Karalis: Celtics season follows same frustrating formula as games, but with a chance for redemption

One of the fun little formulas for a Boston Celtics game has been to get down by a bunch, make a big, late, run, and then fall apart at the very end. 

It has been one of the more frustrating parts of this Celtics season, and what makes it even more frustrating is understanding that every one of Boston’s games that has gone like this has actually just been Boston signaling to us that this is how the season was going to go as well. 

Every late surge. Every high hope. It has all been a setup for this moment. 

The Celtics smoked the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night, walking into the Amway Center like Jake Paul knowing a tomato can was on the other side of the ring. The decimation was decisive and, had there been no rules about the length of an NBA game, quick.

It was their 66th game of the season, which, in an NBA game, would be somewhere in the mid-to-late fourth quarter. This is about when the Celtics would normally be in the middle of their run to make you think a win was possible. 

The Celtics, mired around the .500 mark all season long, moved to 35-31 with their win. It came a day after a Miami Heat loss, which now pushes Boston into the sixth seed. The New York Knicks, now cast in the credits as “collapsing Celtics opponent,” were brutalized in Denver to move just two games ahead of Boston in the standings. 

And so here we are again, many of us so thoroughly done with a team that has underachieved all season, unable to fully turn away. Because despite every mind-numbing mistake or head-scratching decision we’ve seen, there is still a shred of hope here. 

The Atlanta hawks blasted the Phoenix Suns Wednesday night, essentially stretching their lead to 2.5 games ahead of Boston with six to play (1.5 in the standings, and an extra 1 because Atlanta holds the tiebreaker). The Suns, who were on a back-to-back, are in a fight for the top seed in the west, and will undoubtedly want to take their anger over a blowout loss out on their next opponent. 

The New York Knicks.

That means the Celtics, if they handle their business Friday night, could climb to within one game of the Knicks. From there, all they’d need to do is play New York even until the final game of the season, beat New York in the final game, and pass them in the standings. 

...Hope...

The Miami Heat could now actually walk out of Boston with a split of their Sunday/Tuesday series in Boston and still be behind the Celtics because Boston just needs one more win to grab that tiebreaker as well. 

...Hope...

So if Boston outplays New York by one game until the season finale and then beats the Knicks, and if Boston plays Miami even the rest of the way while taking one of those games at TD Garden, then Boston would top both of them in the standings. It’s not a very tall order. 

...Hope...

From there, the only question would be where is Atlanta in all of this? The Celtics in a 4/5 matchup would be ideal. From there, it’s about matchups, preparation, and ... more hope ... this time that the roster is turning a corner. 

Jayson Tatum is causally tossing 27 point games around and making it look easy and Jaylen Brown is an All-Star partner at the top of Boston’s pecking order. 

Robert Williams has ascended to a critically important player who helps Boston’s offense move and can be a scary rim protector for driving opponents. He’s back after battling a sore knee. 

Kemba Walker says his knee is feeling good and he’s back after an oblique strain. Over his last four games, he’s averaging 27.5 points on 53% shooting, 5.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.3 steals. 

Evan Fournier is breaking out of his post-COVID slump with 18 against his former team and 21 against Portland. 

Aaron Nesmith was quiet against the Magic, but has shown more confidence and an ability to defend, shoot, and attack. 

All of this has us right where we’ve been during too many games this season. The season has played out in the exact same way, leaving us trying to decide if we are setting up for one big gut punch, or a story we’ll be telling for a long time. 

For “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia Fans,” think of this as the “Inspire hope” part of the D.E.N.N.I.S. system. Unfortunately, the next step in that is “separate entirely,” which has been what the Celtics have done in most of these situations this season. 

This could just be one, last set up for the hammer to drop, but here we are one more time. 

In some ways, I thank the Celtics for being consistent in this way. It’s almost like one of those performance painters who does the whole thing upside down and then flips it over to reveal the image. Suddenly the madness makes sense. 

This season is just following the same inconsistent path as these inconsistent games. We just have to hope the ending is different this time.