Kristaps Porzingis Shares Questionable Take After Another Celtics Collapse
'In a way, it takes some of the pressure off of us'
The average NBA fan would tell you the Celtics will face a great deal of pressure when they travel to Madison Square Garden this weekend.
Kristaps Porzingis doesn’t see it that way.
Boston, a massive betting favorite over New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals, is now in an 0-2 hole in the best-of-seven series. Not only did the reigning NBA champions drop back-to-back games at home, but they squandered 20-point second-half leads in both contests against the Knicks.
Jalen Brunson and company now have all of the momentum, but Porzingis believes that could benefit the C’s.
“In a way, it takes some of the pressure off of us,” Porzingis told reporters Wednesday, per MassLive. “Now it’s — I don’t know, if you check the odds, maybe the Knicks are the favorites now to win. We were expected to win. For us to be in this hole right now, with our backs against the wall, we have nothing to lose. We gotta go out there, leave it all out on the floor. And again, I think it’s a lot of basketball left to be played and we’ll see where it goes.”
That take simply might have been Porzingis making a desperate attempt at staying positive. The fact of the matter is, the Celtics are in a very bad spot, and they have no one to blame but themselves. The Knicks deserve credit for their resiliency in Games 1 and 2, but in both contests, Boston shot itself in the foot enough times that it could no longer stand.
The C’s shouldn’t be counted out, and like Porzingis said, there’s still plenty of basketball to be played. But Joe Mazzulla’s side dug itself in a very deep hole, and it remains to be seen if it will be able to climb out.
