These are the keys to the collapse of the Boston Celtics: Is there hope for a comeback?

Not even the most optimistic followers of New York Knicks could have imagined this scenario. Boston Celtics has let 20-point leads slip away in the two games of their 2025 NBA playoffs series against those from the Big Apple, incurring in a series of defensive and offensive mistakes fatal to their interests. Are they still in time to correct them? What should they do to come back?

Multi-organ failure, total collapse at the decisive moment, and tactical and mental block. This is the only way to define what Boston Celtics is experiencing in their Eastern Conference semifinals against New York Knicks in the 2025 NBA playoffs. They have been basing their game all year on the three-point shot, with the danger that comes with it if the percentages fail, but their lack of ideas to vary playing styles, loss of energy and intensity when things are going well, and poor ball management are sealing their fate.

- Low three-point shooting percentage is not the only problem

They have attempted 100 three-pointers in the two games played, only scoring 25 of them, but they are also guilty of a clear lack of aggressiveness when attacking the paint, defensive disarray, and extreme relaxation every time they take the lead. The Knicks' defense is lethal, disrupting passing lanes, stealing the ball, and forcing the Celtics into hasty decisions on both ends of the court.

The strategy of fouling Robinson in the fourth quarter to make him shoot free throws can be a double-edged sword, as it forces Thibodeau to take more risks with Towns getting more minutes, a man benefitting from the defensive voracity of Bridges and Anunoby, and becoming a nightmare for these Boston Celtics on offense. It wouldn't be logical for them to abandon their three-point-based playing style now, but they must have a Plan B if the percentages keep failing and, above all, improve ball handling and defensive toughness. Otherwise, New York Knicks could pull off a historic surprise.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Estas son las claves del colapso de Boston Celtics: ¿Hay esperanzas de remontada?