The Celtics have made it past Milwaukee, and that’s all that matters in the end. However, there’s no doubt Boston had the chance to make their second-round series a six-game set instead of the full seven.
That Game 5 collapse was as bad as it gets. It was to the point where Marcus Smart went to the team’s practice facility after the game that night (which was technically early morning) to work through the mental blocks he had following his horrendous final few minutes.
But, the Celtics overcame that mess, taking control in Game 6 and demolishing the Bucks in Game 7. At the time, it felt like Boston’s playoff hopes were gone, but it’s looking like that experience gave the Celtics some last-minute perspective at a time they could afford it.
“I think you can take some value in the reminder,” Ime Udoka said after Sunday’s series-clinching win. “We lost our fair share of those early in the season. You hate to be reminded in a playoff game, to give away one like that. But stay in the moment, stay sharp and crisp and finish games, which we had done for the most part since the New York loss, or whatever it was in January.
“You hate to be reminded and have to work a little bit harder and win another game. But, it’s just more fuel, I guess, to continue to do what we’ve done all year, especially in the second half of the year. There is value in learning another lesson and being reminded of how good we have to be to close out games in the playoffs.”
Considering Boston still won the series, that lesson was an extreme luxury to experience. As much as Milwaukee is a better team than Miami, the Celtics can’t expect to survive something like that again. But having gone through the stressful experience already, the C’s shouldn’t put themselves in that sort of spot again.