Trae Young Just Ripped The Celtics Heart Out

Maddie Meyer. Getty Images.

Dead. I am dead. Holy shit what a horrific loss. A chance to close out the series, you have a 10 point lead heading into the 4th quarter, a 10 point lead with 5 minutes left and you choked it away and gave the Hawks life. The exact thing you could not do tonight, the Celtics did. Some of the most braindead basketball I've ever seen in the final 4 minutes of this game. Tatum turnovers, Brown turnovers, missing 4 FTs, Smart's beyond dumb foul reaching for the ball with 15 seconds left, Tatum's tech, it's all losing basketball.

Then, even with Derrick White stepping up and giving you the lead with 7.3 seconds left

and all you needed was ONE FUCKING STOP…this happens

Sure, hell of a shot by Trae, but Jaylen is giving WAY TOO MUCH space in that spot. You know he's going with the pullup in that situation. Credit to him for making it and basically scoring the final like 17 Hawks points, but this is more about the Celts collapse in my opinion. Zero defense, you gave up 37 fucking points in the 4th quarter, and now you just blew your chance to end the series. God dammit is that annoying. We're supposed to be past this aren't we? I saw the same mental lapses and lack of situational awareness that cost this team just last playoffs. 

It also doesn't help when your best player throws up an 8-22 (1-11). That cannot happen. Jaylen did enough, the guards did enough, but 19 points on that shooting is not going to cut it from Jayson Tatum. This game needed him to step up and close it out, and we got the opposite. Instead, he and the team as a whole collectively shit their pants. A total of 5 TOs in the 4th quarter, they gave up 56/54% splits and missed 4 FTs. \

When you play dumb, this is what happens.

Now? The Hawks return home with momentum, they get Dejounte Murray back, and this series is FAR from over. That is what the Celtis fumbled away tonight. They went from ending a series to now being in a dogfight. 

More tomorrow, I need a drink.