The Celtics have more to worry than celebrate about following their…
Following their uneven Game 4 victory over the Cavaliers, the Celtics have more reasons to be concerned than to celebrate.
Without Donovan Mitchell (calf) and Jarrett Allen (rib), probably Cleveland’s two greatest players, the Cavaliers went head-to-head with the Celtics, who won 109-102.
This was a game that the Celtics should have laughed off, just as the Pacers did in Game 4 of their best-of-seven series with the injured Knicks on Sunday. Instead, Boston allowed Cleveland to stay in the game and perhaps pull off the upset later
Boston was outscored 24-21 in the fourth quarter as its offense faltered, which has been a feature rather than a bug all season.
The Celtics were second in scoring (120.6 points per game) during the regular season, but just 14th in the fourth quarter (27.8 points per game), according to StatMuse.
The offense devolved into studs Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown bailing the team out with late-game shot attempts, which did not bode well for the team’s title hopes.
Tatum and Brown should have enough to defeat the Cavaliers, but a one-legged Knicks team or an inexperienced Pacers squad awaits in a potential Eastern Conference Finals clash.
