Boston Celtics Have Chance to Close an Inferior Team Out: Will They Do It?

In the first round of the playoffs, the Boston Celtics had a 3-1 game lead over the Atlanta Hawks heading into Game 5 in Atlanta. The Celtics opened up a 10-point lead early on, but the Hawks battled back and ended up forcing a Game 6, in which Boston prevailed.

Let's backtrack a little bit.

May 2010. The Celtics held a 3-0 game lead over the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals. The C's had an opportunity to finish the Magic off in Boston, but they didn't do it. They then proceeded to lose Game 5 in Orlando, setting up an almost must-win Game 6 at home. They won.

May 2008. The Celtics won the first two games of their series against the Hawks. Atlanta then tied the series at two games apiece. Boston then won Game 5, but the Hawks forced a Game 7 (which the C's won) by winning Game 6 on their home floor. The next series, the Celtics took a 2-0 lead on the Cleveland Cavaliers, lost the lead as the Cavaliers tied the series, then won Game 5, then lost Game 6, and then won Game 7.

Are you sensing a bit of a pattern here? In the Big Three era, Boston has had a fair amount of trouble (and that is being kind) closing the door on teams that really had no business extending the series with them for that long.

There is absolutely no reason why Atlanta or Cleveland should have taken the eventual champion Celtics to seven games in 2008. None whatsoever. As far as the Magic and this year's Hawks team go, that is a bit less egregious, but the C's still should have been able to finish them off earlier.

Now, Boston finds itself in a very similar situation: with an opportunity to eliminate an inferior team in a game that it does not have to have to survive, as the Celtics will be in Philadelphia to try and bury the 76ers in Game 6 of their conference semifinal series on Wednesday night.

I think I've been over this a thousand times, but that is the thing with the C's: they win the games when they have to, but they tend to under perform in the ones they don't necessarily need.

You don't have to look any further than this series against Philadelphia to understand what I am talking about.

I don't think I need to remind you that Boston had an 18-point lead in the second half of Game 4 and was staring a 3-1 series lead in the face. Before you knew it, the Celtics' lead had evaporated, and the Sixers had stolen Game 4 to even the series.

I'm not sure why the C's do this, but now more than ever, they need to stop it.

Boston is banged up beyond belief. Paul Pierce is playing with a sprained MCL, Ray Allen is playing with bone spurs in his right ankle, and Avery Bradley is playing with a shoulder that seems to be attached by strings. It's not just one shoulder, either. Both shoulders are giving the sophomore defensive wiz issues.

Whether the Celtics' potential second-round opponent is the Indiana Pacers or the Miami Heat, they are going to need all the rest they can get, because they are about to enter a dogfight. They are going to need every ounce of strength that Pierce and Allen have, and, especially if they play the Heat, they are going to need Bradley's defensive prowess, as he will likely be given the assignment of covering Dwyane Wade.

So C's, listen up: stop playing around. You need to end this now. You have a golden opportunity in front of you right now. You clearly rattled the 76ers with the way you played in the second half of Game 5, as you turned up the defensive intensity, forced turnovers, and gave Philly a taste of its own medicine by running it ragged in transition. Do that again on Wednesday night.

I honestly have no idea what to expect in Game 6. Nothing would surprise me. Boston does not exactly have the best track record in these types of contests, so while logic tells me that because the Celtics are the better team, they should win, I am not going to say anything. All I am going to do is hope that Boston realizes that it really needs this game.

If the C's are as adamant as they say they are about making this last run of their era count, then they need to take care of business in Game 6. They need to come flying out of the gates, punch the Sixers in the mouth, and not let up.

They need to finish this now. They know they have to, too.

The question is, will they?