Four East Finals in 5 Seasons! Celtic are in full swing and may be the closest to a dream come true this time

Beiqing Sports

2024-05-16 11:25Posted on the official account of Beijing Beiqing Sports News

On the morning of May 16, Beijing time, the 2023-24 NBA playoffs ended with a group of Eastern Conference semifinals, and the first team to reach the division finals was born, which is the Boston Celtics. The Green Army won 113-98 at home in Game 5 of the semifinals against the Cavaliers, ending the series 4-1. After reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the sixth time in eight seasons and the fourth time in the last five seasons, the Celtics became the league's most teams to reach the division finals at the same time, and they will continue to pursue their championship dreams. In this G5, the 38-year-old Celtics center Horford is getting older, with 22 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists, setting a record for the longest time in the history of American professional basketball. The old man is full of strength.

Returning to Boston's home court with a score of 3-1, Cavaliers big man Donovan Mitchell was out again due to injury, and the outcome of this game and this round of the series was basically decided, and no fans thought there would be a surprise. In fact, the process of the game was the same, although the Cavaliers tried their best to resist for three quarters, they finally lost due to the gap in overall strength and star ability. The difference between the two teams in the first half was 6 points, the Green Army had a slight advantage, the third quarter was deadlocked, and the home team won by 8 points in the decisive quarter, and successfully took away the victory. The knights did not lose face and fought until the last moment, ending the season.

The Celtics had six players score in double figures in this game, and there were many firepower points. Two of the players scored 20+ points, and Tatum, who almost had a triple-double, scored a team-high 25 points, and he also grabbed 10 rebounds with nine assists. It should be noted that the other player of the Green Army who has reached 20+ points is neither Jaylen Brown, nor Holiday and Derrick White, but 38-year-old Dominican veteran Al Horford. In fact, strictly speaking, there are three Tanhua in the Green Army, and the third is Horford, who was born in June 1986 and entered the league with the third pick in the first round of the 2007 draft. Lao Huo, who will turn 38 in half a month, is also one of the few veterans in the league, and his age is slightly younger than James and Chris Paul, and he is still an indispensable member of the Celtics.

In this game, Lao Huo played his skills to the extreme, he played 35 minutes and scored a team-high 22 points, grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds, and also handed out 5 assists and 3 blocks for his teammates. Horford's 15 rebounds included seven offensive rebounds, which was much more difficult and meaningful than teammate Tatum's 10 rebounds (all backcourt rebounds), earning the team at least seven offensive opportunities while the Cavaliers grabbed a total of six offensive rebounds. Horford had a game-high plus/minus of +26, and the home fans even chanted "MVP" several times to impress the veteran's super invincible performance.

In this game, Horford's rebounds, offensive rebounds, blocks, 3-point shots, 3-point shots, plus and minus values, all 6 data were the highest in the game. Horford also set the record for the oldest player in NBA history to score at least 20 points, 15 rebounds and five 3-pointers in a single game.

Advancing to the Eastern Conference finals, the Celtics' first small goal of the season was achieved, which is actually not unusual, it is only a low-level goal for the Green Army. According to the data, from the 2016-17 season to the present, the Celtics have reached the division finals 6 times in the past 8 seasons, and the last 5 seasons have reached the Eastern Conference finals 4 times, and they have also reached the Eastern Conference finals for three consecutive seasons, which is the team with the most divisional finals in the league in the same period. Sadly, however, they have either failed in the divisional finals or lost in the finals on eight occasions, failing to win a single championship.

The Celtics made another big splash last summer offseason, bringing in high school forwards Porzingis and Holiday in succession, plus increasing the contract extension of Jaylen Brown to form a Super Big Four lineup. In the regular season, the Celtics won 64 wins to become the regular season champion, the highest win percentage in the league, and a large lead over the teams behind them. This season, the Celtics ushered in the best chance to win the championship, only when Porzingis returned from injury, the puzzle of the Green Army's lineup will be completed, Tatum and Brown are looking forward to the opportunity to realize their dreams.

Text/Beiqing Sports Liu Ailin

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