The Celtics remained defiant in the aftermath of a second straight embarrassing loss at the TD Center yesterday. It was actually their third consecutive setback against the Bucks, as clear an indication as any of their overmatched position in the semifinal-round series. Don’t tell them that, though; to a man, they believe they continue to have the capacity to advance to the conference finals. For one thing, they’re convinced their talent base is superior; they ran roughshod over the Pacers in the first round, and then claimed Game One by 22 versus the owners of the league’s best regular-season slate.
As National Basketball Association annals have shown time and again, however, the mere compilation of marquee names with varied skill sets does not immediately translate to triumph. Granted, it should with the Celtics, who have a rich history of winning and boast of Brad Stevens, one of the best bench tacticians in the business. That it hasn’t with consistency throughout their 2018-19 campaign speaks volumes of their disjointed nature. The presence of great players does not always make for great teams, and it’s no coincidence that the Bucks — pro hoops’ prime example of success as the whole being greater than the sum of its parts — have exposed their deficiencies.
In any long series, the better team invariably prevails. And, for the most part, the definition of “the better team” involves the participation of the series’ best player. To no one’s surprise, the distinction belongs to Giannis Antetokounmpo, preemptive Most Valuable Player and the single biggest reason for the Bucks’ ascendancy. They lost Game One in large measure because he lacked the aggressiveness to keep defenders at bay. Since, then, though, he has stamped his class, and to the point where he affects those around him even when he’s not on the court.
Yesterday, for instance, the Bucks turned a tied game into a developing rout with Antetokounmpo on the bench due to foul trouble in the third period. And when he returned in the fourth, he made sure that their efforts paid dividends by producing a dominant finish. Meanwhile, Kyrie Irving, the Celtics’ own All-Star, has been firing blanks; not coincidentally, the aforesaid stretch of losses marks the worst three-game shooting slump of his postseason career. And his response in being told he went seven of 22 from the field yesterday? “I should have shot 30. I’m that great of a shooter.”
Certainly, Irving can talk the talk; after all, he has a championship ring, and the most pressure-packed three-point shot ever in Finals history, to back up his claims. Considering that the Celtics need to take the next three games, including two at the Fiserv Forum, however, he likewise needs to walk the walk pronto. Else, his self-assured declarations will come off as little more than false bravado, especially with Antetokounmpo preferring to let teammates get all the credit in contrast.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.
