Well, we’re now several days removed from the end of the Boston Celtics season, and I think I’m finally ready to talk about it.
First thoughts: It definitely still stings. I wish I was still watching my guys play basketball.
If we are solely looking at the result of Boston’s series against the Philadelphia 76ers, it’s hard to look at it as anything but a disappointment. Dropping three straight games, including two at home? On top of that, the Celtics have lost to three of their biggest rivals in all
three of their playoff exits over the past four years – the Miami Heat in 2023, the New York Knicks in 2025, and Philly here in 2026.
The 2024 championship is doing a lot of heavy lifting for my mental health right about now. Without that ring, these pills would be a lot tougher to swallow. It’s not all bad, though. Let me take you on a journey through my mind, a ride on a rollercoaster of emotions that was the Celtics first round series against the Sixers.
The ride starts before Boston even played their first regular season. (Don’t worry, it speeds up pretty quickly from here.)
Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, Neemias Queta, Anfernee Simons, Chris Boucher, Josh Minott, Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, Luka Garza, Xavier Tillman, Ron Harper Jr., Amari Williams, and Max Shulga. This was the Celtics active roster coming into the season, along with Jayson Tatum, who we weren’t entirely sure would return this year from his Achilles injury.
Looking at that roster, I expected Boston’s ceiling to be a Play-In tournament berth at best. The first six players on that list were certainly experienced, but I did not see the assembly of talent as one that could compete with the other playoff-caliber teams in the East, let alone across the league. Beneath them was three rookies, five players who never held a meaningful role on an NBA roster, and Xavier Tillman, who seemed to be falling behind after knee issues flared up over his last two seasons in the NBA.
Never could I have imagined that this roster would finish with 56 wins and the second-best record in the East. The sheer amount of fight and passion that these guys showed for 82 games was such a pleasure to watch. Walsh, Hugo, Baylor, Luka, Neemi, Ron – heck, even Anfernee and Minott – these guys made me fall in love with Celtics basketball all over again this year.
There were so many moments of pure joy, thinking a scrappy win against a top team was the best win of the season, only to be topped by another one just a couple nights later. Even through his down shooting year, Derrick was making incredible game-winning plays left and right. Pritchard gave us several amazing performances himself, along with a bunch more buzzer beaters. And of course, Jaylen put up an MVP-caliber season through so many career-highs, and silenced so many of the narratives surrounding him.
Now, when you fast forward to the last game of the regular season, everyone is healthy. Jayson Tatum is back to playing high-level basketball, and already looks like an All-Star again. The Celtics bench unit goes up against the healthy Orlando Magic who are fighting for seeding, and they squeak out a gutsy win on a heroic game-winning shot from Luka Garza.
What a high that was. Boston felt unbeatable at that time. I could not have been happier with their regular season, and I was preparing for a deep playoff run from them as well.
Given how I was looking at the team before the season, you would think that I couldn’t be disappointed with any result from here on out. Any playoff success could easily have just been a cherry on top. Well, as much as I shouldn’t be, unfortunately, I am disappointed.
Game 1 was a dream. The Celtics won by 32 points on their home floor, and they looked every bit as dominant as I’d hoped they’d be. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown played like the superstars we know they are. Pritchard had a great game off of the bench too. Tatum and Walsh did a fantastic job containing Tyrese Maxey, which was probably my biggest concern coming into the series. It seemed like smooth sailing from there.
Game 2 rolls around, and Boston got off to another fantastic start. With three minutes left in the first quarter, the Celtics were up by 13. I was getting way too ahead of myself in the CelticsBlog group chat talking about “mercy rules” and “dominating Philly.” Oh, how naive I was.
Philly took a timeout at that point, and when they came back from the break, they immediately went on a 10-0 run to flip the game on its head. Boston was still leading, but they were playing on their heels, and I knew I had spoken too soon. It was a tight back-and-forth battle for the rest of the quarter, but the Sixers closed strong, taking an 8-point lead into the half. The game was still well within reach, but I didn’t have a great feeling about it.
The Celtics ended up losing by 14 points at home. Now, Philly had taken home-court advantage in this series. My first disappointment.
But, not entirely unexpected. In 2024, the Celtics dropped the second home game of their first-round series with the Heat and the second round with the Cavs. In 2025, they dropped two home games against the Knicks. It seems that in recent years, home-court advantage hasn’t felt the same for Boston anyways.
I was definitely concerned. Heading into Philly for game 3, I didn’t want to see Boston drop another game; Then I really would have been panicking. I had confidence that the Celtics would bounce back, but the nerves started creeping in.
But then, Boston took care of business on the road, and that too with Embiid returning in game 4. An 8-point victory in game 3 and a 32-point victory in game 4 sent my nerves packing. Little did I know that they booked round-trip tickets.
I was feeling good at the time. The Celtics had a chance to close things out at home now, and they had dominant victories both with Embiid on and off the court. Again, I got cocky. I was talking about how the Celtics have dominated the Sixers since “The Process” began, and how this year would be no different. I even sent the Embiid “they always kick our ***” quote graphic to my basketball group chat with my friends. I think Boston may have fallen into the same false sense of security that I did.
From the tip of game 5, it felt like the Sixers were simply outworking the Celtics. They were playing great defense, and were having a much easier time creating open looks for themselves. The game was close for a while, and the Celtics even held a 13-point lead early in the third quarter, but things just never felt comfortable. And, like in game 1, Philly managed to turn the tides. After Boston took their 13-point lead, the Sixers responded with a 15-3 run to make it a 1-point game.
The Celtics pushed their lead back up to 8 with around two and a half minutes left in the third, but they allowed another 12-5 run to end the quarter, once again cutting it to a 1-point lead heading into the fourth. At that point I had little faith the Celtics to close the game out. They were not nearly as engaged as they needed to be, and they seemed to be lacking a sense of urgency. On top of that, they just weren’t consistently getting high-quality shots, and weren’t converting enough of the ones that they did manage to generate.
Boston only scored 11 points in the fourth quarter. Philly scored 28. A 13-point third quarter lead turned into a 16-point loss. It was devastating.
The Celtics have done this many times over the past several years. They get comfortable, and when they build up leads, it feels like the focus is on protecting it rather than building on it. They stop going on the attack, and start going on the defensive. It makes for a very frustrating watch, and it allows teams that have their backs on the ropes to get back into a game, or even a series.
The Sixers certainly took advantage. Game 6 was one of the most frustrating games I’ve ever watched as a Celtics fan. I was squirming in my seat on the couch, yelling at the TV, and even debating turning it off altogether, all things which rarely happen when I watch sports. I usually pride myself on being more-or-less composed, if not just a little extra chatty. Game 6 took a lot out of me.
The lead tracker gives a glimpse into the devastation.
A pathetic performance after getting embarrassed on your home court. To make matters worse, Jayson Tatum was in clear discomfort starting in the third quarter, grabbing at his calf in the leg which he did not have surgery on. He was stretching it out, hopping on the bike, trying to play through it, but ultimately never got over it.
After Philly took a 23-point lead early in the fourth, Joe pulled the plug on all the starters. Pritchard and the “Stay Ready” group took the floor, and managed to make two big dents in the Sixers lead. They played the Celtics basketball we had seen all regular season long, and they even got some great looks which they weren’t able to convert, but could otherwise have really made the game competitive again.
Those last 10 minutes were the only time I could find any joy or relief in the game, even though we couldn’t pull out a win. I just love watching guys like Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez, Ron Harper Jr., and Luka Garza work their tails off as if they’re fighting for their lives. How could you not?
Still, while they subdued the sour taste in my mouth for a bit, I couldn’t help but come away from the game defeated. I had lost my faith in the Celtics to win the series, another extremely rare feeling for me. I didn’t even feel that way after JT went down in the Knicks series last year.
It just felt like Boston wasn’t ready for the challenge. Our big men could not keep up with Embiid, Derrick was having an abysmal offensive series, and with Mazzulla limiting the bench players’ playing time, it felt like we rarely had guys on the court who were willing to out-fight the Sixers.
The days leading up to game 7 were solemn. I was truly dejected, dreading all of the slander the Celtics would get, the trash that our rivals would be able to talk about us, finally letting Embiid get a win over the Jays, and most of all, the impending early end to an otherwise magical season. I hated all of it.
I can’t entirely explain why, but with maybe an hour left before tip-off something changed for me.
Maybe it had to do with our vets at CelticsBlog, Mike Dynon and Shirley Coshatt. Earlier in the series, Shirley reminded me that the 2008 Celtics went 7 games in the first round as well. We all know how that year went for Boston. Mike also came into the CB group chat talking about “when” the Celtics win, not “if.”
For the first time in the last 48 hours, I no longer had a feeling of dread. Instead, I had a feeling of hope, and excitement. The nerves turned to adrenaline. The Celtics were going to win the game. I let my friends know about my revelation.
Two minutes later, Tatum is ruled out from the game.
And you know what? I doubled down. I will admit that my confidence was shaken, and those feelings of dread peeked their head again, but I stood tall, and I re-committed. The Celtics were going to win the game.
Joe was almost forced to re-insert guys like Hugo, Baylor, and Garza back into the lineup after benching them for much of the series. I felt like we’d finally have some urgency and fight back on the floor. It was a bit of a rock fight to start the game, but the fight was certainly there. Even after falling back 17-6 in the first six minutes, the Celtics stayed in the game.
Jaylen Brown and Derrick White seemed like they were finally ready to take over again. White re-discovered his shot, a sight that could have brought tears to my eyes. JB stumbled a bit, but steadied himself and settled into the game. Even Queta was finally able to stay on the floor for longer than usual, and made a real impact too. The bench guys were hustling up and down the floor, and winning more of the loose balls that fell to the Sixers in previous games.
The score didn’t favor Boston, but my hopes were still well and alive. Every made basket felt electric. The Celtics were finally giving the TD Garden crowd something to cheer about, and were riding their energy too. We were chipping, and chipping, and chipping away at Philly’s will with small plays that had a big impact.
We arrive at the final four minutes of the game. The Sixers hold a 99-98 lead, Boston carrying the momentum. Five straight missed shots between both teams. Several open looks for Boston, and a huge block by JB as well. Two minutes go by, and they weren’t able to break the seal. Maxey decided to take over the game, and gets himself two easy layups to put the Sixers up 5 with just over a minute remaining in the game.
My hopes are on their last legs. It won’t be easy, but a couple of the right plays and Boston can still win this.
Three more missed shots by the Celtics and an intentional foul. Philly goes up 7 with twenty seconds left.
My hopes are dead. Once again, I am devastated.
The dread fills in. Why did we have to lose to Philly? Why couldn’t we take care of business when we were the better team all season long? Why did Tatum have to get hurt and miss game 7? Why didn’t Joe trust the young guys more in the previous 6 games? Why wasn’t Derrick able to get his shot going until the last game? What am I supposed to do with no more Celtics basketball?
My friends rushed to the group chat to throw my words in my face. They almost all hate the Celtics, and were happy to pile on, even when their teams were already eliminated. At least my friends were thinking about me, right?
I think of myself as a pretty positive guy, and I had to try to find it again in that moment. But it was hard. I was happy to see the team go out fighting. I hated seeing the team go out at all. I was happy that we got an amazing regular season. I hated that it didn’t amount to much in the playoffs. I was happy that Tatum returned at all, let alone to a star level. I hated that he couldn’t be out there in the final game.
Even as I’m writing about this today, almost a week removed from the loss, I have so many conflicting feelings in my head and my heart. Maybe some of it is what NBA Twitter would call “cope.” Maybe some of it is having too much free time on my hands while being a chronic over-thinker. Probably a big part of it is seeing all of the rumors, narratives, etc. that fans and sports media alike have rushed to fill my timeline with.
It’s incredibly frustrating when people start to tear apart a team you love like a member of your family, watch over 82 games of, and spend over 200 hours with each season. Outside of the people in my life, I don’t think I have a greater love than basketball. I bleed green. I am a Boston Celtics fan until the day I die.
At this point, I’ve managed to forgive them for the disappointing end, and love them for all the exciting steps along the way. Now I just have to power through an offseason of hot takes, trade ideas, and probably a whole lot of online negativity.
But I’m excited for the future. I still love this roster. As much as I understand that we can’t just run it back and expect to win next year, it’s gonna hurt me to see any of these guys not with us anymore (except for maybe one or two of the late additions.)
There’s going to be a lot of blame going on, and I’m sure Brad Stevens will find ways to hold the team accountable, but as a fan, I’d like to just go back to appreciating all the good moments we had with the team rather than dwelling on the bad ones. Take a deep breath with me, fellow Celtics fans. It will all work out. Tomorrow will be a better day.
