NBA – Celtics down 2-0 against Knicks, an expert lashes out : “They’re cockroaches”

Par Joël Pütz | Journaliste sportif

Boston is off to a nightmare start to its series against New York and already finds itself practically against the wall. A remarkable feat for its opponent, which Celtics’ expert Chris Forsberg recently commented on in a very brutal manner.

The least we can say is that the Eastern Conference has been throwing us a few surprises since the start of the second round of the playoffs. On one side, we have the Pacers, who completely caught the Cavaliers off guard and now lead 2-0 after winning their two road games. A huge feat against what was by far the best team in the conference during the regular season…

And then there’s the Celtics-Knicks series, which is also not going as planned to say the least. While highly anticipated before its start, the matchup is clearly turning in Gotham’s favor so far, as they’ve also recorded two wins in as many games on enemy soil. The last matchup was decided by a mere point (91-90).

Celtics experts stunned by series against the Knicks

While this may be the ideal scenario for the men from the Big Apple, it’s a real disaster for Boston. The defending champion is facing elimination, and franchise experts believe Jayson Tatum and co. have themselves to blame first and foremost. Chris Forsberg and Kayla Burton discussed this at length recently, with the former using a controversial comparison:

Kayla Burton : The frustrating thing is too, it’s not the Knicks. It’s the Celtics losing grip. Like I don’t think the Knicks are doing anything all too impressive. They’re competitive. They’re tough. Mikal Bridges had zero points in the first half, and all of a sudden, he gets hot in the second half. Jalen Brunson didn’t have his best of games.

Chris Forsberg : Let’s say this. They’re cockroaches. No matter what the Celtics do to put them in a compromised position, they do not just sit there and take it. They are willing to fight back. So I do want to give them credit. (…) We’re going to get aggregated if we just totally dismiss the Knicks part. They deserve some credit for the way they play, for the way that they don’t roll over in those moments.

This won’t please New York fans, since the idea here is mainly to minimize the Knicks’ achievement against the favorite who didn’t live up to expectations. But for the record, the C’s became the first team in playoff history to lose two consecutive games after leading by 20 points or more each time. It seems the Green and White are struck by a most annoying evil…