Celtics’ season of promising high notes ends with a LeBron-sized thud
COMMENTARY
The time of expiration on the 2016-17 Celtics season arrived at 10:54 p.m. Thursday. That’s the precise moment the final buzzer sounded on Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, a 135-102 beatdown via the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers, who advance to face the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals for a third straight season. And so the green fades to black, and the Garden, the hub of our sports winter, goes dark for the summer.
It would be tempting now that their season is in the past tense to eulogize them by saying they put up a valiant fight, right down their last heave, that there are reasons for pride even considering the hideous final score of the season’s final game. And in a macro sense, that would be true. The Celtics won 53 regular-season games, claimed, in part due to the Cavaliers’ indifference, the top seed in the Eastern Conference, overcame a 2-0 first-round deficit to bounce the Bulls, won a stirring seven-game series with the feisty Wizards, and … well, at least managed to avoid getting swept by the Mighty LeBrons. For a season that will not be punctuated with a parade, it must be regarded as a very good year.
But in a micro sense, did the Celtics ever deliver a micro performance last night. The game and season may have officially ended in the moments before 11 p.m. Thursday, but it was unofficially over in the first quarter. The Celtics fell behind 12-3 out of the gate, and any time they even had an inkling about making a run, James would snuff out the thought. A brief timeline of his first-quarter viciousness:
4:46 – Jonas Jerebko misses an open 3-pointer. James slashes to the hoop, finishes, draws the foul, sinks the plus-one. 25-12, Cavs.
3:58 – James backs down poor Terry Rozier, whose waist has roughly the same circumference as LeBron’s headband, then rolls in for an uncontested dunk. 28-12, Cavs.
2:27 – Avery Bradley’s drive is blocked by James and Tristan Thompson. Kyrie Irving converts a flashy layup plus a free throw at the other end. 37-16, Cavs.
1:22 – James buries a corner 3 in Jae Crowder’s face. The crowd groans collectively. 40-22, Ca … wait, you still need to be told who led?
The You-Know-Who’s led 43-27 after one, and it didn’t seem that close. The Cavs made 64 percent of their shots. The Celtics made 39 percent of theirs. Al Horford, who had a brutal final game in a mostly stellar first season in Boston, was minus-21 after a quarter, and for a time it seemed as if he was intent on sustaining his minus-84 pace through the entire game.
The second quarter was no better, and James (20 points on 7 of 8 shooting, 7 assists, 7 rebounds in the first half) led the Cavs to a 75-57 advantage at the break. The Cavs have never scored more points than that in a half in their postseason history. We knew the Celtics would miss Isaiah Thomas’s offense. Who knew they’d miss his defense?
There were characters on The Sopranos who met a more graceful end. The Cavs went for the kill in the third, playing all five starters the entire quarter. (I will assume this particular cruelty was LeBron’s idea until I have documentation otherwise.) The killer Cavs scored their 100th point with 3:27 left in the third. By quarter’s end, the lead was 35 (109-74), and Celtics fans were left to find solace in what’s to come, since what was occurring was so gruesome.
The Celtics were one of the final three teams left playing this season. They own the No. 1 pick in the draft. They have a deep roster made up of players who enjoy playing together. They are in a good place and headed toward a better one. You’d like it here, Gordon Hayward.
Sure, that 18th banner is the goal, and in that regard they fell short. But if that’s the only way you’re satisfied, you miss out on a lot of good stuff along the way. Despite the abrupt and ugly ending, it was a fun and often fulfilling season, one that comes with more hope for the future.
Though it must be acknowledged that a premature retirement by James to pursue acting, horseback riding, water polo, or anything else that moves him more than utterly dominating basketball games would aid the local cause immensely.
