The Boston Celtics were stunned in this past season’s playoffs when they were eliminated by the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and now a Celtics’ legend is giving his take on the series.
Paul Pierce recently spoke with Heavy’s Steve Bulpett on what transpired during the series. Notably, the Celtics blew a 20-point lead in both Games 1 and 2, leading to the Celtics’ demise. Also, when they were down 2-1 in the series, Jayson Tatum tore his achilles late in Game 4, the Celtics would go on to lose that game, and eventually the series in six games.
“Yeah, I think they blew that series,” Pierce said. “Absolutely. They had 20-point leads in the first two games at home and they lost them both? Yeah, they blew that series. That had nothing to do with the Knicks’ talent and all that.”
“But a lot of that goes on the way they play, too. Because they’ve been a team over the last few years that’s given up big leads because they settle for the three. You know, you live by it, you die by it. But when you win a championship, what are you gonna say? What are you going to say? Tell them to play something different and take it in more, considering this is how they won. That’s who they are.”
The Celtics’ early exit kicked off a transformative offseason
The series loss had a major ripple effect on the team’s offseason. Aside from already not having Tatum for next season, the Celtics parted ways with Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, and Luke Kornet — who all played a key factor in the team’s championship run in 2024. Now, they’ll enter next season as a bit of a question mark around the league.
