Readers say they feel uneasy after the Celtics blew Game 5
Eighty three percent of respondents felt at least somewhat worried about Boston after falling to Atlanta.
After the Celtics blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter of Game 5 of their series with the Hawks, Boston.com had to know how its readers felt.
In a poll published on Wednesday, readers were asked their level of concern, what they thought the biggest problem for Boston was, who they think will win in Game 6 on Thursday, and what changes would they like to see.
In total, 285 readers responded to the poll, and as a majority, they were not a confident bunch.
Eighty three percent of the respondents said that they were at least somewhat worried about the Game 5 collapse, and 35 percent said they are hitting the panic button afterwards.
When it came to what went wrong, readers most often pointed to Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, who appeared reluctant to call any timeouts as the Hawks went on their run.
Defense came in second on the respondents’ list of concerns with the team’s offensive output being last.
Despite the amount of worry following Game 5, the majority of readers do still think that Boston can take Game 6 in Atlanta.
For the last question, asking readers what changes they wanted to see from the Celtics, the responses varied from better shot quality, to more Malcolm Brogdon minutes, to better hustle on defense.
Some of the responses, are found below with attributions to the author when available.
“More D White and Brogdon, and allow G Williams to play d. This version of the Celtics defense is soft by comparison to last year and d wins championships.” – Joey D.
“Bench Marcus Smart late in the game for either Brogdon or White. Attack the basket instead of settling for three’s. Defend and REBOUND!!!” – Matt S.
“Tatum needs to keep attacking the paint and not settle for self-made 3 pointers.” – Chris
“Smart cannot be on the floor at the end of games. Run, run, run until the final buzzer!” – Jim
“More timeouts, Tatum driving more and more time for D. White.” – Francisco F.
“Call timeout and regroup when the Hawks start to gain momentum particularly when they are down by 10 points or more and start to come back.” – Pete Y.
“Less one-on-one and more cutting and passing. Use Robert Williams more judiciously down the stretch. Emphasize Williams, and Smart, and Tatum to avoid reach in fouls to compound damage on missed shots.”
“Although (lack of) Coaching played a big role, the players lacked focus and took terrible shots while ignoring the defensive end right from the start of the 3rd quarter. It was clear, they may not win within minutes of starting the 2nd half.” – J. Piper
“Celtics need to play with a sense of urgency.” – Misha C.
“The need to play with a killer instinct and put other teams away when they have lead. Especially Tatum.”
“Stop playing 2 big lineup late in games. Play Derrick White over Smart in crunch time. Push the pace and stay aggressive on offense in the 4th quarter – pace was way too slow in game 5.” – Jared
“Take the ball to the basket and draw fouls. Change the way they are playing defense. The switching at the point position on D is not working. They are just letting shooters run right down the middle and get easy shots. Its like this team thinks they can just outscore everybody.” – Ed
“Play like they are the renowned Boston Celtics in a playoff game and not the Dallas Mavericks tanking at the end of the season.” – Mike B.
“Better coaching. Grant Williams over Hauser. Tatum to the hoop. More D. White and Brogdon.” – Gary A.
“Play better defense on Trae knowing he can make those long three pointers any time. Better rebounding on both ends and STOP the turnovers, especially at critical times in the game. Play under control during those times. JT does not have to be the go to guy all the time.” – John L.
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