LeBron James Takes Swipe at 'Bored' Celtics

“It seems like they get bored sometimes with the—I don’t want to say the process, because they are who they are,” James said. “When you look at Tatum and Brown, this is years and years and years and years, they punched their 10,000 hours, you know? But sometimes it seems like they get a little bored because of how great they are.

“Not only those two as individuals but them as a team, sometimes it looks like they get bored.”

There’s a case to be made there, considering the Celtics kicked away the first two games of their conference semifinals series against the Knicks, blowing 20-point leads at home in both outings. They did appear, at times, to be a team unable to handle its own success.

But they were also beaten by a Knicks team that has come together nicely in this postseason, led by the late-game heroics of Jalen Brunson. The Knicks, certainly, would not welcome the “boredom” explanation of the Celtics’ fall.

Either way, things will look much different for Boston in the near future, as the team will be without Jayson Tatum, likely for all of next season after he ruptured his Achilles tendon. The Celtics also have pressing financial matters that need attending, and could wind up with at least one, or more, big-name players getting traded.