The Boston Celtics suffered a historic playoff collapse against the Philadelphia 76ers, losing three straight games after leading the series 3-1. Despite the disappointment, there are notable positive aspects from their season.
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown
Three Silver Linings From Celtics' Devastating Playoff Collapse Vs. 76ers originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Celtics' season ended in catastrophe with three straight playoff losses against the Philadelphia 76ers, resulting in the first blown 3-1 series lead in Celtics franchise history.
While Boston's postseason run ended much sooner than expected, it still had some highlights and positive takeaways.
One was that Jaylen Brown mostly exorcised his Game 7 demons, proving he could handle such a pressure-packed environment. Brown had been a disaster in previous Game 7s, averaging 16.5 points,
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5.8 rebounds,
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2.1 assists, 2.6 turnovers, a 51.5 true shooting percentage and a 69.6 free throw percentage.
With the Celtics' season on the line, Brown was much better this time around, rising to the occasion in Jayson Tatum's absence. He led Boston with 33 points on 12 of 27 shooting, grabbed nine rebounds, dished out four assists and notched three blocks on the defensive end. He was also money at the charity stripe, making all six of his free throws.
The Celtics' collapse was attributed to poor shooting and missed opportunities during the series.
This marks the first time in Celtics franchise history that they have blown a 3-1 series lead in the playoffs.
Despite the early exit, the Celtics had highlights and positive developments that can be seen as silver linings for the future.
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He narrowly missed a couple of key shots late in the fourth quarter that would've given the Celtics the lead, but they were only in that position in the first place because of him.
Another silver lining is that Boston's young players got valuable playoff experience, including Neemias Queta, Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez and Luka Garza. For many of them, this series was their first time starting or getting extended minutes in an NBA postseason, which should help them be calmer and more prepared next time.
Lastly, the Celtics showed impressive heart, grit and tenacity in Game 7. Despite missing Tatum, they fought hard for the entire game and still almost won, clawing back from multiple double-digit deficits. They didn't quit and battled until the end despite being undermanned.
Just making the playoffs in the first place was an accomplishment given all the adversity Boston faced this year, so that shouldn't be forgotten, either.