Not Finishing Strong

If I told you that last nights game the Celtics had a thirteen point lead twice against the Cavilers, and had a lead at halftime, and at the start of the fourth quarter, but they still lost, would you believe me? Well there is a good chance you would say yes, because this was certainly not the first time they couldn't finish a game this year. So now we have to start to wonder why this team keeps blowing leads late in the game.

Last night the Celtics looked like two different teams. In the first half they looked like one of the best teams in the NBA, but in the second half they looked like a team that was lost. So people are asking all sorts of questions about why they cant hold on to leads in the second half of games. Is it because they don't have a good team chemistry? Or are they not mature enough? The answer to those question is no, the answer is plain and simply, they are old. That was the only concern at the start of the season, if the team was to old, and that is the problem this team has right now. At the start of the games they look great, there playing with a lot of energy, and looking like one of the best teams in the league. Then there age starts to show, because they get burnt out in the second half, and play bad basketball down the stretch, with zero intensity. They cant knock down shots, and keep up with the other team, when they are playing defense. The other teams in the league know that all they have to do in the first half, is just keep the score some what close, because in the second half they will be able to out score them by a good amount.

I really hope the Celtics can find a way to keep the intensity up start to finish in games, and hold on to the leads they have. If they find a way to close out games, they can be a great team, because that is there only missing piece of the puzzle right now.