‘We know they have another gear’: LeBron James and Steve Nash say Celtics got bored against the Knicks
"Sometimes, it seems like they get a little bored because of how great they are," James said.
The Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown-led Celtics rank among the greatest teams that the NBA has ever seen, Lakers star LeBron James said during a recent episode of the “Mind the Game” podcast.
James spoke glowingly about how hard it is to defend the Celtics, saying that Boston is at its best when it can put defenders in a “blender” and use their bevy of capable shooters to spray 3-pointers from all over the floor.
“Obviously, their personnel is [expletive] dynamic and great,” James said. “We all know that. The trade for Porzingis, to be able to get Jrue Holiday in the fashion that they got him made them even more elite.
“Al Horford coming back has given them another presence,” he added. “He’s so smart. I’ve played against him his whole career. The growth of Tatum and Brown has just allowed Joe and this coaching staff to be even more dynamic.”
But, the defending champs got knocked out in the second round by a scrappier, hungrier Knicks team that made specific offseason moves just to beat them.
The Knicks played well, but the Celtics made a series of blunders. They blew back-to-back 20-point leads at home and lost the deciding Game 6 to New York by 38 points.
Steve Nash said his main gripe with the Celtics is a lack of discipline on the offensive end. They sometimes struggle to get downhill and settle for more difficult shots than they are capable of getting.
“They’re prisoners of their success,” Nash said. “They’ve been to the Finals a bunch lately, they won it, they had an incredible regular-season.”
James said the Celtics have a habit of letting their boredom affect their play.
“It seems like they get bored sometimes with the — I don’t want to say the process — because they are who they are and when you look at Tatum and Brown, this is years and years and years. They’ve punched their 10,000 hours.”
“But, sometimes, it seems like they get a little bored because of how great they are. Not only as those two as individuals, but them as a team. Sometimes it looks like they get bored.”
Their boredom was visible and was part of what led to their downfall against the Knicks, Nash said.
“In a way I feel like that’s kind of why they got caught in those first two games against the Knicks. Up 20. It’s easy. You know? Then they stop, maybe like the the details, the spacing, going too soon or not waiting long enough, and not getting downhill, not touching the paint. Settling for longer jumpshots, they’re running out the other way.”
“That’s just the story of their team, right? ” Nash said. “We know they have another gear and then they show it in Game 3. They showed it for three quarters of the first two games, so it’s right there for them.”
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