The Boston Celtics Are Being Handed a Gift. They Can't Waste This Opportunity

PHILADELPHIA — Here’s a list of the most valuable players of the Boston Celtics postseason so far:

Baylor Scheierman
Luka Garza
Ron Harper Jr.

Why those guys? Because they're the three guys who combined 84 points to beat the Orlando Magic in the final game of the regular season. And they're the reason why the Toronto Raptors are playing the Cleveland Cavaliers instead of the New York Knicks. They're the reason that the Philadelphia 76ers got home court and won, setting up a date with the Celtics, that the Magic were sent on a path to take on the Detroit Pistons, and that the Atlanta Hawks are facing the New York Knicks.

One supposedly meaningless game at the end of the schedule completely remade the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Magic beat the Pistons in Game 1 to steal home court. They got smoked in the third quarter of Game 2 and lost, but they're still going home with a chance to take a lead. The Cavs lost Thursday night but are still very much in control of their series. Obviously the Celtics are tied 1-1, but the consensus is still that Boston very much holds most of the advantages and that the Game 2 lull is more par for the course than it is cause for concern.

And then there are the Hawks, who beat the Knicks Thursday night and took a 2-1 lead. The Knicks have more talent, but the Hawks are now built to match a lot of what the Knicks do well, and they boast an actual defense for once, and it’s doing the job against New York.

Atlanta is doing Boston a big favor right now, something the Celtics have to understand and take advantage of. They will undoubtedly be asked about it at shoot around, and they are guaranteed to dismiss the notion and insist all they're focused on is the Sixers.

At the same, time, they all watch how the playoffs are going, and they're all very much aware that they are either going to face an easier (but not “easy”) opponent in the Hawks or a Knicks team that has to scratch and claw their way through a tough series instead of cruising past Toronto. They all have to understand that handling their business in this series against the Sixers is more important than ever.

The Sixers can’t match up with a focused Celtics team that is executing properly. What we saw in Game 2 was certainly a Philadelphia team playing more desperately than they did in Game 1, but it was also a Celtics team that got away from what worked. Their ball movement disappeared, their execution went away, and it led too many defensive mistakes for them to overcome, especially after VJ Edgecombe got hot.

The Celtics have to walk into the Xfinity Mobile Arena Friday night with a focus and determination that tops what they had in Game 1. Two days of film, practice, and centering themselves has to show up on the floor as the buzzsaw Celtics we know they can be.

The Hawks aren’t just beating the Knicks, they're making New York work in tough, close games that come down to the wire. However the rest of this series goes, it’s clear it’s going to take a lot out of both combatants.

This is a big opportunity for Boston to take care of business quickly, rest, and head into their next series with full energy meters while their opponent limps into the next stage of a gauntlet. All the Celtics have to do is play the way they, and we, know they can. There are no grand adjustments or lineup changes necessary. Just go out there and play to their normal level.

“[Game 2] wasn’t the best showing for us defensively,” Brown said after the loss. “But we watch the film and see where adjustments need to be made, we come back and we play like how we’re supposed to play the next game. So I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to the film session. We’re still learning and growing as a team, so these opportunities you can look at it as a negative or you can look at it as a positive. So we’ll learn from it and then we’ll get back to Celtics basketball.”

They have to. The Hawks are giving them a gift. It’d be a shame if they waste it.

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