As the clock went down to zero on the closeout game for the Boston Celtics, excitement was dulled by the reality that Boston had reached the Eastern Conference finals 3 years in a row. If struggling to beat a depleted Cavaliers team with Donovan Mitchell not even on the court wasn’t enough, the announcers after the game went straight into the fact that the Celtics were once again on their way to the Finals.
Three years ago the young Celtics saw their dream of hoisting another banner go down to Golden State Warriors and just this past year the Celtics saw themselves lose to a Heat team that on paper should have been an easy series win for the Celtics. The #1 seed in the east has to face either a Dallas Mavericks team, Minnesota Timberwolves team or the defending champion Denver Nuggets. Even if they get to the Finals, there won’t be celebrations for the Celtics. To not be the Eastern Conference Finals Celtics, they have to win a championship with this group or start taking a hard look at if they need to blow the team up and start over.