For a good part of this NBA season, many thought the Boston Celtics were the favorites to win the world championship.
They had a 57-25 record, which was one win shy of the league’s best record, and they were second in both offensive and defensive rating.
After the Celtics had lost in last season’s NBA Finals, many thought they would be on a mission to claim their 18th title this year.
But now they trail the Eastern Conference Finals, 3-0, to the Miami Heat after losing the first two games at home, then getting blown out in Game 3 on Sunday.
Reserve guard Malcolm Brogdon said the team has had trouble maintaining an identity throughout the season.
Malcolm Brogdon says Boston’s identity has “waned all season long.” He said playing a team as consistent as Miami has caused the Celtics real issues.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) May 22, 2023
It’s axiomatic in all sports that if a team doesn’t have an identity, it will not win anything of consequence.
Last season, when Boston came within two wins of winning it all, they seemed to have a solid identity.
They won with defense (they were first in defensive rating last season), slowed down the pace and kept scores low, and it was a consistent style and identity that they stuck to.
Another concern this time around is the alarming lack of fight for the Celtics.
They fell behind by a sizable margin in Game 3 at halftime, but they dug themselves an ever deeper hole afterward, trailing by as many as 33 points at one time.
Many felt the Celtics had simply quit.
Celtics teams in past decades that were title contenders — from the Bill Russell era to the “Big Four” era of the late 2000s — would’ve fought hard to the bitter end in this type of situation, and it’s a quality this year’s iteration simply lacks.
