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Celtics are 8-11 in last 19 home playoff games, 4-3 away this postseason

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James Foglio
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James Foglio Sports Editor

James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.

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Sports Editor

Updated27 Sep 2023

Boston Celtics are 8-11 in last 19 home playoff games, 4-3 away this postseason

The Boston Celtics are 8-11 in their last 19 home playoff games. Through 16 games of the 2023 NBA Playoffs, the Celtics are 4-5 at home and 4-3 away. In Sunday night’s 128-102 road loss to Miami in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat outscored Boston 61-46 in the first half.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics in scoring with just 14 points in 33 minutes of action. The four-time All-Star shot 6-of-18 (33.3%) from the field and 1-of-7 (14.3%) beyond the arc. Jaylen Brown also added 12 points, six rebounds, and two assists in 28 minutes played. Miami is 8-0 in a best-of-seven series when up 3-0.

According to a few NBA betting sites, the Celtics are no longer the odds-on favorite to win the championship. Sportsbooks are showing better odds for the Denver Nuggets and Heat.

“I just didn’t have them ready to play,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said after Game 3. “Whatever it was, whether it was the starting lineup or an adjustment, I have to get them in a better place, ready to play. That’s on me.”

Miami outscored the C’s 32-17 to start the second half. Although Boston outrebounded the Heat 57-35, the Celtics committed 15 turnovers. Their largest deficit of the game was by 33 points. The Celtics shot 39-of-98 (39.8%) from the floor and 11-of-42 (26.2%) from 3-point range.

ESPN gave the Miami Heat only a 3% chance of winning the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics

“To their credit, they’re playing well above their means,” Brown said. “They’re ballin’ right now, and I’ve got to give them respect. Gabe Vincent, [Caleb] Martin, [Max] Strus, Duncan Robinson — guys that we should be able to keep under control are playing their [butt] off.”

Vincent led Miami in scoring with a career-high 29 points in 35 minutes. Robinson ended his outing with 22 points, two rebounds, and four assists in 23 minutes off the bench.

Jimmy Butler finished with 16 points, eight boards, six assists, and two steals in 31 minutes as well. Before the series began, ESPN gave the Heat a 3% chance to beat the Celtics. At the moment, it appears that was a bad omen.

ESPN shows Boston with a 72% chance to win the series down 3-0. NBA teams have dropped to 0-2 in seven-game series 312 times in league history, and the team trailing has come back to win the series only 27 times (8.7%). No team in NBA history has ever come back to win a seven-game series down 3-0.

Of course, the Celtics could become the first. In the MLB’s 2004 ALCS, the Boston Red Sox became the first team down 3-0 in a seven-game series to come back and win against the New York Yankees. The Red Sox went on to win their first championship in 86 years (1918).

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