The Brain Melting Takes Are Back After Vince Carter Wonders If The Celtics Offense Is Sustainable For The Playoffs

Brian Babineau. Getty Images.

There are a lot of ways to know that the NBA playoffs are on the horizon. The calendar flips to the Spring, the weather is getting warmer, teams are battling for playoff seeding etc.

You can also tell simply by listening to the national media talk about the Boston Celtics and their potential playoff run. This is the time of year where brains truly melt and you get some of the most confusing takes imaginable. We all lived through it last year when every talking head on earth did everything they could to discredit or not believe in what they were watching. Despite an entire season of belt to ass dominance, we heard the same shit time and time again.

"Wahhhhhhh they shoot too many 3s. Waahhhhh this style of play isn't sustainable. Wahhhhhh they'll never win a title playing this way"

Every step of their run was questioned. It actually got pretty pathetic that despite what was right in front of everyone's eyes, they just couldn't accept it

You'd think by now, most of these shows/media people would have learned their lesson. But here's what you always have to remember when it comes to the Boston Celtics. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY breaks brains quite like they do. It's incredible.

Take the conversation that took place after the Celts double digit road win against the Grizzlies in which they took 62 3PA. What do we think the narrative/coversation was? I'll let Vince Carter take it from here

Wait, what year is it? We're still doing the "is their offense sustainable" for the playoff gimmick? In the year of our Lord 2025? If only there was some way to know if the Celtics style was sustainable for a playoff run…..

….oh right

Serious question, is ANY defending champion talked about like this? Since Joe Mazulla took over, the Celtics have lost one (1) playoff series, and that came in a Game 7 loss of the ECF. You want to talk about sustainability? OK, no problem

Advertisement

Again, just 10 months ago this team literally won the fucking championship with their style of play. This is nothing against Vince Carter, who I actually think is pretty good as an analyst. This is more to show that year after year, no matter what actually happens on the basketball court, these shows/hosts cannot help but have their brains melted whenever the Celtics come up. 

The Mazzulla Celtics have been the most dominant team in the NBA since he took over. That's a fact, not opinion. The Celtics lead the NBA in wins over that span with 177. The next closest? OKC with 160. The Celtics lead the NBA in playoff wins over that span with 27. The next closest is DEN with 23.

This idea that they are doomed because of their 3pt shooting simply isn't true. They won the title last year with their best players barely shooting 30% from deep! But instead of being able to dive into what makes the Celtics so good, all you get from these shows as a viewer is a take like this. That their approach isn't sustainable and we can't know for sure if it'll work in the playoffs.

You know, despite the most wins, playoff wins, and an NBA championship playing this way.

Again I ask, what other defending champ is talked about like this?

I could understand if we lived in another reality where the Celts flamed out early and never won a title playing Mazzulla Ball. It's just a little tougher to make this argument when you know, it's been the exact opposite.

Does this mean the Celts are a lock to win the whole thing again? No, anything can happen in the postseason. The playoffs are a gauntlet, and the competition has never been better. There's a reason nobody has repeated since GS, and no Celtics team has repeated since Russell. It's hard as shit to do no matter what style of play you have.

But to still be trying to play the "ehhhhh I dunno if this can work in the playoffs!" routine immediately after this team won a title is everything that's wrong with the NBA media today. They tried this gimmick already, and it failed. Why there are some who are still this unwilling to accept that Mazzulla Ball works is beyond me, especially when there is a LARGE sample of evidence that tells you otherwise.

At the end of the day, this does make me happy because it tells us the playoffs are approaching. We're going to hear a lot more of this type of take for the next few months and frankly, I'm all for it. Keep doubting. Keep sleeping. It's almost as if they never learn.