Haliburton injury is latest clarification in Celtics’ playoff stretch originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Watch your step, Luka Doncic. Chew your food, Anthony Edwards. Don’t stray too close to the edge of the earth, Kyrie Irving.
At least one of you probably has a date with the Celtics in the NBA Finals, and we’d hate to see you fall out the window or get carried away by a hungry eagle.
To say the Celtics’ road to the Finals is littered with bodies is not a figure of speech. They have no reason to apologize and it’s not that they pick their opponents, but confronting them has led to rival stars experiencing those kinds of unfortunate accidents, making Don Vito Corleone of The Godfather call himself ‘a superstitious man ‘ mentioned.
The Celtics defeated the Heat in the first round without annual postseason tormentor Jimmy Butler. By the time they sent the Cavaliers to the conference semifinals, Donovan Mitchell was limited to modeling Sam Cassell-style glasses on the sidelines. And now their latest happiness comes through the misfortune of a rival.
During the Pacers’ Game 2 blowout in the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday, Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana’s All-NBA guard, left with a hamstring injury. A similar injury cost him several weeks in January, as well as his effectiveness for most of the second half of the season.
With Haliburton in the lineup, Indy only had a slim chance of upsetting the Celtics, but without him the Pacers probably shouldn’t plan on setting foot in Boston again this spring.
That’s exactly what it’s been like for the Celtics, who have suffered their share of heartbreaking losses during this run of five conference finals in seven years, none greater than their finals defeat to Steph Curry and the Warriors in 2022.
Maybe the basketball gods are finally clearing a path, since this was supposed to be their coronation season anyway. Or maybe they’re just taking advantage of having blown out the field during the regular season, leaving virtually the entire roster healthy and unburdened, with the exception of oft-injured big man Kristaps Porzingis (calf), who now has the luxury of recovering until the Final.
Not many teams could tell their third-best player to take his time to get back into the playoffs, but the Celtics have been that good, and their opponents have honestly diminished.
Again, you don’t have to apologize. The Nuggets won the championship last year by beating two play-in teams, including the Heat in the finals. The only team they have beaten in the last three years to qualify directly for the postseason is the Suns. No one is calling for Denver to give back its title.
It’s possible the Celtics will never be tested on the road to Banner 18. We keep saying they haven’t played their best for a long time, but maybe that doesn’t have to be the case as they continue to win by double digits.
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Meanwhile, the Mavericks are coming off a hard-fought series with the Clippers and top-seeded Thunder, while the Wolves needed seven intense games to knock off the Nuggets. Both teams have been pushed much harder than the Celtics, and eventually that grind catches up with you.
For now, the Mavericks and Wolves are basically healthy, though it’s worth noting that both Doncic and Edwards look a bit thin — the former with a litany of injuries, the latter since a big fall in Game 6 against the Nuggets .
It’s enough to make you wonder if the basketball gods have another gift in store: “Great teams they have there. It would be a shame if something happened to them before the finals…”
