The Boston Celtics offseason has officially begun following a Game 7 loss Monday night at TD Garden. Battling back from an 0-3 series deficit was an admirable effort, but Boston’s Eastern Conference finals comeback ultimately fell short with a 103-84 loss to the Miami Heat. As such, the business of bringing home an eighteenth banner remains unfinished for the Celtics.
Poor defense and worse shooting doomed Boston from the jump, and the Celtics could neither buy a basket nor consistently slow down the Heat. Jimmy Butler led the way for Miami, logging 28 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals. On the other side of the action, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for just 33 points on a 2-for-13 performance from deep and 39% shooting overall. It was a perfect storm in all the wrong ways for the Celtics.
