To paraphrase former NFL coach Dennis Green: they are who we thought they were.
I can't be the only one who was worried about Boston laying an egg in this game. And they obliged. For whatever reason, both the Celtics players and TD Garden fans were mostly lifeless from the jump. It's not a Joe Mazzulla problem because this isn't just a 4-year trend. If anything, I think they've gotten better at holding leads late in games.
If we're going to point fingers, it has to be at the players who have been there the longest. And yeah, that starts with Tatum and Brown. But also, it's probably a shortcoming you have to try and live with, hoping either they grow out of it or it doesn't rear its ugly head in a spot where it truly hurts. Some people will immediately scream "Brown is terrible...trade him for Giannis!" But Giannis has his own baggage (injuries, age, fit, etc.)
It's like being in a relationship with someone who is perfect in every way...but occasionally snores at night. Sure you can walk away and roll the dice on finding someone even better. Or you keep a pair of earplugs in the nightstand and hope that getting a good night's sleep 9 times out of 10 is good enough.
Thank you for the cliffhanger! I am not sure why we would see such a discrepancy. Perhaps it is that at home the players/coaches subconsciously feel there is a little room for error, whereas on the road they sweat more of the details. But who knows? Until I see a better answer, I'm simply going to blame the refs.
To paraphrase former NFL coach Dennis Green: they are who we thought they were.
I can't be the only one who was worried about Boston laying an egg in this game. And they obliged. For whatever reason, both the Celtics players and TD Garden fans were mostly lifeless from the jump. It's not a Joe Mazzulla problem because this isn't just a 4-year trend. If anything, I think they've gotten better at holding leads late in games.
If we're going to point fingers, it has to be at the players who have been there the longest. And yeah, that starts with Tatum and Brown. But also, it's probably a shortcoming you have to try and live with, hoping either they grow out of it or it doesn't rear its ugly head in a spot where it truly hurts. Some people will immediately scream "Brown is terrible...trade him for Giannis!" But Giannis has his own baggage (injuries, age, fit, etc.)
It's like being in a relationship with someone who is perfect in every way...but occasionally snores at night. Sure you can walk away and roll the dice on finding someone even better. Or you keep a pair of earplugs in the nightstand and hope that getting a good night's sleep 9 times out of 10 is good enough.
Thank you for the cliffhanger! I am not sure why we would see such a discrepancy. Perhaps it is that at home the players/coaches subconsciously feel there is a little room for error, whereas on the road they sweat more of the details. But who knows? Until I see a better answer, I'm simply going to blame the refs.