from that? And I believe the place we’re in now it is ‘OK, that is why we needed to undergo what we needed to undergo, was to achieve the expertise, achieve the mindset, achieve the ache, all of the issues that went into that,’ and attempt to use it for this. And that does not imply something aside from we have now to have the humility and the attitude to know what we have been via and attempt to use it to get to the place we wish to go.”
The place Boston desires to go is again to the NBA Finals, the place they’ve repeatedly fallen in need of getting over the previous a number of years, as they’ve superior to the Japanese Convention finals in 5 of the earlier seven seasons, however solely made it to the NBA Finals in 2022.
This season, although, the Celtics have been the NBA’s dominant staff from begin to end. Boston gained a league-leading 64 video games; had a historic-level web ranking of plus-11.7 factors per 100 possessions; and completed first within the league in offensive ranking and second in defensive ranking.
The Celtics have adopted that up by mowing via the competitors in entrance of them in these playoffs, posting a web ranking of 11.4 via 13 video games together with an 11-2 report — spectacular numbers even towards a schedule that is seen Boston face the Miami Warmth with out Jimmy Butler, the Cleveland Cavaliers with out Jarrett Allen and Donovan Mitchell and the Pacers now with out Tyrese Haliburton.
However after the Pacers led by as many as 18 factors in Sport 3 with Haliburton watching from the sidelines in road garments after aggravating the left hamstring damage that is bothered him since he damage it in a recreation right here towards Boston again in early January, the Celtics are very conscious that Indiana will give the Celtics no matter they’ll deal with because the Pacers try and maintain their season alive on their house court docket, and ship this collection again to Boston for Sport 5.
“Closeout video games are all the time the toughest,” Celtics guard Derrick White mentioned. “We do not anticipate them to put down and stop, however you simply received to be a bit of bit higher. You bought to execute a bit of higher. You bought to compete a bit of bit extra. Then they’re enjoying for his or her season, so positively going to be a problem. Any playoff collection, something can change in a single recreation, so it may be an enormous one.”
And, if Boston is to get this collection wrapped up Monday, the large factor Boston can be centered on from a defensive standpoint is making an attempt to show the water off on Indiana’s 2-point taking pictures. Over the primary three video games of this collection, the Pacers are taking pictures 48-for-88 on 2-pointers exterior of 8 toes, per Second Spectrum monitoring information — a 55% clip, the second-best mark by a staff in a playoff collection over the previous 10 seasons.
Each Jaylen Brown and Mazzulla mentioned after Saturday’s recreation that a few of Indiana’s taking pictures is solely a credit score to the Pacers, with Brown joking that “a few of these guys changed into f—ing Michael Jordan or no matter.” Of a lot larger concern for Boston, nevertheless, is NBA.com’s shot chart information registering Indiana taking pictures a blistering 74% within the restricted space on this collection (52-for-70).
One factor that might assist Boston, particularly on the subject of its rim protection, is the potential return of Kristaps Porzingis. The 7-foot-3 heart has been out for almost 4 weeks since struggling a calf pressure in Sport 4 of Boston’s first spherical collection victory over the Miami Warmth.
When requested Sunday if Porzingis might be again as quickly as Sport 4 Monday, nevertheless, Mazzulla caught to his trademark response on the subject of accidents.
“I do not know,” he mentioned.
