Still, overall, the game was not exactly the walk in the park that some fans had envisioned it would be going into the series, as the rest of the Celtics’ playoff run up to this point has largely been.
On Tuesday, Celtics big man Al Horford struggled mightily, shooting well below 50% from the field and being thoroughly outplayed by Pacers’ center Myles Turner. Horford is of course starting in the place of injured Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis, who is expected to return to the lineup at some point in this series.
One person who thinks that Porzingis is absolutely essential to the Celtics’ title chances is none other than ESPN sports media personality Stephen A. Smith, who recently took to First Take to relay his thoughts.
“We’re not giving the Boston Celtics a chance to win this championship without Porzingis,” said Smith, via First Take on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter. “You need him to win it. Without him, nobody’s looking at them beating Dallas or Minnesota… Even with him, what exactly is it that you’re going to do, because what is he reasonably going to be able to do? That’s a legitimate question in terms of looking at him, that calf injury… they’re going to see what he’s made of… You’re looking at two teams in Dallas and Minnesota that are incredibly tenacious.”
Can the Celtics win it all?
The Celtics are indeed a vastly different team with a healthy Kristaps Porzingis in the lineup, as the Latvian big man provides a degree of offensive versatility with his post up and three point ability, along with his presence at the rim as a shot blocker on the defensive end of the floor.
The Celtics’ best bet for winning a championship this year is that the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves have a seven-game war in the Western Conference Finals, rendering the winner exhausted by the time they match up with Boston in the Finals.
Of course, Boston still has to win three more games vs Indiana, and it will be interesting to see the psychological toll that the Game 1 loss takes for the Pacers after they let the victory slip through their hands with a series of middle school basketball errors in the closing seconds.
In any case, Game 2 of the conference finals is set for Thursday evening at 8:00 PM ET, once again in the friendly confines of the TD Garden.
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