The Celtics are looking vulnerable for the first time since last year's playoffs

Happy Friday, folks! Welcome back to Layup Lines. Thanks so much for joining me today. I hope you have a fantastic weekend ahead of you.

We’ve got some good games on the slate tonight between the Wolves-Nuggets and the Pacers-Knicks series. But, man, is anybody else as stuck on the Celtics-Cavs series as I am?

I don’t know what it was about that game. We’ve seen this Celtics team get blown out before. It happened in Boston’s first-round series against Miami.

But doesn’t it feel like Boston is as vulnerable as ever right now? That’s what it feels like to me.

The Celtics’ live-and-die by the 3-pointer philosophy bit it against Cleveland on Thursday. The C’s shot a paltry 8-35 from deep in Game 2 while allowing Cleveland to dominate inside with 60 points in the paint.

That’s not Celtics basketball. Well, at least it hasn’t been. Not this year.

Boston was 37-4 this year at home. The Celtics have already lost two home games in these playoffs. It’s not just the fact that Boston lost, but how it happened. Especially in this latest Game 2.

This is the same thing that came back to bite Boston against Miami in 2023. This team that relies way too much on jump shooting just…inexplicably goes cold. Derrick White suddenly isn’t Steph Curry. Jayson Tatum’s steady diet of tough shots isn’t good enough. Jaylen Brown’s rim attacks aren’t working. Add the Celtics missing Kristaps Porzingis because of his calf injury to the mix, and you’ve got a pretty troubling path forward for a team everyone expects to win a championship.

Tatum isn’t worried about it. He was asked about the Celtics’ shooting after the game and told reporters “Sometimes, you just don’t make them.” And he’s right — the NBA is a make-or-miss league more often than it isn’t.

But something has got to give. This feels like a story we’ve seen before. And if we see it again this year? Whew, boy. Boston is going to have a lot of questions to answer.

Budenholzer is back, baby

Mike Budenholzer will reportedly be taking the reigns in Phoenix after the Suns dismissed Frank Vogel earlier this week, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

On the one hand, I’m glad to see this guy back in coaching. I won’t say he shouldn’t have been fired, but so many teams should’ve been calling him before Phoenix.

• This is a guy with a 484-317 record in the NBA as a head coach. He’s got the goods.
• And, sure, he’s got a bunch of postseason gaffes on his resume. But he’s also an NBA champion. He’s proven — the exact type of coach Phoenix wants.

On the other hand, I’m not sure how great of a fit this will be. It’ll depend on how Phoenix maneuvers this offseason, but Budenholzer’s defenses usually revolve around having size in the middle of the floor for rim protection. And, uh, let’s just say Phoenix is a bit short on that right now.

It’ll be difficult to craft this roster that fits traditional Bud teams, considering the team-building constraints Phoenix faces as a second-apron luxury tax team. We’ll see how they do this.

Regardless, it’s good to see Bud back in the game. He deserves another shot.

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That’s a wrap, folks. We’ll chat again next week. Until then, peace. Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there!

-Sykes