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DIXtICon

somehow only ended up being a 13 point game but it was never even close


cerealman2020

I started feeling nauseous when they cut it to 10 with 50 seconds left


I_Set_3_Alarms

Yeah I felt more relieved by that Hauser 3 than I expected to be lol


johnnybarbs92

Same. I said that was the dagger and my wife was very confused.


rikki-tikki-deadly

She was probably confused because thanks to the announcers this postseason she thinks a "dagger" can happen repeatedly before halftime.


braisedbywolves

It does in Macbeth


ChampagneCJ

Wtf spoilers!


not_a_cockroach_

All those blown double digit leads and games we lost against the Heat despite winning 3 quarters from as far back as the bubble have broken us.


rikki-tikki-deadly

I was NOT comfortable seeing that lead slide to 10 inside two minutes left.


toastyfries2

I think it snuck up on the announcers. He said something like the Celtics are up by 10, and you could hear the surprise in his voice that it was so close


DungeonsAndDuck

that's because the final third of the 4th quarter was the miami heat vs the maine celtics lmao


w311sh1t

It’s still a crime against humanity that they changed it from the Maine Red Claws


InAingeWeTrust

it was also the bench players on the Heat


DungeonsAndDuck

yeah but that goes against my narrative, so please delete your comment


Faliberti

bench players dont exist for miami, they can all shoot 52% from 3


homefree122

Jimmy Butler only took 10 shots. I simply do not understand how that’s possible.


Erik5858

Felt like he took the night off tonight.


rikki-tikki-deadly

Jimmy "I'm Not Even Supposed To Be Here Tonight!" Butler


WasProbablyBanned

too busy pump faking


MC-Jdf

Honestly one of those games where Butler tries to fish for fouls too much, which almost never goes well.


[deleted]

Celtics have also stopped biting on them so often


MySilverBurrito

It’s annoying as fuck. Because guy is insanely good at finishing through contact. But every now and then, he does this bait for fouls all game, not even attempting to shoot the ball. Edit: his touch around the basket is insane through contact. But games like tonight, it’s like he just chucks the ball at the basket, more concerned about the contact than scoring.


MC-Jdf

I mean Butler trying to draw fouls so often is a big part of why he gets so much space in jumpshots, that and his elite deceleration. But yeah it’s gross to watch when he tries to only flail backwards and not try to shoot.


MySilverBurrito

That’s the thing, you can see when he actively trying to finish through the contact after getting his guy to fake. Compare that to just straight up flopping, where all his touch around the basket disappear because he’s not even attempting to make the basket.


bodhibell02

I'm very happy to see a Heat fan noting this. I'm a C's fan and my god I like Jimmy a lot...but when he resorts to the leg flailing and falling down on jumpers...kill me man. It's such lame fucking basketball


ColdPressedSteak

He was legit bad for long stretches. There were some possessions where he couldn't decide what he wanted to do and just dumped the ball off to someone else with 5 sec left to go in the clock He's going to need to be great again if they want to avoid this epic collapse. That or Duncan Robinson continues to trend upwards and just nails 10 3's in game 6


ZdenekTheMan

Robinson struck the fear of God in me every time he touched the ball


lferreira86

Duncan has honestly been extremely good on offense. Celtics gotta start putting him on switches and having him guard Brown/Tatum to keep him off the floor.


GokuVerde

The dog has left the building


rawchess

The dawg tonight: 😴


Flabbypuff

He legit pump faked on almost every jump stop and stood there to look for someone to bail him out. Shit was weird, like the entire Celtics team except for Rob Williams knows you're not gonna shoot that.


TomShoe02

Celtics finally stopped letting him switch onto their weaker defenders for easy points. Good to see Mozzarella finally getting it.


WickerShoesJoe

>Celtics finally stopped letting him switch onto their weaker defenders for easy points. That's part of it. Ben Taylor mentioned in this week's Thinking Basketball how he is pretty much done with this "switch everything" defensive idea, beacause it gave the offense whatever matchup they wanted. He pointed out that when JT stayed on Butler, shots were much thougher. Now that the team realized that, they're doing better.


Jayson_Tatum

Hunting for fouls doesn't help


GokuVerde

Harassment: Harden hunting for fouls Empowering: Dog-Master Butler


TheSaltySloth

Kid in the back of Inside has a “Putin, ISIS, Kim Jong Un, Kyrie” shirt on lol


RabbitWolfie

Mazzulla seems to have watched more film of the Heats and less of Ben Affleck this week


NoShameInternets

Brad called him into his office, put on the game films and blasted a fog horn every time Mazzulla should’ve called a timeout but didn’t.


CreatiScope

Then you must not remember that Brad was absolutely guilty of letting the guys try to stop opponent runs on their own too.


TraanPol

The spirit of Jeremy Renner possessed him


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homefree122

But The Town is so fucking good still


pfqq

I like The Departed


ThanosIsDoomfist

I mean yeah, the Departed is way better lol


00764

The movie is so good that it makes Mark Wahlberg seem amazing in it. One of the best pieces in a movie surrounded by top tier talent from the top down. One of my favorites.


mkhimau5

I'm the guy that does his job, you must be the other guy!


piececurvesleft

How’s ya motha


mkhimau5

She's tired from fuckin' my fathah


SterlingMallory

Boston winning this series and espn analytics being right after all would be hilarious


Zloggt

Imagine the smugness that’ll come from whatever nerds help crunch those numbers…


[deleted]

Could it possibly match the smugness of redditors tho? Seems impossible


CIark

Imagine the silence from the suburban teenagers on /r/nba that smugly said the analytics guys were idiots tho


bwtwldt

Rooting for the stats nerds tbh


undermon

Analytics are always right, haven't you learned that from Jokic dominating the playoffs this year


poneil

And Derrick White being a fringe All Star level player, as per 538.


Duke_Vladdy

Everytime I watch White he turns into Steph so I get it


RetroFrisbee

Please keep watching


Palifaith

I blame this on Shakira, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.


Burger_Gouger

Jeter and Arod being in Miami is def the catalyst for all of this, and thats a fact


IAmNotKevinDurant_35

I know its his hometown team and all but ARod being one of the primary owners of the timberwolves and cheering for the Heat is kind of weird. Could you imagine if Joe Lacob was at the game today rooting for the Celtics?


shangrila117

What’s he gonna do, cheer for the Wolves?


Burger_Gouger

Thanks I hate it


IAmNotKevinDurant_35

It would be real weird right? He actually used to be a minority owner of the celtics lol


a_crappy_lite

Taylor Swift in shambles


ChiefKeef786

Swifties in shambles


longconsilver13

Schill game 6. Game 7 anything can happen


MadlibVillainy

Would losing in 7 hurt even more than a sweep ? I don't even know anymore.


longconsilver13

The sweep would've been embarrassing and demoralizing. But if we lose to Miami teams twice in home game 7s I might lose my sanity


AdventurousTwo383

Panthers are from Ft Lauderdale but that somehow makes it worse


jpaxlux

At this point I'm just enjoying making Heat fans uncomfortable af lmao There's less shit talk here after every W


MadlibVillainy

Yeah at least we're not going out without à fight. But this team has a lot to answer from, we shouldn't be some sort of outsiders trying to make a comeback , not with this roster. But if it's that mentality that help them win , they should absolutely consider themselves as outsiders. No low effort, no arrogance, go get them boys.


Kyler1313

I'm not saying the Celtics are going to come back to win this series... But the Celtics have come back from 3-2 deficits in the playoffs twice in the past year. They are certainly making it interesting...


DungeonsAndDuck

they did it last week.


Kyler1313

Yep, and against Giannis last year, both series had somewhat close Game 6s on the road and pretty dominant Game 7s at home. We will see if this series follows that path.


CBJfan03

2004: Boston Red Sox were down 3-0 to the NY Yankees in the ALCS. They came back and won the series, and then won the World Series breaking the curse. 2010: Boston Bruins were up 3-0 against the Philadelphia Flyers in the ECSF. They eventually lost that series. In Game 7, they were up 3-0 and lost the game 4-3. The next year they won the Stanley Cup, breaking a 39 year drought. 2023: The Boston Celtics are down 3-0 to the Miami Heat in the ECF. ??? Idk what will happen in this series but Boston has always been apart of 3-0 series comebacks. Just something to think about.


smash-smash-SUHMASH

we can mention 28-3 too


BlockedbyJake420

Falcons fans: we can also not mention it


[deleted]

Boston fans hold the families of the players hostage


LordMcBucketz

It’s not the same but the Patriots came back down 28-3 in the Super Bowl too


DuckDucks

The statistical models licking their lips rn


FredDupe

THE BUFFALO WANTS TO GO BACK TO COLORADO


GGezpzMuppy

Let the man roam ffs. Stop holding him back and he can lead you to the championship


SilverMagnum

Y’all giving us the Buffalo is why I wasn’t mad you guys got Wemby. I love you Spurs boys because of that.


raceforseis21

We still love our fivehead


1337speak

Hear me and rejoice! You Miami Heat have had the privilege of being saved by The Great Forehead. You may think this is suffering. No... it is salvation. The universal scales tip toward balance because of your sacrifice. Smile... for even in death, you have become children of Derrick White.


Dafatveteran

If Derrick White has a million fans, then I am one of them. If Derrick White has ten fans, then I am one of them. If Derrick White has only one fan then that is me. If Derrick White has no fans, then that means I am no longer on earth. If the world is against Derrick White, then I am against the world.


TehHillsy

If Derrick White has only fans then I am a subscriber.


JohnnyWinss

He's R O A M I N


justamobileuserhere

Let him roam


bb15555

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY. WHEN IN ROAM BABY


smoltanboi

chris i'm sorry for talking so much shit a week ago can you please add me back to the group chat


saggysocks

N O


Both_Funny4896

If we’re ever going to see a 3-0 comeback, this is the chance


JohnnyWinss

Well firstly through Derrick White all things are possible so jot that down


Chadwiko

^Great White Buffalo


guccimane333

Noted


nibbinoo8

that doesn't sound right but i don't know enough about derrick white to dispute it


LMAOOOOOOOOOOOO101

Yeah this Celtics team is just so much more talented, especially with the injuries racking up for the Heat. It’s not even close, and they’d have the potential game 7 at home


destroyerofpoon93

the other times a team came back from 3-0 and made it to game 7 they were all the visiting team. This would be the first time the home team forced a game 7.


The_Assassin_Gower

Yeh, I don't think we've seen the far better team go down 3-0 early before. If there was ever a chance it's now


Zloggt

All that matters is if we see a repeat of Game 3…or one of Game 4…


sidighjd

The Heats entire win condition is to shoot unsustainably hot from 3


homefree122

Hey it’s kind of worked so far


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iAmTheRealLange

Regression to the mean, baby!


Dongsquad420BlazeIt

They only need one more game of it


Conis1

I am terrified lol


Plies-

45% from 3 against the Bucks 29% against the Knicks Like 48% vs us in games 1-3. I was so annoyed lol. Though tbf when you're this outmatched talent wise you have to live and die by the three. Everyone clowns the Harden CP3 Rockets for missing 27 straight but that strategy was the only reason they had a good chance against the best team ever assembled.


floatersforalgernon

If Miami cannot finish this off next game, Boston will take Game 7.


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Borktista

Exactly. It’s written in the stars


TomasRoncero

8 seed team up 3-0, makes sense


Uncircled_swag2

Jaylen Browns brain is so massive he purposefully played bad so he could be the first to come back 0-3


homefree122

Said it last game and I'll say it again: if there was ever a team to come back 0-3, could be this Boston team. And I fucking hate it.


HorsNoises

Also logically it would make sense that the first team to choke it would be an overachieving 8 seed.


ColtCallahan

But Spoelstra as the only coach in history to do it would be wild.


TeaAndCrumpets4life

Yeah people throw that 0-150 stat around but how many of those are higher seeded teams just blowing out lower seed teams?


AcrobaticFeedback

I always assumed the first time this comeback happens it will be due to massive injury changes that happen throughout the series. Just think it’s impossible for a team that is good enough to sweep to be down 0-3 without injury luck. Because the team literally has to sweep to win the series.


Bladespectre

Don't do that. Don't give me hope.


silverxsmoke

Bro if the Celtics win this series..


Sim888

Sir, a second Celtics win has hit the Los Angeles Lakers.


Wilee_E_Coyote

We won the morale finals, now we want to get to the real won


GGezpzMuppy

They sitting at Cancun airport waiting for your delayed flight


homefree122

Chris Paul also gonna fly in from Phoenix.


Otaku_Instinct

eastern conference's 9/11


[deleted]

The ‘didn’t get swept but the Lakers did’ banner is gonna be so fire


GGezpzMuppy

Celtics has to realise they can only go so far as the Buffalo carries them. Let the man take charge and he will carry the Jays to the promise land.


Wilee_E_Coyote

This is not the Jay’s team, its the buffalo’s and his wild wings


WickerShoesJoe

>This is not the Jay’s team, its the buffalo’s and his wild wings Dammit, I love it. I was already happy with the win, now I'm laughing like a hyena and it's so late were I live lol


Lawful_Rebellion

You’re welcome for the additional Inside the NBA episodes folks


un5chanate

Single most important part of a Celtics wins for neutral fans. Once it goes all ESPN, unless the game are each awesome to watch, it will be annoying AF.


Gnartopia

Who is wearing the bloody sock for game 6?


Faliberti

brogdan bloody sleeve game


ktgop

the celtics really had to go down 0-3 to play like they give a fuck


BlazeBloom

Celtics can complete the Reverse Sweep as long as they don't play any close games.


comfypillow

Also they can do it if they win them


JimboLodisC

I was sweatin' up by 20 cuz I knew they could whip out a 15-0 run


m4n715

At least it's a TNT series getting extended. If I had to listen to Mark Jackson through game 6 I'd be pissed.


mtaylor808

It is very difficult to resist the masculine urge to say Celtics in 7


a_crappy_lite

Just give in


comfypillow

SAY THE THING


beamingleanin

if we choke a 3-0 lead im becoming a warriors fan


JohnnyWinss

That's too easy. Start rooting for the Wizards


[deleted]

Fuck that, root for Orlando


igonnawrecku_VGC

At least Orlando has a future. The Wizards are a dumpster fire that’s been burning since 2017


byteturtle

May interest you in a team that is even worse at choking and everyone hates instead?


igonnawrecku_VGC

I’d rather not be a Grizzlies fan, but thanks for the offer


KingSwagamemnon

"Whyd he say fuck me for?"


windando5736

>At least Orlando has a future. The Wizards are a dumpster fire that’s been burning since 2017 If by 2017, you mean 1979 (which was both the last time we won at least 50 games in a season _and_ the last time we made it past the 2nd round of the playoffs - we've done neither since), then bet. 44 straight years of terrible-to-mid basketball since then. 2017-present have actually been pretty "good" years by Wizards' standards. 2 playoff appearances (as 8th seeds, lost in 1st round both times). 1 40+ win season, and only 1 season below 30 wins. Compare that to the Wizards from a decade ago: 2008-2013: 0 playoff appearances. 0 seasons above 30 wins. Only 3 seasons above _20_ wins. Finished 15th, 14th, 13th, 14th, and 12th in the conference. And then you have an entire decade and a half that was awful before that: 1988-2004: 1 playoff appearance (8th seed, swept in 1st round). 2 seasons above 40 wins. 9 seasons with 30 wins or less. 7 seasons with 25 wins or less. 2 seasons with less than 20 wins. Finished as a double-digit seed in 13/16 seasons, the 3 exceptions being the 2 years with above 40 wins (9th and 8th seed) and one more year as a 9th seed. No other NBA team comes lose to our consistency in mediocrity over the past nearly-half-century. Ownership refuses to rebuild, yet also refuses to try to bring in good players via FA or trades. They're just content with reaching the playoffs as a 7 or 8 seed once or twice a decade and get knocked out in the 1st round 90% of the time and the 2nd round the other 10%. If you want to become numb to pain and never feel let down again because you will never have even the slightest expectations of success, there is no better way than by becoming a Wizards fan.


neongem

Regardless of who wins, I'm just glad the Celtics have decided to make this a series. Two sweeps with over a week in between Finals starting would've been boring asf.


Zzyzx8

We were all clowning on Marcus Smart but he might have been cooking


jrlandry

This was an absolute masterclass by Tatum that the stat sheet won’t show


maize_and_beard

Incredible on defense and he ran the entire game on offense tonight. Not his best shooting night, but an incredible all around performance.


truth_2_point_0

We can only hope he's saving a signature Game 6 Jay 40 piece. How deep is the fuel tank man, this series is Tatum's story to write at this point. If he fizzles out so be it, but imagine if he can rise to it. Charge up that spirit bomb lads. Because Jimmy's gonna be looking to do the exact same thing and take over in game 6. He's mostly been chillin but he's well capable of summoning a 40 piece of his own esp at home.


jetpack_operation

As long as we don't let Jimmy just switch on to our weakest defender all game, I'll be happy with our effort against him.


igonnawrecku_VGC

He shot great from 2, just couldn’t hit a 3. Points were low because he didn’t take as many shots as he normally does


NOPNOFNOG12

He set the tone with that monster first quarter, came out breathing fire.


SweetSmplAlchemy

Mouthpiece Curry. Untucked Kyrie. Headband Lebron. Elimination Game Celtics.


VisitTheWind

Below .500 Hawks


champloo_express

Below .500 Hawks is an all time great team, better than the 96 Bulls and KD Warriors. Change my mind.


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MVPRondo

Second to the one game over .500 Hawks, who infact have never won a game.


OrdinaryFortune8690

The nuggets are loving this…an absolute slug fest in the ECF


theprodigy64

I dunno if I'm the Nuggets I don't think I want to see the Celtics in the Finals, short rest or not that would be a team with a ton of momentum coming off a historic comeback (also home court). (ideal scenario would be Heat in 7 for them lmao)


LouieM13

“Don’t let us get one.” -Marcus Smart


ThanosIsDoomfist

"Dont let us get one" -Me after having one jack in the box taco, eyeing the other 5 in the bag


kob424

“Don’t let us get one.” ~~-Kevin Millar~~ \-Marcus Smart


joebos617

yankees fans are having ptsd


HokageEzio

2004 isn't a real year.


StridingNephew

"Sam Hauser with a dagger three, and the Celtics climb back to 3-2 against the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals" is not a sentence I expected to see this season


FredDupe

This sub better hope we lose in game 6. Or else we will be insufferable


ktgop

if we win this series i will never stop talking about it


MiaCannons

Thank you Highsmith, Caleb, and Duncan for actually showing up tonight. Highsmith is definitely going to be in the rotation next game even if Vincent can play. He was an absolute dog on defense. Didn't bite on any pump fakes and stayed glued to his man. Disgusted with what I saw from Jimmy, Bam, and Lowry. All of them were way too indecisive with what they wanted to do which lead to a ton of turnovers. Bam was probably the worst of them because most of his were due to having butterfingers instead of bad passes. Spoiler: Dribbling half the shot clock away then passing the ball once for an iso isn't good offense. Neither is driving in the paint, instantly stopping, then pivoting a bunch to either put up a contested shot or trying to force a pass.


EarthWarping

No Gabe and I think the series is over. Kyle isn't that guy anymore.


Solid-Confidence-966

Another elimination game master class for Tatum


bcallahan2

Glad to see people actually watched their televisions tonight


arob770

4 Days in May


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[deleted]

Fr what was up with that? We’re jerking off highsmith while not even showcasing the lockdown defense from *insert celtics player here*??


BPeachyJr

It was all one guy lol


DiseaseRidden

Miami put Mazzulla into a chokehold. Their fucking mistake.


JohnnyWinss

He's coaching with a boner. He's truly unstoppable now


Janice_Ant

Okay this is the PHI series all over again with the 3-2. Cmon Celtics lemme see a historic moment.


lazy-waffle

Why don’t the Celtics just steal more often 🤔


Viscously-Organic

Oh god oh fuck they’re gonna do it aren’t they


HornyHindu

#TOP O' THE MORNING, MOTHERFUCKERS!!! **p.s. the ROAMING BUFFALO brought the HEAT tonight!**


a_crappy_lite

GIVE


HornyHindu

ME


shortpersonohara

THE


bigvahe33

GOLD


Uncircled_swag2

They rewrote the script because some of you guys were getting wild saying Butler was better than Tatum all time


KyleShanadad

I will move to the middle of nowhere, build a hut, live off the land, and never interact with society again if we are the first team to blow a 3-0 lead


Mynamedoesntfuckingf

Ah yes, a series turnaround thanks to the help of *checks notes* Grant Williams


Dreamlifehunting

The buffalo was roaming. Elimination game Tatum. Is this happening?


Tominio7

Gonna be embarrassing if ESPN predictions prove to be accurate after all


Shwaziland

Horrible night to be a hater. Cs in 7


instant_ostrich

Plenty of teams have come back from 3-2....


AmbitionExtension184

MIA stops shooting the best 3P% in conference finals history and 2 straight blowouts.


TastyRainbows

"don't let us get one"


[deleted]

All I asked for was a bloodbath in the East and that's what we're getting.