The first, and most visceral reaction, is that they are suddenly in a pack of trouble. Kendrick Perkins was ejected after receiving two technical fouls and is in danger of getting suspended for Game 6 now that he has racked up seven technicals during the postseason, triggering an automatic suspension from the league.
Glen Davis and Marquis Daniels both suffered concussions, and their availability also is in doubt. On top of all that, Rasheed Wallace’s back tightened up.
The Magic have made this a series again after a 113-92 victory in Game 5, and now Friday’s Game 6 is looming as the biggest game of the Celtics' improbable postseason run.
“Today was a very tough day,” Kevin Garnett said in the quiet of an almost-empty locker room. “Lot of things going on. It’s not like it’s something we haven’t seen before. We’ve had different situations in our run in the past. None of this is going to be easy. I’ve always said the hardest games are always the first one and the shutout.”
The other way to look at it is that no one thought this series was going to be a walkover. There wasn’t a single prediction that had the Celtics winning in five games; few even had them winning at all.
In the five games that have been played there have been three tight ones and a blowout for either side, which is basically the recipe for a long NBA playoff series. Wednesday’s loss didn’t knock the Celtics out any more than their Game 3 win eliminated the Magic, and they are still up 3-2 with a game in the Garden up next.
That’s the long view, and it obviously didn’t make anyone feel better after a game in which all that stuff happened and the Celtics collapsed defensively, allowing the Magic to shoot 13-for-25 from 3-point range and surrendering 10 offensive rebounds.
“We've just got to come play and we’ve got to be more defensive-minded than usual,” Garnett said. “We’ve got to be the ones that hit first, and I’m not saying that in going out and doing dumb stuff. We’ve got to be firm and get back to the defensive-minded team that we are.
“We’re upset. We don’t take losing lightly. We never have. We have to look ourselves in the mirror as a team, get together and figure this thing out.”
The first thing they have to figure out is, who’s going to be on the floor.
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