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There will not be a repeat champion in the NBA in 2025 after the Boston Celtics fell to the New York Knicks on Friday night's Game 6, 119-81, to seal their series defeat. It became highly unlikely for the Celtics to advance to the next round after Jayson Tatum went down with an injury, and with Game 6 being on the road, they simply did not have enough to combat a Knicks team that was locked in after being on the receiving end of a Game 5 humbling in TD Garden.
It was simply a nightmare game for the Celtics, a manifestation of Murphy's Law if there ever was one. Derrick White, after a brilliant Game 5, scored just eight points on 3-11 shooting, Jrue Holiday looked washed up (four points on 1-8 from the field), while Jaylen Brown, despite leaving it all out on the court, fouled out in the third quarter and gave Boston no chance at mounting what was already a highly unlikely comeback in the first place.
The writing appeared to be on the wall for the Celtics once Tatum went down with an Achilles injury that is most likely going to be keeping him out for the rest of next season as well. This does not make their playoff exit any less painful to deal with for their very passionate fanbase.
“I’ll remember this season as much as last one💚 deep down knowing that we will never have the same team again that hurts me a lot 🥹 Thank you Celtics ☘️ and will always love you 🫶🏻,” X user @esther918 wrote.
“Welp The title defense took a huge hit after blowing games 1 and 2, can’t come back from that, awful chokes but it is what it is,” @friskykillface added.
“Very disappointing loss, not even mad, just disappointed at the level of play,” @NorthernLawYT furthered.
“Was NEVER going to be easy with JT out. Terrible we didn't get the first to games. Hopefully Jayson is back after the All-Star break even on a limited capacity. Getting him back full bore for next season's playoffs is critical,” @JustinSalopek expressed.
Celtics have an offseason full of difficult decisions ahead of them
The Celtics, if they decide to run it back, will have to foot a player payroll worth around $500 million due to luxury tax penalties. That may not be tenable for them, which could then lead to some difficult roster decisions.
Perhaps Kristaps Porzingis or Jrue Holiday's stints in Beantown are coming to an end; with Jayson Tatum out for most of next season, if not its entirety, the Celtics are unlikely to contend for a championship anyway. Thus, it makes more sense if they retool with the goal of redeeming themselves in the 2026-27 season.
