With regrets, because of these time-outs kept by Joe Mazzulla, or with encouragement since they pushed the Sixers into overtime. How did the Celtics swallow this Game 4 loss in Philadelphia? Al Horford doesn’t hesitate when it comes to responding. The interior clearly chooses the second option.
“I know that everyone is affected because we lost”, does he start. “I’m quite encouraged by our group. I saw something, progression in this group. There are things we haven’t been able to do this season but there, in this context, we were able to do them. I am enthusiastic about our team. »
It was the fact that the Celtics started the last quarter nine points behind, before taking a five-point lead and being one possession away from victory, at the end of regulation time and then in overtime, that justifies the serenity displayed by the former Atlanta player before Game 5.
“Our team was remarkable in the last quarter, in terms of concentration in defense, accepting the challenge, being better”, he continues. “It was quite a comeback. We resisted, we weren’t far away, so it’s encouraging. I am proud of our reaction. »
The Celtics have seen others in recent years
For his part, Marcus Smart remains confident because he and his teammates have already faced complicated situations in recent years. Disappointing experiences with Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving, then with Kemba Walker, going through the two changes of coaches since 2021, or with the defeat in the 2022 Finals against the Warriors.
“Each year has been a lesson for us, which we had to learn and overcome. That’s what we did and we did it together.” relates the best defender of the 2021/2022 season for The Athletic. “Things will be difficult, everything will never be perfect, but that’s how you get better. We must acquire wisdom and learn from our mistakes. So when we face adversity, we know how to do it. »
The playmaker insists in particular on the hard core of the Celtics, which he composes with Al Horford and the duo Jaylen Brown – Jayson Tatum and which has known everything.
“We trust each other, we believe in each other. It’s not just a job, it’s not just my colleagues, it’s brothers,” he explains. “I spend a lot of time with them, more than with my family. You have to have a strong connection and we’ve been doing that for a long time. Each year has brought us something different, obstacles, challenges to overcome and each year we have succeeded. We have that experience. »
Even in these playoffs, the 2022 finalists have already been pushed around. In the first round against the Hawks for example, with this surprise defeat at home in Game 5, or the reverse in the first round of this conference semi-final against Philadelphia. The Celtics have rebounded well each time.
“Deep down, we love each other”, continues Marcus Smart. “We will fight, we will have disagreements but, at the end of the day, we are here for one thing: to win the title. We’re going to need everyone. We can have our tough times, but when you care about someone and that person cares about you too, then it falls by the wayside and we can handle it all. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Jayson Tatum | 74 | 36.9 | 46.6 | 35.0 | 85.4 | 1.1 | 7.7 | 8.8 | 4.6 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 30.1 |
| Jaylen Brown | 67 | 35.9 | 49.1 | 33.5 | 76.5 | 1.2 | 5.7 | 6.9 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 26.6 |
| Malcolm Brogdon | 67 | 26.0 | 48.4 | 44.4 | 87.0 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 14.9 |
| Derrick White | 82 | 28.3 | 46.2 | 38.1 | 87.5 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 12.4 |
| Marcus Smart | 61 | 32.1 | 41.5 | 33.6 | 74.6 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 6.3 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 11.5 |
| Al Horford | 63 | 30.5 | 47.6 | 44.6 | 71.4 | 1.2 | 5.0 | 6.2 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 9.8 |
| Grant Williams | 79 | 25.9 | 45.4 | 39.5 | 77.0 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 8.1 |
| Robert Williams | 35 | 23.5 | 74.7 | 0.0 | 61.0 | 3.0 | 5.4 | 8.3 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 8.0 |
| Sam Hauser | 80 | 16.1 | 45.5 | 41.8 | 70.6 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 6.4 |
| Mike Muscala | 20 | 16.2 | 47.2 | 38.5 | 69.2 | 0.7 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 5.9 |
| Payton Pritchard | 48 | 13.4 | 41.2 | 36.4 | 75.0 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 5.6 |
| Blake Griffin | 41 | 13.9 | 48.5 | 34.8 | 65.6 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 4.1 |
| Luke Kornet | 69 | 11.7 | 66.5 | 23.1 | 82.1 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 3.8 |
| Justin Champagnie | 2 | 11.7 | 16.7 | 20.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 2.5 |
| Jd Davison | 12 | 5.5 | 42.1 | 28.6 | 50.0 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 1.6 |
| Mfiondu Kabengele | 4 | 9.1 | 28.6 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 1.5 |
| noah vonleh | 23 | 7.4 | 45.8 | 25.0 | 100.0 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 1.1 |
| justin jackson | 23 | 4.7 | 25.9 | 25.0 | 50.0 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.9 |
