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When it comes to winning championships, the city of Boston knows a thing or two.
So, while the Boston Celtics haven’t raised a championship banner since 2008, the other teams in the city have been holding things down, but now, the Celtics are primed to make a deep run and potentially end a 15-year drought.
When speaking to ESPN’s Stephen A Smith on a recent episode of First Take, former Celtics guard Rajon Rondo issued a reminder that anything less than a championship won’t cut it.
“It’s called Title Town. Bean Town,” Rondo said. “They expect to win. It’s been a very long time since their hoisted that trophy. So, going back to the Finals last year, and (not) getting it done that’s not gonna work. We don’t hang Eastern Conference banners in Boston.”
The Celtics will begin their playoff run on Saturday, April 15, and will find out who their opponent will be on Tuesday, April 11, when the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks go head-to-head in the play-in tournament.
Celtics Warned Against Living By The Three
In an April 11 article, Bleacher Reports, Mo Dakhil shared his thoughts on what could be a limiting factor for the Celtics in the playoffs, pinpointing their over-use of the three-point shot as a potential risk factor.
“Being a heavy three-point shooting team means the Celtics do not take a lot of two-point field goals. Boston is 29th in two-point field goal attempts,” Dakhil wrote. “Even more troublesome, the Celtics do not take a lot of shots at the rim. According to Cleaning the Glass, they are 25th in attempts at the rim. Averaging so many more threes than twos makes the team easier to defend. If multiple Celtics hit a cold streak from deep, that could spell doom for Boston’s hopes of getting to the Finals again.”
The Celtics boast a significant amount of slashing talent on their roster and should have no problem pressuring the rim more frequently throughout the post-season, should Joe Mazzulla be willing to alter his current approach.
Joe Mazzulla Looking Forward to The Playoffs
On April 9, Heavy on Sports’ Steve Bulpett caught up with Mazzulla shortly after the Celtics defeated the Hawks in their final game of the season. During their conversation, Mazzulla touched upon his mindset heading into his first playoff run as a head coach.
“Listen, you can’t run away from the fact that the playoffs have a different consequence,” Mazzulla said. “But the bigger things are, the more simple they are. So my goals are to do the same things I’ve done all season — rely on my staff, rely on the players and rely on the experience that I’ve had, because I’ve worked for great people.”