Three 60+ win teams: The Cavaliers and Celtics are all stopped in the second round! Zeng Lingxu: It s too difficult to win consecutive championships in the NBA

NBA Eastern Conference Semi-finals G6, the Celtics defeated the Knicks 81-119 in Madison Square Garden, with a total score of 2-4 missed the Eastern Conference Final. This defeat is not only a huge difference in scores, but also a top team with 61 wins and 21 losses in the regular season failed in the second round of the playoffs. When the Celtics players bowed their heads and walked towards the player's passage, their season came to a regretful end, and the discussion around the team had just begun.

1. The coach's frankness and psychological shackles

After the game, Celtic coach Mazula's speech was intriguing. He first sent his blessing to his opponent coach Thibodeau: "He is a devoted person and deserves everything he has now." Behind this humility is the recognition of the Knicks' tactical execution - the defensive system created by Thibodeau made the Celtics score only 81 points in the game, with a shooting percentage as low as 36.1%. But when talking about the dilemma of defending champions being out of second round for two consecutive years, Mazula rarely admitted to the psychological barrier: "This is obviously a problem we need to study throughout the summer."

This sentence reveals the deep contradictions of the Celtics this season: when they stepped onto the arena as "defending", the pressure they bear has quietly changed the team's mentality.

2. The NBA's consecutive championship dilemma

commentator Zeng Lingxu hit the nail on the head: "It's too difficult for the NBA to win in a row." This sentence not only applies to the Celtics, but also a true portrayal of the league in recent years. When a team stands at its peak, its tactical system will be dismantled and studied by the opponent, and the weaknesses of personnel structure will be infinitely magnified.

The "Double Tanhua + Space-type Insider" mode on which the Celtics relied on to win the championship last season has been cracked by many teams using the "defense exchange + contraction" strategy this season, and their failure to adjust the lineup in time during the offseason has become the foreshadowing of the loss.

Injuries are the last straw that broke the camel's back. As Zeng Lingxu said: "Injuries are also part of the game." But the choices faced by the Celtics are even more severe - the core players are getting older and their salary space is locked. Should we push down and rebuild, or continue to strengthen around the Double Tanhua? This will be the ultimate problem for management this summer.

3. The playoffs of the regular season strongman, Waterloo

Celtics are not the only team to "regular season dragons, playoff bugs". Three teams with 60+ wins are collectively in trouble this season.

This phenomenon reveals the cruel reality of the NBA: the dominance of the regular season may not be transformed into the competitiveness of the playoffs, especially when the opponent has enough time to study tactics and deploy targetedly, teams with "first moves" often find it difficult to go far.

Compared with Mazula's three-year trajectory, this gap is more obvious: the 2022-23 Eastern Conference Finals, won the championship in the 2023-24 season, and was eliminated in the second round of the 2024-25 season.

4. The unexpected Eastern Conference Finals vs. and the reshaping of the league pattern

Lakers reporter Trevor Lane expressed the expectations of most people: "The Eastern Conference Finals of the Cavaliers vs. Celtics were once regarded as inevitable." But the reality is that the Knicks and the Pacers, two teams ranked third and fourth in the regular season, will stage a "civilian showdown" in the Eastern Conference Finals.

This subversion is not only a regret for the Celtics, but also indicates that the NBA has entered a new era of "star-de-flavor" - without the monopoly of super giants, every team may stand out due to tactical innovation or lineup adaptability.

For the Celtics, this defeat may be the beginning of the pain, but it may also be an opportunity for rebirth. When they remove the halo of "defending champions" and may be able to examine the lineup shortcomings more clearly, the Celtics still have the capital to make a comeback. But no matter which path they choose, they must face a reality: in the fiercely competitive NBA, standing still means retreating.