Did fatigue contribute to the death of the Celtics in the NBA Finals? – NBC Boston

Did Celtics fatigue contribute to NBA Finals elimination? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Has the grueling second half of the 2021–22 NBA season returned to bite the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals?

You won’t hear any excuses from the K after their season ended unceremoniously on Thursday night, but a closer look at the numbers shows fatigue could definitely be a factor. Key Players in Boston… Jason Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Al Horford scored nearly 2,000 more minutes than the Big Four of Stephen Curry, Clay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.

Celtics Talk: Dealing with emotions after the Celtics storybook season ended with a missed opportunity in the finals | Listen and Subscribe | Watch on YouTube

As of January 7, the Celtics were 18-21, which forced them to keep the gas pedal through the second half of the campaign. Meanwhile, the Warriors started their season 29-9 and could well make the playoffs. From that point on, the Celtics were 47–20 (including the playoffs) and the Warriors were 40–26.

The table below lists the total minutes played by four key players on each team during the regular season and playoffs. It is worth noting that Curry, Thompson and Green missed the regular season due to injuries.

Those numbers show that Golden State had fresher legs in the series, but Celtics head coach Ime Udoka isn’t convinced physical fatigue cost them a shot at the title.

“Every time you play some tough seven-game streak, there’s bound to be one,” he said after losing Game 6. “We had a day off. I think throughout the series we have come up refreshed and energetic.

“I’m sure it’s part of it. Not just mentally, but also physically, as Rob (Williams) played through some of the things that he was, he’d come and go in previous episodes. to overexert him from time to time. Jason and Jaylen grind us, Marcus too, all these guys have had bumps and bruises at some point. Had to fight those two hard-fought seven-game streaks.

“Maybe it had something to do with some physical fatigue, but I think everyone goes through that in the playoffs. At first we had enough. But, in my opinion, these were more mental errors than physical ones.

Forsberg: Celtics left to consider what could have been

In addition to the Warriors playing the last nine quarters of the series, the Celtics beat themselves. They had 18 losses in Game 5 and a whopping 22 in the Game 6 final. These mental errors eventually became the decisive factor.

All K can do now is hope not to dig their own hole again in 2022-23. A strong start next season will go a long way in saving their stars for another deep playoff berth and possibly another stab at the elusive Banner 18.