Knicks Game 5: Why is everybody picking the Celtics?

Why? Well, it’s simple: The defending champs simply won’t go down without a fight, without their leader, Jayson Tatum, they say.

TNT’s Charles Barkley quickly picked the Celtics in Game 5, seemingly leading the way for the rest of the media world the following day. Naturally, he also chose the Knicks to win the series—how brave of him at this stage of the game—but who cares?

Today’s topic deals with accepting “prisoner of the moment” status. Today’s lesson is all about the emotional hangover that comes with a brutal sight.

The reason everybody is seemingly picking the Celtics to force a Game 6 boils down to overcompensation.

Come on, folks … are we this universally shortsighted?

Granted, there’s nothing wrong with believing Boston will win Game 5. Jalen Brunson‘s squad needed two near-miracle comebacks to get the series to 3-1. Even Game 4 featured the Knickerbockers coming out sluggish on their home court.

The problem lies in the consensus, which immediately imagines the defending champs battling for 48 minutes for their fallen leader.

Be careful. There isn’t anything that leads me to believe Boston is set to win Game 5.

Crunchtime says it all

The Celtics are currently shooting 29% in the fourth quarter in this series. I’ll say it again: The Boston Celtics are shooting 29% in the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks.

That, along with being outscored by over 30 points in the final frame this series, provides zero confidence they can eek out a victory against a now-high-flying New York squad.

I mean, what’s the rationale for a Boston victory here? Despite the Celtics ripping the Madison Square Garden nets on fire to open up Game 4, they still could not execute in nut-crunching time.

And they’ll now be forced to snag a victory without Tatum?

What are we doing here, folks?

Again, there’s nothing wrong with thinking the Celtics will make New Yorkers feel uneasy on Thursday morning, but far too many fans and pundits believe it will happen.

Hey, that’s why we’re human.

Overcompensation

Everybody knows the deal: Watching Jayson Tatum go down at The Mecca Monday night was as brutal as it gets. Anytime somebody does the Looney Tunes’ parallel-to-the-floor spin-o-rama, something’s desperately wrong.

Therefore, it’s only natural to overcompensate when attempting to prognosticate. The empathy involved here is beyond transparent—at least when evaluating things from a 10,000-foot view.

For many, it’s impossible to believe an NBA champion could go down so gently into that good night. Yet, let’s not pretend we’re living in the Michael Jordan era here.

This is a dynasty-less Association.

Although it’s not fair to take anything away from the Celtics’ 2024 ring, the reality of the situation also cannot be ignored: No monster dynasty stood in their way.

Of course a Tatum-less Celtics squad can fizzle out with little fanfare. But hey, it’s up to Tom Thibodeau’s team to make it happen.

Game info

It’s not just the fans and media folks who are overcompensating. Just hours before Game 5, the Celtics are favored by five points (-5, -110), per FanDuel Sportsbook.

+5 (-110) +164 O: 208 (-110)

-5 (-110) -196 U: 208 (-110)

TNT will broadcast Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, which means the aforementioned Charles Barkley will be on your screens following the result. If the Celtics do, indeed, force a Game 6, it’ll take place on Friday night via ESPN, whereas Game 7 would come back to TNT on Monday night.

Tip-off from TD Garden is set for 7:00 p.m. ET. One more New York Knicks victory earns them their first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years.