Heading into the playoffs, the Celtics were regarded with wariness. After going through a rough regular season that had them stumbling to the fourth seed in a conference they were supposed to lord over, they faced no small measure of uncertainty. Six-time All-Star Kyrie Irving struggled to assert his leadership over his younger teammates. Fellow Big Three members Al Horford and Gordon Hayward battled with consistency. Even head coach Brad Stevens faced pushback for seemingly poor decision-making in the crunch. The roller-coaster ride led to the green and white openly wondering where all the fun went and why it appeared to have been replaced with listless play.
All the same, the Celtics remained optimistic of their chances. They were, after all, still extremely deep and talented. And Irving was, after all, not an unparalleled shot maker who knew, and had already proven, how to deliver under pressure. Considering their predicament, the fact that the Pacers, their first-round opponents, began the postseason mired in a swoon certainly helped their cause. For all the grittiness of the underdogs, pundits figured the absence of reigning National Basketball Association Most Improved Player Victor Oladipo to be too big of a handicap to overcome.
As things turned out, all the pre-series prognoses couldn’t have been more on the mark. Notwithstanding the noise, the Celtics did just fine. They made short work of the Pacers, coming up with a playoff sweep for just the second time in 33 years. And the reason was simple: They had Irving and the Pacers didn’t have Oladipo, enabling them to dominate the second half of games. All told, they put up 17 more points in the third quarter and 22 more in the fourth. As losing mentor Nate McMillan noted, “a lot of people downplayed [them] … but we knew they would get it right come playoff time.”
Indeed, the Celtics stamped their class, and they’ve earned some rest — not to mention a much-needed morale boost — prior to meeting with the Bucks. The league leaders will be much harder to overcome than the Pacers, but Irving isn’t fazed. “Honestly, I’m not really paying attention to who is the top team in the conference during the regular season,” he argued. “Those wins are racked up already. Those are pretty set. I think at this point it’s about who can beat a team in a seven-game series. It’s just a reset button. We know what to expect.”
Whether the Celtics are now in the proper state to meet outsized expectations remains to be seen. This much is clear, though: Irving’s ready to do what he can, and needs to, in order for them to advance. In this regard, it’s telling that he scored the most number of points just once, but dished out the most number of assists in each of the four games, against the Pacers. As Stevens pointed out, “he just kept getting rid of [the ball] to the next guy, and the next guy had to make the right read and play … I think we’re a hard team to double if we’re really moving it like that.” Simply put, he’s exercising leadership by example, and those around him are taking notice.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.
