LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Boston Celtics were 12 months into their season and 24 minutes from elimination, which was as good a time as any to realize that they were allowed to drive to the basket. They won Game 5 with what Miami coach Erik Spoelstra described “a deluge to the rim,” and now the teams leave Fake Boston to go to Fake Miami for Game 6.
The NBA bubble is a place for self-motived people. Everything about it promotes stasis. Nobody travels. The fans are virtual. Maybe that helps explain the Celtics’ lulls. Maybe now, after playing one of their best stretches of basketball when they desperately needed it, Boston can keep doing it.