You didn’t think it was going to be that easy for the Celtics to advance to the Eastern Conference finals, did you?
Their path took a hard turn in Washington, where the Wizards ran the Celtics out of the gym with a pair of monster runs to knot the series at two games apiece. In the aftermath of Boston’s disastrous stint in D.C., there’s cause for consternation on Causeway Street. The six straight playoff wins the Celtics brought to Washington are a distant memory.
Frankly, the Celtics are fortunate to be tied in this series. They’ve been outplayed for the majority of the action. If it weren’t for a Herculean 53-point effort from Isaiah Thomas to win Game 2 in overtime, the Celtics would be returning to TD Garden on the brink of elimination.
“We’re the better team, and we feel like we’ve been the better team,’’ Washington’s Markieff Morris told reporters after Game 4.
It’s hard to dispute him. However, as we look to Game 5 on Wednesday night at TD Garden, there is no reason to run for the lifeboats on the S.S. Brad Stevens. The playoffs are like taking X-rays of a team. All the issues and flaws underneath the surface are exposed and revealed. The small cracks in a team’s foundation and construction become readily visible.
The Celtics got full exposure in Washington, but both the Green and the Wizards are flawed teams that are not on par with the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Golden State Warriors, who are speedskating through the playoffs.
The most disconcerting part of the Celtics’ stint in our nation’s capital was that they resembled the team that got eliminated last year in the first round by one Al Horford and the Atlanta Hawks. Even with Big Al now in good-guy green, there were flashbacks to how feckless the Celtics looked when Atlanta dared anyone other than Thomas to carry the scoring load. Just as in this series, Thomas had a virtuoso performance against the Hawks, scoring 42 points in Game 3, before they got wise to IT.
After Thomas toasted the Wizards in Games 1 and 2, they are employing the same strategy the Hawks did: Anyone But Isaiah. They’re sending two and three players at him and denying him at every turn, even if it means opening up the lane like a drive-thru and allowing wide-open threes to the Celtics’ supporting cast.
That strategy works when Avery Bradley, nursing hip pointers on both sides, shoots 2 of 9 and barely has more points (5) than turnovers (4), as he did in Game 4. It works when Jae Crowder also shoots 2 of 9. It works when Marcus Smart commits 10 turnovers over two games, while making just 4 of 16 shots in that span.
Games 3 and 4 followed an all-too-familiar formula for Celtic playoff defeat. They struggled for offense outside of IT and an injury robbed them of Bradley’s crucial two-way contributions. (The Celtics will be hard-pressed to win this series if Bradley and Smart shoot 34 percent and 32.1 percent from the field, respectively.)
Thomas is the Celtics’ tentpole star. He was mortal in the third quarter Sunday as the game got away with a 26-0 Wizards run, scoring 2 points and committing five turnovers. But the supporting cast has to be able to steal a couple of scenes.
This is where Mr. Max Contract, Horford, gets decried. Horford isn’t the problem. He’s not a takeover scorer and never has been. The Celtics knew that when they signed him. He has been excellent in this series, shooting 65 percent from the field and scoring 15.8 points per game. Don’t blame him.
Stevens also must find a solution for his starting lineup. Inserting Gerald Green in the first round against the Chicago Bulls was the right move for that series. Stevens still hasn’t found the correct quintet for this one. He went back to the mothballed Amir Johnson on Sunday. The Celtics got off to a strong start, but ultimately the change had little effect.
Stevens has to find a way to slow Washington’s starting five, which has scored 94 fast-break points in the playoffs, the highest total of any five-man unit.
It’s time for Stevens to insert either rookie Jaylen Brown or NBA Public Enemy No. 1 Kelly Olynyk into the starting lineup. The lineup of Thomas, Horford, Bradley, Crowder, and Green has a woeful defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) of 130.8 and an offensive rating of 84.8 for a net rating of minus-46. It has been worse when Johnson has been with the starters. The defensive rating is 135.4 and the offensive rating is 87.3, a net rating of minus-48.1.
Olynyk, who unbeknownst to us is regarded as the new Bill Laimbeer by NBA peers such as Draymond Green, has been good in this series. When he’s not knocking down players with picks, he’s knocking down shots. The mere sight of him seems to annoy the Wizards, which isn’t a bad thing. Despite his apparent allergy to rebounding, he would give the Celtics more size while still spacing the floor.
The Wizards are shooting 45.8 percent when Olynyk is on the floor, compared with 52 percent and 52.2 percent when Green and Johnson are on the court.
Brown would be more of a hunch. He played well at the end of Game 1, and he’s not afraid to take shots. His athleticism could be an antidote to Washington’s fast and furious style, led by hypersonic point guard John Wall. Plus, Brown has the length to play silent killer Otto Porter.
The Celtics should still win this series because they have more depth and home-court advantage. The home team has been the victor in all eight games, including the regular season, in this basketball blood feud.
This series is too much fun, and the animosity between the teams runs too deep for it to end easily or tidily. The rancor and rivalry between the clubs is real, and it’s spectacular if you’re an NBA enthusiast.
Buckle up, this series is just beginning.
Christopher L. Gasper can be reached at cgasper@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @cgasper.
