Green hits back at critics who say the Celtics had an easy path to the NBA Finals originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics are heading to the NBA Finals for the second time in three years, but critics continue to find ways to diminish the team’s performance.
The most common criticism of the Celtics’ run to the finals is that their competition in the Eastern Conference was weak.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Celtics faced the Miami Heat, number 8, who were without Jimmy Butler. After splitting the first two games, the Celtics found their rhythm and won the next three by a combined 68 points. The C’s defense has shut down the Heat in the last three games, keeping them under 90 points each time.
The trend continued in the next round, where the Celtics faced the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. This time, the Cavaliers were without Jarrett Allen for the entire series and their point guard Donovan Mitchell for the final two games. Once again splitting the first two games of the series, the Celtics adjusted and won the next three games in a row to close out the series at five games.
Advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics were prepared to face a fully healthy Indiana Pacers team. Unfortunately, Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton injured his hamstring again in game 2leaving him sidelined for the rest of the series. The Celtics showed great poise in the series, coming back from big deficits in the last two games to earn a sweep.
What does all this show? Opponents aside, the Celtics continually found ways to adjust as the series progressed – they tightened up defensively against the Heat, put more emphasis on rebounding against the Cavaliers and proved they can play through adversity against the Pacers.
To complete, they did it without the starting center Kristaps Porzingis, with 37-year-old Al Horford as the main paint protector.
Often seen as a villain in the NBA, Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green spoke to Boston critics during a recent episode of his podcast, The Draymond Green show.
“The Celtics go into the Finals with just two losses and everyone says ‘their path isn’t hard enough,'” Green said. “To be honest, I never thought the East would be that difficult, but I also made it to the NBA Finals and didn’t lose a game along the way, and no one would say our path wasn’t difficult enough. , so don’t give me the impression that the Boston Celtics’ path isn’t hard enough.”
Green and the Golden State Warriors nearly won the entire 2017 playoffs. After beating their opponents in the first three rounds, the Warriors lost one game in the Finals, still closing in just five games. No matter the opponent, Green knows how difficult it is to achieve what the Celtics have done throughout these playoffs.
“[Critics say] they’re not battle-tested and all that,” Green added. “If they get to the NBA Finals and win or lose, it won’t be because they haven’t been battle tested, let me tell you something. You don’t get to the NBA Finals and at some point during the year you’re not battle-tested — that doesn’t happen, it won’t happen, it won’t happen this time.”
The Celtics dominated throughout the regular season, finishing 14 games ahead of the second-place New York Knicks. No team has come close to the Celtics in terms of regular season dominance, and they can’t control who they play in the playoffs.
“Congratulate them on the race,” Green said. “Whoever you put in front of them, they defeated. They let some games slip that I really don’t think they should have let slip – yet they are in the NBA Finals with two losses. “
The Celtics will try to have the last laugh on their critics when the Finals begin on June 6. Boston will face the winner of the Minnesota Timberwolves-Dallas Mavericks series, with Dallas currently holding a 3-1 lead.
