SUMMARY
- Jayson Tatum led the Celtics to a 4-1 series win against the Cavaliers to advance into the ECF once again.
- Al Horford had a massive night recording a stat line that hasn't been recorded before.
Once again, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics have advanced into the Eastern Conference Finals after going 4-1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round. The first half of Game 5 witnessed a series of lead exchanges but the Celtics eventually created some space in the third quarter and put the Cavaliers on clamps in the fourth. Boston closed out the series 113-98 and they expected to come out of the East for the title.
ECF HERE WE COME 😤#DifferentHere pic.twitter.com/3yCfCG69AE
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 16, 2024
Each player on the Celtics’ team managed to make efforts to produce winning numbers. Jayson made efforts on both sides of the floor finishing with 25 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, and 4 steals. Jaylen Brown had only 11 points but tried his hand on defense as well. Derrick White and Jrue Holiday combined for 31 points.
Jayson Tatum highlights the key behind the Celtics’ elite defense
Following the game, Jayson Tatum joined the Inside the NBA crew featuring Draymond Green on the panel. Green, who beat the Celtics during the 2022 NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors asked Tatum what the Celtics plan on adjusting for the ECF. Tatum replied by saying, “Defense is a collective effort. We’ve got to be on the same page. And we trust everybody out there, whoever is on the floor. We play team defense and then we always talk about individual defense and your pride.”
He added, “So we trust everybody even Al [Horford], especially Al. Whoever is on the island to take that pride in knowing you got four guys behind you helping.” Al Horford was the Celtics’ standout performer finishing with 22 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, and a steal shooting 6-13 from deep. Being the oldest player left in the playoffs, this stat line is the first of its kind.
Draymond Green says it’s not a victory for the Celtics if they don’t win the championship
This is the third time in a row that the Celtics have made the Eastern Conference Finals, and the sixth time in eight years that they’ve come this far into the playoffs. However, Green believes that the Celtics have to somehow win a title this year. He said, “Kenny said they’re the winningest duo over the last five years of basketball. And that’s true [but] no one cares. Because they’re at that point where you need to win a championship. Getting to the conference finals every year don’t matter anymore.”
He continued to elaborate on his stance by saying, “How do you know that they’re at that point? Because that’s actually affecting Jayson Tatum’s MVP voting in the last couple of years. Because no one wants to see you win every year in the regular season, get to the conference finals, and then not finish the job.” The Celtics haven’t won a championship since 2008 during the Big 3 era featuring Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Winning a title would have helped them break the tie for most championships won by an organization in NBA history.