It’s a post-season that’s so far managed to both meet expectations and be a massive over-achievement for the Celtics after they moved past the Milwaukee Bucks 112-96 in a do-or-die Game 7 Saturday night at the TD Garden.
After acquiring star players Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving during the offseason, Boston looked like the pre-season team to beat in the Eastern Conference. But a gruesome injury to Hayward in the first game of the season and Irving's complications from an earlier knee surgery left the Celtics without much-needed firepower heading into a first-round matchup with Milwaukee.
But after a back-and-forth series where the teams traded wins and insults, the Celtics turned to young players like Jaylen Brown and rookie Jayson Tatum, under-appreciated veterans like Al Horford and overlooked role players like Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart to carry an over-sized load for the undermanned squad.
Heading into Game 7, none of what happened earlier in the series mattered. Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo had dropped 31 points on the Celtics defense in Game 6, but Boston’s defense hounded the Greek Freak in Game 7, holding him to 22 points on a night Milwaukee needed much more.
“Their defense loaded up to him quite a few times," Bucks head coach Joe Prunty said after the game. "I still think he was aggressive, trying to make the right plays.”
For the Celtics, Horford and Rozier glided up and down the parquet floor to notch 26 points apiece. While Horford wisely maneuvered through the paint like the veteran he is, it was Rozier who was the spark plug for the entire arena.
Filling the shoes of Kyrie Irving is no easy task, but Rozier did his best as starting point guard to ease nervous Bostonians with a blackout performance from beyond the three-point line, where he picked up 15 points on 62.5% shooting.
Everyone in the arena seemed to be locked into the energy surrounding Rozier’s alleged beef with Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe, even former Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who made a cameo appearance on the Garden’s main screen to hype up the crowd.
“Man, that was special,” Rozier said. “I don’t know who thought of that, but that was nice.”
Forward Jayson Tatum also pushed the pace for Boston throughout the night, finishing with 20 points.
But the Celtics victory did not come without the price of yet another possible injury to the starting lineup. Guard Jaylen Brown suffered a strain in his right hamstring that kept him out of the second half and his status is not yet certain.
That’s bad news for the Celtics as they gear up for their next opponent from a city Bostonians may be too familiar with: the Philadelphia 76ers. After finishing a regular season with arguably the best rookie in the NBA, beating the Miami Heat in five games and hosting a homecoming party for one of Philadelphia’s favorite prodigal sons , there may not be a team more energized than the Sixers. They tip-off their series at the TD Garden Monday night.
“We’re going to have to play great, we know that,” said Celtics Head Coach Brad Stevens. “Especially if Jaylen is unavailable … We’re very well aware of Philly, how well they’ve played. I mean, I’ve watched them all the way through the playoffs, I’ve watched all their games. They’ve been incredible. And we’ll get ready.”
Coming into their series against Milwaukee, the Celtics had the advantage in home-court games, coaching experience and on-court talent, even with a depleted roster. But this is where the real test may begin for this team.
As the clock ticked down in the last few minutes of Saturday night's game, chants of “We want Philly!” echoed throughout the Garden. Whether Celtics fans will still be saying that once the Sixers get on the court remains to be seen.
