Connect with us

Boston, MA

2023 Orlando Magic Playoff Lessons: Boston Celtics never got comfortable being uncomfortable

Published

on

2023 Orlando Magic Playoff Lessons: Boston Celtics never got comfortable being uncomfortable


Former Boston Celtics guard and current studio analyst Eddie House was clearly a bit upset following the Boston Celtics’ 117-109 loss to the Orlando Magic back in December.

On the Celtics’ postgame show, he unartfully blasted the Celtics for the loss to the then-lowly Magic. This was not a game the team could lose. They could not sleepwalk through any game, especially against a team they should beat like the Magic. These were losses they would regret.

Magic fans, of course, listened to the insult. The clip of the criticism made its way to the locker room and the young team seethed at not getting credit for the win.

The fact they had another game and beat the Celtics a second time 95-92 to finish off a six-game win streak only made everyone on either side double down — those GIFs from the 2009 series were a lot of fun.

Advertisement

For the Celtics though, those words from House said back in December sure feel prescient now.

The Boston Celtics always had a problem with keeping their focus and finishing off weaker opponents. Their inability to play in discomfort cost them a trip to the Finals.

House was perhaps overlooking the Magic — the Magic had not earned their keep in the league quite yet despite the win streak they were on back in December — but he was making a point about the team he was covering. He was making a statement of something the Celtics would need to change if they were going to step up and win a championship.

The Celtics played down to their opponent for sure. They did not play with the same championship-level attention to detail or aggression.

Perhaps more alarmingly for Boston and its future, as it tries to get over the hump and win the championship with this group, they looked unable to take that punch. They crumpled and never got themselves right.

The fact this happened repeatedly during the playoffs was a sign of a clear weakness in the team. Something that the Magic were not the first to expose but did so in December.

Advertisement

When the chips were down, the Celtics were never comfortable being uncomfortable. They constantly struggled to close out games throughout the playoffs. When teams laid that first punch on them, they seemed to panic and abandon their principles and what worked. They struggled to get themselves playing the right way.

When Boston plays well, the team is capable of winning a championship. When the Celtics are not, they are frustrating to watch and just feel like empty calories. And there is not really any medium ground.

Sitting here a few days after the Celtics’ stunningly bowed out of the Eastern Conference Finals in seven games, having rallied from down 3-0, that prediction from House felt prescient.

The Miami Heat were never a team to overlook even as an 8-seed. But Boston again looked like the team overlooked its opponent. It played like it did against Orlando as if it could reach into its reserves and win the game.

Against a quality opponent, that just does not work.

Advertisement

The Celtics were just 5-6 in clutch situations. But they had some significant failures — a Game 5 loss to the Atlanta Hawks that sent them back on the road to close out that series and blown leads late in Games 1 and 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat — that characterize this struggle. They never felt comfortable or confident late in games.

It was the series against the Heat though that exposed this weakness.

This series was all about the Celtics’ mistakes. Miami is simply a team that mucks everything up and makes its opponents uncomfortable. The Heat take advantage of every mistake and bet their discipline and execution will beat you late in games — they are 6-3 in clutch situations in the playoffs, a clear sign of their poise and their ability to flip games in their favor.

Boston though kept making mistakes. The Heat’s defensive scheme put the Celtics constantly on their back foot. It forced Boston to settle for threes — Boston shot 30.3 percent from beyond the arc on 38.1 attempts per game after shooting 37.7 percent on 42.6 attempts per game.

The Celtics were always a team that lived and died by its 3-point shot. The quality of those 3-pointers was the real question. And it just felt like Boston settled for threes as Jayson Tatum and especially Jaylen Brown struggled to get in the interior and score consistently.

Advertisement

Neither of the Celtics’ star players seemed able to take the heat. And their offense devolved into passes around the perimeter as they struggled to drive against the Heat’s switching defense or into isolation plays, which just plays in the Heat’s push for turnovers and pressure defense.

In the end, it just looked like Boston could not figure out how to solve the puzzle. The Playoffs are about beating an opponent that knows everything that is coming and making that play that still beats it or that adjustment that cracks that gameplan open.

Flexibility in your attack is clearly important. But it is just as important to be able to play and succeed when you are uncomfortable.

Most successful playoff teams will flirt with disaster in some way. The postseason exposes a team’s every flaw and the question each team has to answer is what it will do to cover for that flaw or overcome it.

One play or one game can literally turn a successful season and every successful team is going to have to thrive while being uncomfortable. The teams that are best at facing this adversity and coming back from it or playing well despite this discomfort are the teams that succeed.

Advertisement

This is, of course, central to the Heat’s culture.

To the Celtics? It was clearly something they could not reach down and grab. They got staggered in this series and never could find their center. Or they could not find it long enough.

Unfortunately for a young team like the Magic, it is hard to know how the Magic will play when they are uncomfortable.

They have shown signs their culture can withstand this and lock back in. They could have easily quit when they were 5-20 this past season. To rally the rest of the season to stay in the postseason chase and get to 34 wins was a sign of their potential and their buy-in to the culture they are building.

But that is not playoff pressure. The Magic are going to have a moment in their first playoff run where the moment seems too big or the opponent too tough. And nobody knows how this team and this group will respond to it.

Advertisement

They are likely to fail that first time too. There are still lots of experiences to gain for this growing team.

But playoff success is dependent on how a team plays when they are uncomfortable and things are not going well. They have to have the faith and trust to keep grinding and keep fighting.

That is where the Celtics failed miserably in their Eastern Conference Finals series. And a lesson for the rest of the league.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Boston, MA

Opening statements expected in trial of Irish firefighter charged with raping woman at Boston hotel – The Boston Globe

Published

on

Opening statements expected in trial of Irish firefighter charged with raping woman at Boston hotel – The Boston Globe


Superior Court Judge Sarah W. Ellis is presiding.

Seven jurors were chosen on Friday, and on Monday, several more were seated for a total of 15. Opening statements are set to follow later Monday, officials said.

Crosbie is accused of raping a woman while she slept in March 2024, when he was in Boston to participate in St. Patrick’s Day parade with fellow members of the Dublin Fire Brigade.

Crosbie was originally scheduled to leave the United States after the parade on March 19, officials have said. But after Crosbie spoke with police on March 15, he went to Logan International Airport for a 10:10 p.m. flight bound for Ireland, officials said.

Advertisement

He boarded an earlier flight at 7 p.m., but was pulled off the airplane by State Police and arrested, officials said.

Prosecutors allege that Crosbie raped a “female stranger” at the Omni Parker House hotel in downtown Boston on March 14, 2024.

The woman, 28, had gone to dinner with coworkers at The Black Rose, a pub near Faneuil Hall, and met a man, Liam O’Brien, along with his fellow Irish firefighters, according to prosecutors and court records.

The woman told police on March 15 that she agreed to return to O’Brien’s room, which he was sharing with Crosbie, at the Omni Parker House.

Video shows that around 11:30 p.m., the woman left a restaurant with O’Brien and returned to the room, prosecutors said.

Advertisement

The pair had a consensual encounter in the room, according to prosecutors. O’Brien then fell asleep on one of two beds in the hotel room, and the woman went to sleep on the other bed, prosecutors said.

Crosbie left the hotel at 11:55 p.m., according to hotel security video, and swiped his key card back into the room at 1:55 a.m., prosecutors said. At some point in the night, the woman woke up as Crosbie was allegedly raping her, according to a police report.

The woman “tried to push the male off” and she said “What are you doing? Stop!” the report said. Crosbie said “this guy is sleeping, I know you want this. He fell asleep,” the woman told police.

The woman left at 2:15 a.m., 20 minutes after Crosbie entered the room, prosecutors said. She messaged a friend to say she had been assaulted and went to a hospital, where she spoke with police.

At a hearing in August, prosecutors requested a DNA swab from Crosbie for “comparative testing” A genital swab from the woman revealed male DNA, prosecutors said in court documents.

Advertisement

“In this case, a known DNA sample from the defendant will produce evidence relevant to the question of his guilt,” Assistant District Attorney Erin Murphy, chief of the domestic violence and sexual assault unit, wrote in court papers.

Crosbie objected to providing a sample on grounds of unreasonable searches and seizures, court filings show.

“My client is not concerned about what the DNA is going to return or say,” Reilly said at the time. “He is adamant that he had no physical contact with her.”

The status of the DNA testing wasn’t immediately clear on Monday.

Material from previous Globe articles was used in this report.

Advertisement

Ava Berger can be reached at ava.berger@globe.com. Follow her @Ava_Berger_.





Source link

Continue Reading

Boston, MA

Matt Stuart gem lifts Chelmsford past Wellesley in 1-0 thriller

Published

on

Matt Stuart gem lifts Chelmsford past Wellesley in 1-0 thriller


WELLESLEY — In the very back of Chelmsford ace Matt Stuart’s mind is that each of the program’s last three state tournament runs have ended in games he started.

Yet another gem from the senior Gardner-Webb University-commit on Sunday instead has the Lions reaching a new height.

With a complete-game shutout, in which the four-year starter allowed just three hits and two walks with eight strikeouts, Stuart won a true pitchers duel to lift 14th-seeded Chelmsford (17-8) over No. 11 Wellesley, 1-0, in the Div. 1 state quarterfinals to secure the program’s first trip to the Final Four.

Chelmsford players jump and celebrate after clinching a thrilling 1-0 over host Wellesley during a Div. 1 state quarterfinal Sunday. (Libby O’Neill/Boston Herald)

Evan Kobrenski’s RBI double in the fifth inning proved the game-winner, getting just enough against Raiders sophomore Max Boehm (complete game, one run, four hits, four strikeouts) in a 74-pitch gem.

Advertisement

“It’s amazing, it’s what we’ve been working for all year,” Stuart said. “Every year so far, we’ve been knocked out when I’ve been pitching. I was 0-for-3 coming into this (tournament). So that first game (in the first round) was a big step for me, and to win this one is just amazing.”

“We’re crazy excited,” added Chelmsford head coach Lou DiStasi. “This team has been building for several years. We challenged ourselves with a really tough schedule because we knew that we wanted to compete for the state title. … To get this, into the Final Four, I think it means so much to the town and to the community.”

Batters had trouble all game producing much of any real opportunities against either pitcher, both of whom each set down seven straight batters at one point. And when chances with runners in scoring position came up, the two combined to force a 1-for-7 mark at the plate.

Boehm efficiently forced a slew of routine plays for his defense by pounding the strike zone, while Stuart’s mix of pitches did the same and produced at least one strikeout in every inning but the third.

Chelmsford's Evan Kobrenski slides safely into second base as Wellesley's Will Goggin fields the throw during a close play in Sunday's baseball state quarterfinal. (Libby O'Neill/Boston Herald)
Chelmsford’s Evan Kobrenski slides safely into second base as Wellesley’s Will Goggin fields the throw during a close play in Sunday’s baseball state quarterfinal. (Libby O’Neill/Boston Herald)

“I knew coming in he was a good pitcher,” Stuart said. “But I knew if we got one, I knew I wasn’t going to let up a run. So just get that run, and it was over.”

It wasn’t until the fifth inning that a run was scored, in which Boehm nearly got out of the jam prior. John Latham’s leadoff double was advanced to third on a Keegan Briere (2-for-2) sacrifice bunt. Boehm answered by taking away a squeeze opportunity with a lineout.

Advertisement

On the next pitch, Kobrenski tucked a grounder just inside the first-base line for a two-out double and the 1-0 lead.

“That’s been our team all year,” DiStasi said. “(Kobrenski) has been unbelievable for two consecutive years. … To get that double for us to win, couldn’t have gone to a better kid.”

That’s the only damage Boehm allowed, but Stuart held up his promise.

Chelmsford's Evan Kobrenski celebrates after being called safe at second base as Wellesley's Will Goggin looks on during Sunday's Div. 1 clash at Sprague Fields. (Libby O'Neill/Boston Herald)
Chelmsford’s Evan Kobrenski celebrates after being called safe at second base as Wellesley’s Will Goggin looks on during Sunday’s Div. 1 clash at Sprague Fields. (Libby O’Neill/Boston Herald)

Will Goggin (2-for-2) and Cole DeFina hit two-out singles to put runners on first and third in the fifth, only for Stuart to force a lineout to shortstop to end the threat. Only one runner reached in the sixth and seventh innings, and it came on a dropped routine fly in the outfield.

Stuart, whopitched well in those three previous state tournament losses, closed the door in the program’s biggest win to date.

“It was like he always does,” said DiStasi. “He pitches every single one of the big games that we ever get. … It’s the way he’s been his entire career. We expect him to do something like that, even though every time he does it, you just smile and say, ‘Wow, you’re an amazement.’ He’s the biggest competitor I’ve ever coached.”

Advertisement

There’s quite a history with this Chelmsford group, as many of the players were on the Cal Ripken 11-year-old team for DiStasi back in 2019, which qualified for the 2020 World Series as 12-year-old representatives.

COVID cancelled it, and they never had the chance for that glory.

“Our 12-year-old team that was destined to go to the World Series … never had the chance to do it,” DiStasi said. “This might be a nice little alternative, so we’ll take it.”

Wellesley's Will Goggin makes it safely to first base on a close play as Chelmsford's Finn Ramseyer holds the ball. (Libby O'Neill/Boston Herald)
Wellesley’s Will Goggin makes it safely to first base on a close play as Chelmsford’s Finn Ramseyer holds the ball. (Libby O’Neill/Boston Herald)

Originally Published:



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Boston, MA

Alex Cora gives Boston Red Sox injury updates on Tanner Houck, others

Published

on

Alex Cora gives Boston Red Sox injury updates on Tanner Houck, others


NEW YORK — Injured Red Sox starter Tanner Houck still has not thrown off a mound more than three weeks after landing on the IL.

The 28-year-old righty was placed on the 15-day injured list May 14 with a right flexor pronator strain.

“Playing catch but not on the mound yet,” manager Alex Cora said Saturday before Boston’s game against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

Houck has struggled this season with an 8.04 ERA (43 ⅔ innings, 39 earned runs) in nine starts.

Advertisement

Is his progression going slower than initially expected?

“Not really,” Cora said. “When you go on the IL, you never know.

“I’m not saying this is the case but when they (trainers) start working on you, they feel like it’s more time than in the beginning or less time,” Cora said. “So I leave it up to them to see where we’re at but we just gotta be patient.”

Other Red Sox injury updates:

~ Setup man Justin Slaten, who the Red Sox placed on the 15-day injured list June 1 with right shoulder inflammation, has not begun throwing again.

Advertisement

~ Third baseman Alex Bregman (right quad strain) “feels good” after beginning his running progression Thursday, Cora said. “The progression is going well. Let’s see how he feels tomorrow and then we’ll go from there. Obviously we’re still far away from starting the baseball progression,” Cora said.

~ Starter Kutter Crawford (wrist pain) was supposed to throw a bullpen session this weekend. But Cora said it’s now going “to be the end of the (this coming) week.”



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending