The Boston Celtics breezed past the competition in the Eastern Conference with a 12-2 record and recently booked their berth in the NBA Finals for the second time in three seasons. However, their playoff opponents’ baffling array of injuries has taken some sheen off their dominant run. NBA analysts have downplayed the Celtics’ performance in the postseason and some have even dubbed their road to the NBA Finals as a fraudulent display of dominance. All this noise has managed to frustrate former New Orleans Pelicans star Antonio Daniels.
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The retired NBA star recently ranted about the discourse clouding the Celtics’ playoff run on SiriusXM Radio. Calling out the hypocritical media coverage of the Celtics’ postseason campaign, Daniels said,
“The Boston Celtics take care of business, then people are mad that they didn’t take care of business enough…There’s so many narratives about a team that has been successful from the second week of October all the way to now. That is ridiculous, man!”
Daniels added that anything that the Celtics do, people seem to have a problem with that. In dominant wins, the media pitting Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown against each other and debating who deserves more credit is baffling. The 1999 NBA Champion argued that both should be lauded for stepping up when needed and helping their team reach the NBA Finals.
“You say it’s tiring to to hear people address the criticism. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown… I say the criticism in itself is tiring,” Daniels added.
“There’s so many narratives about a team that’s been successful since the second week of October all the way to now”
@DarthAmin and @adaniels33 break down the criticism the #Celtics have faced due to their road to the Finals #ALLINCELTICS #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/m206m9xn96
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) May 30, 2024
The former NBA star is spot on. The Celtics were the best team by far in the league during the regular season and were the favorites, alongside the Denver Nuggets, to reach the NBA Finals. While the defending champions slipped up in the second round, Boston took care of business and dropped only two games in their three playoff series en route to the Finals.
But that still wasn’t enough to convince the detractors that they really mean business this time. Somehow the Celtics were called out for the injuries that their opposition incurred.
Injuries to Jimmy Butler, Jarrett Allen, Donovan Mitchell, and Tyrese Haliburton helped the Celtics’ cause no doubt. But they haven’t gotten any credit for continuing to play well despite missing Kristaps Porzingis since Game 4 of the first-round.
Meanwhile, analysts continue to undermine the Celtics and their players.
Jaylen Brown calls out Stephen A. Smith for his bizarre comment
The Celtics seemed to be on course to drop Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals at home against the Indiana Pacers. However, a stunning clutch three-pointer from Jaylen Brown saved the day and Boston won in overtime. The forward followed it up with a statement 40-point performance in Game 2 to ensure the Celtics head to Indiana with a 2-0 lead.
Following that game, ESPN’s First Take ran a segment where the crew discussed whether Jaylen Brown was the most underrated player in the NBA. During the debate, Stephen A. Smith read a bizarre message from an ‘NBA source’ of his, which said,
“He [the NBA source] said, ‘Jaylen Brown, it’s not so much that he’s underrated, it’s that he’s just not liked because of his I-am-better-than-you attitude. He knows it. It’s the same reason he is not as marketable as he should be.’ That’s what an NBA source just sent me.”
State your source https://t.co/7ay3dXr6YN
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) May 26, 2024
Brown responded to the criticism by asking Smith to “name the source.” The forward was irked about it but did not want to dignify the comment with a response. Instead, he’ll turn his attention to the Dallas Mavericks and the NBA Finals, looking to end the Celtics’ 16-year wait for an NBA title.
