2-4 falls! From the championship to the breakup, you are the biggest team in the playoffs

After more than a month of fierce competition, the NBA playoffs in the 24-25 season ushered in the final chapter. The Thunder will encounter the Pacers in the Finals. The average age of these two teams is around 24 and 25 years old, which undoubtedly also announces the arrival of the new and old. It is worth mentioning that after the Pacers eliminated the Knicks 4-2 and entered the finals, many fans opened fire on the Celtics. The former favorite to compete for the championship is probably the third place in the East! Many fans said the Celtics were the most disappointing team this season. When the Celtics blew the final whistle in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, the Knicks' cheers formed a cruel contrast with Boston's deadly silence at home. The defending champion fell 2-4, and the Knicks who eliminated them were the Knicks who had never won a single victory in the regular season against the top three teams in the league. The Green Shirts, who held O'Brien's Golden Cup just a year ago, has now become the team with the largest gap in the history of the league - the rapid fall from the peak made even his opponents stunned. There were signs of a collapse of the Celtics in the series. G1 and G2 were reversed by their opponents in two consecutive games, revealing the team's double lack of underestimation of the enemy and tactical resilience. Even with a luxurious lineup, the Celtics seemed hesitant and fragile in front of the "donkey" Knicks players created by Thibodeau. When the opponent's starting five players overdraw their physical strength to fight, the Celtics were lost in the tactical maze they knitted - they forgot the most core hardness in the champion's DNA, leaving only a gorgeous outfit but no muscles. The Celtics in the regular season have long laid the root of disaster. Compared with last year's championship season, their winning rate dropped by 4 percentage points, losing the top throne in the East. What is even more fatal is the extreme alienation of the tactical system: the offensive and defensive balance emphasized by the Uduka era was completely swallowed up by the Magic Ball theory. This season, they averaged 48.2 three-pointers per game, leading the league in the fault, and 6 more times than the second-place Warriors. This kind of "clean-vile basketball" brings a comprehensive deterioration of confrontation: it is averaging 19.1 free throws per game, ranking last in the league; it is second to last in the game; it is almost extinct at critical moments! When the intensity of the playoffs suddenly rose and the Knicks used their muscles to tear the Celtics' comfort zone, they were left with only a long shot that was left to fate - G6 made only 11 of 41 three-pointers in life and death, and practiced the ultimate paradox of Magic Ball theory in the most ironic way.

Jaylen Brown's regression is shocking. The second-in-command averaged only 22 points per game in the playoffs, with a shooting percentage of 44.1%, a plunge of 8 percentage points from last year. Facing the Knicks' forward strangle, his proud breakthrough became hesitant, and he made frequent middle-range jump shots, and even made low-level mistakes many times. When the team needed the deputy attacker the most to step up, Brown's figure gradually blurred in the shadow of Madison Garden. What is even more worrying is the cliff-like decline between Holiday and Porzingis: 37-year-old Holiday is heavy, and the defensive expert who used to lock Lillard is now passed by Brunson in one step. The offensive three-point shooting percentage dropped sharply to 34%, with less than 10 points per game; the Poker averaged 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, which was like a "water dispenser administrator", and its shooting percentage plummeted 15% compared to the championship-winning season. A contract with an annual salary of 30 million has become the most premium trap in the league!

The only shining Tatum eventually fell on the journey. The G4's Achilles tendon tear in the Eastern Conference Finals not only ends the season, but also may change the team's destiny - the superstar output with 28.1 points, 11.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists came to an abrupt end, leaving behind a mess and an unknown comeback schedule. The silence of the locker room spread to the management office. Next season, the total salary of the Celtics' starting five tigers will exceed US$200 million, and the luxury tax bill will reach 160 million. When ESPN reporter Shams revealed that "there must be a big deal in the offseason of the Celtics", the team breaking down was a foregone conclusion.

Porzingis is the primary cleanup target, although the transaction value has fallen to the bottom. The Lakers and other teams may wish to bet on his health, but the Celtics can get the only second round pick. Strong players such as Holiday and White are also in danger - there is no hope of reducing salary and renewing contracts, and the cost of staying in the team is too high. The depth of the lineup that was once proud of has now become a fuse for the salary bomb. The shadow of the double-Tanhua scattered fire appeared for the first time. Tatum's super maximum salary and Brown's 60 million annual salary have locked in the operation space. If the management is determined to rebuild, trading one of them is not a fantasy. The Celtics, which had entered the playoffs in 19 consecutive years and entered the Eastern Conference Finals for 6 years, is coming to an end with the abacus of financial liquidation. Boston media analysts believe that if a suitable offer is encountered, the Celtics will send Jaylen Brown away in exchange for draft picks and younger stars, and Jaylen Brown has already had trading scandals with the Rockets and Mavericks.

The Celtics' fall is like a prism, reflecting the cruel law of the NBA championship cycle: the total salary of the 2023 lineup is only 165 million yuan, and it collapsed in just one year later due to core degeneration and tactical paranoia. When Porzingis may wear a purple-gold robe, when Tatum's Achilles tendon twitches the heartbeat of the entire league, Boston's pride has been dismantled and ready for sale. This giant team that once reached the top of team basketball was eventually surrounded by its superstars, blinded by the illusion of magic ball theory, and was even crushed by the weight of the championship trophy. From the championship to the disbanding team, the lessons of the Celtics are enough to engrave the history of the league: the basketball world has never had an eternal dynasty, only eternal changes.