A few days ago, the Boston Celtics were down 3-0 to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. Miami had clearly been the better team, and it looked as though the Celtics lost the will to compete in the second half of Game 3.
Celtics Will Come Back From 3-0 Deficit, Predicts Richard Jefferson
Richard Jefferson says the Nuggets will face the Celtics in the Finals:
“It’s going to be Boston. Boston is going to be the first team to come back (from 0-3)”
(Via @ESPNNBA ) pic.twitter.com/uLxzEE8ET5
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) May 25, 2023
But Boston was able to respond in a big way in Game 4. After essentially everyone was counting them out and already making plans for a Heat vs. Nuggets NBA Finals, Jayson Tatum and company showed signs of life. They won the elimination game on the road by 17 points, blowing out the Heat and keeping their season alive.
No team in NBA history has ever come back from being down 3-0 in any round of the playoffs, but there are some pundits on ESPN who are giving Boston a fighting chance. One of them even boldly predicted a comeback.
Richard Jefferson was the one to make the claim on NBA on ESPN on Thursday. When explaining which team Denver would rather see in the Finals, Jefferson explained why the Heat would be the easier opponent for Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets. He capped off his speech by saying “when” instead of “if” when talking about the Celtics potentially being the ones to advance.
Jefferson later doubled down, saying that Boston would be the first team to ever complete the elusive 3-0 comeback.
.@WindhorstESPN can’t rule out the Celtics making a comeback in this “bizzaro Conference Finals”: pic.twitter.com/DRZE6cAo7P
— First Take (@FirstTake) May 25, 2023
Brian Windhorst gave his own warning about a potential Celtics run in the upcoming games. He called the current situation the “bizzaro” conference finals, and that nothing can truly be ruled out given the unpredictability of the playoffs so far. Windhorst went into detail about how much heavily the odds are stacked against Boston, but concludes by saying that anything is possible this season.
The oddsmakers like their chances to at least prolong the series and bring it back to Miami. The Celtics are an 8.5 point favorite for tonight’s Game 5, but the underdog has been victorious in every game so far this series.
The Nuggets are awaiting the winner, and Game 1 of the NBA Finals will take place on June 1st.