The Boston Celtics aren’t in a great place, not by a protracted shot. After dropping the primary two video games at dwelling to the New York Knicks in excruciating vogue, the Cs now face an uphill climb simply to get again into the sequence — not to mention win it.
However there isn’t zero precedent for a crew to come back again and win it, though it’s a lot more durable to take action then your commonplace 0-2 gap. In NBA historical past, solely 5 groups have recovered and are available again to win the sequence.
- 1969 – Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors in six
- 1994 – Houston Rockets defeated the Phoenix Suns in seven
- 2005 – Dallas Mavericks defeated the Houston Rockets in seven
- 2017 – Boston Celtics defeated the Chicago Bulls in six
- 2021 – Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Dallas Mavericks in seven
The Celtics being on this record is notable, if just for the truth that there are some individuals within the constructing who had been part of that first spherical comeback. Each Jaylen Brown and Al Horford had been on the roster, with Brad Stevens on the bench as head coach. Horford performed vital minutes in these video games, whereas Brown — who was a rookie on the time — hovered across the 10-minute mark.
“You don’t need to be in these conditions however I’m enthusiastic about it,” Horford mentioned Thursday. “I’m excited for this chance we have now in entrance of us.”
Boston would go on to rattle off four-straight wins and finally find yourself within the Japanese Convention Finals — its first look in 5 years. It’s a stark distinction from the group of Celtics who had been simply starting their ascension to the highest of the league, to those Celtics who many anticipated to repeat as NBA champions.
However Boston is rather more proficient in 2025 then it was eight years in the past, and whereas it could be going up towards a extra proficient crew within the Knicks, it’s not out of the realm of risk the Celtics might rattle off 4 wins, particularly contemplating they held 20-point leads within the second half of each Video games 1 and a pair of.
This group of Knicks even have a precedent of blowing 2-0 leads. In truth, they did it twelve months in the past. Final season New York went up 2-0 on the Indiana Pacers earlier than finally falling in Sport 7 at Madison Sq. Backyard. This time is slightly completely different contemplating these two wins have come on the street, however there’s a precedent there already.
Now, none of this issues if the Celtics can’t pull out a Sport 3 victory Saturday afternoon in New York. The final word dying want within the NBA Playoffs is dealing with an 0-3 deficit, as no crew in league historical past has ever made the historic comeback.
Boston did come shut in 2023 after falling behind 0-3 to Miami within the ECF — by which it misplaced the primary two video games at dwelling — but it surely fell brief in Sport 7.
So, it’s not over but, however the Celtics are dangerously near a protracted summer time filled with questions on the way forward for this franchise. A pair good performances might stall these questions — at the very least for just a few extra weeks anyhow.
