Scrutiny still follows Boston Celtics, even if on brink of eliminating Cleveland Cavaliers

Until the Boston Celtics are one game from losing a playoff series, I’m not getting bent out of shape about their prospect of winning the NBA championship this season.

While they dropped home games in the first round against Miami and in the Eastern Conference semifinals against Cleveland, the bottom line is this: the Celtics are 7-2 in the playoffs and up 3-1 against the Cavaliers.

The Celtics defeated the Cavaliers, 109-102, in Game 4 on Monday and can close out the series in Game 5 on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET, TNT).

Celtics All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum had 33 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two steals, and teammate Jaylen Brown had 27 points and eight rebounds. Hard to beat Boston when those two shoot a combined 50% from the field, 36.3% on 3-pointers and 16-for-18 on free throws.

Boston did what it had to do to get in a series-clinching situation while the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers are headed for a six-game series and possibly seven.

That doesn’t mean the Celtics are immune to criticism. They have odd losses and make winning a series more difficult than it should be.

Even Game 4 turned out to be closer than necessary — even if Boston is playing a solid team. The Celtics owned a 98-83 lead with 7:56 left in the fourth quarter and four minutes later, the Cavs trailed 100-95. Boston went five minutes without a made field goal.

Yet, they won.

That’s also who the Celtics are. A tad lackadaisical. Foot off the gas. Losing a game here or there isn’t the problem. It’s the circumstance in which they lost and ultimately didn’t advance. It has hurt them before, including a 2-1 series lead against Golden State in the 2022 Finals before losing and a 3-0 deficit to Miami in last season’s conference finals.

This season, they have enough talent to beat most teams, both in the regular season (league-leading 64 victories) and in the playoffs.

But to win a title, it requires more than talent. Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens had made roster adjustments, and the 2023-24 Celtics with Tatum, Brown, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis have the best chance to win a title in the Tatum-Brown era. Porzingis is out with a calf injury but is expected to return as long the Celtics advance.

If they get past the Cavaliers — and that is likely — they will need to be better against either the Knicks or Pacers, and if they win that series, they will face a team from the West that went through multiple teams capable of winning a title.

It’s not a question of talent. Do the Celtics have the focus necessary to win the franchise’s 18^th championship? That’s the scrutiny the Celtics will face with each game — until they’re holding the Larry O’Brien trophy or walking off the court disappointed once again.