Getty Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics
As the Boston Celtics made their into the locker room at halftime, Charles Barkley provided a scathing assessment of the team’s performance in their game against the Miami Heat.
Louder for everyone in the locker room, Charles! #celtics #BleedGreen
“I’m embarrassed for the Celtics,” Barkley, who was speaking on TNT’s halftime report, said. “That display of basketball…No mental toughness. Complaining on every single call. They made the refs mad because they complained on every single call.”
The second half didn’t provide the Celtics any reprieve, either, as the Heat continued to ramp up the pressure on both ends of the floor, forcing the Celtics to crumble and succumb to a 30-point deficit.
As the fourth quarter began, things got even worse for Boston, with head coach Joe Mazzulla pulling his starting rotation in favor of his deep-bench players, essentially admitting defeat with 12 minutes remaining in the game.
Jaylen Brown Embarrassed by Loss
When addressing the media following the game, All-NBA forward Jaylen Brown provided an honest opinion on his team’s performance, noting how it was embarrassing for the entire roster.
“We can point fingers, but in reality, it’s just embarrassing.”
Jaylen Brown reacts to the Game 3 loss
“I don’t even know where to start,” Brown said. “It’s an obvious letdown. I feel like we let our fanbase (and) organization down. We let ourselves down. And it was collective. We can point fingers, but in reality, it was embarrassing.”
Magic Johnson Sounds Off on Celtics
It would appear that Brown wasn’t the only person to be shocked by the Celtics’ capitulation at the hands of Miami, as former Los Angeles Lakers guard Magic Johnson stated that he had never before seen a Celtics team ‘give up.’
In my 44 years of being associated with the NBA I never thought I’d see a Boston Celtics team, a franchise with 17 Championships, quit. I know Celtics fans all over the world must be disgusted and devastated. The Miami Heat blew them out 128-102 in Game 3.
“In my 44 years of being associated with the NBA, I never thought I’d see a Boston Celtics team, a franchise with 17 Championships, quit. I know Celtics fans all over the world must be disgusted and devastated. The Miami Heat blew them out 128-102 in Game 3,” Johnson Tweeted.
Johnson’s Tweet likely encapsulated what Celtics fans worldwide were feeling, as their team simply rolled over as the Heat upped their performance level, leaving the team with a mountain to climb if they want to claw their way back into the series.
After their game three loss, the Celtics will need to win four straight games against the Heat in order to progress back to the NBA Finals. Unfortunately, it would appear that history is against Boston, as no team in history has ever come back from 0-3 to win a playoff series.
Still, the Celtics will at least try and avoid being swept when they face Miami on Tuesday, May 23 at the Kaseya Center.