Boston Celtics don’t have to like each other to make NBA history

Don’t let the Boston Celtics get three.

After falling 3-0 to the Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics have a shot to tie the series in Game 6 back down in South Beach.

With the narrative starting to change (if they get a win and force Game 7), it is hard to ignore the reports that came out after the team’s Game 3 loss that there is turmoil in the locker room.  Rumors and rumblings that this Celtics team are “fake liking each other” and still fuming at the organization for the Ime Udoka fiasco.

Since then,Jayson Tatum and the boys in green has looked like the team that won 57 games in the regular season.  A team who could beat anyone, anywhere if they are locked in and play up to their capabilities on both ends of the court for all 48 minutes.

Boston Celtics locking in on the defensive side of the court

They have made shots uneasy for Butler, Bam Adebayo and the sudden undrafted All-Stars, which has been the key.  But most importantly, they have come together as a team.  If Jaylen Brown is “fake liking” Jayson Tatum, that doesn’t matter off the court.  It matters that they are leading the team on the court by setting the tone offensively and defensively.

If it is other players on the team…well, Derrick White, Marcus Smart, Al Horford, Robert Williams, Grant Williams, and Malcolm Brogdon give the Boston Celtics an unmatched depth when they are playing within their roles and complimenting the Jay’s like they can.

So if Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer actually brought the truth with the report, then so be it.  We always find out the truth behind dynasties, championship teams and teams that make history having that inner turmoil that tends to bond them as a unit.

NBC Sports Boston analyst and former NBA playerBrian Scalabrine shed some light on the positives that can be taken out of the report.

"“As far as the players ‘fake liking each other,’ I think that’s probably a good thing,” Scalabrine said during an appearance on Jones & Mego, via WEEI.  “I don’t know if that’s happening.  All we heard all season long was how great this locker room was.  All of a sudden you go down 3-0 to Miami and now we’re fake like each other.  I don’t know who’s giving what information, but I will say this:  Being in a locker room, everybody sees things through their own lens.”"

Scalabrine went on to say there are NBA players who are surrounded by people who tell them what they want to hear and there are players with their own agendas.

So, is the story leaked more about the two Celtics All-Stars co-existing?  If so, that narrative is starting to get old.  But, at the same time, it will take Tatum and Brown to end that narrative by completing history against the Miami Heat and perhaps winning one together.

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On the flip side, a Jimmy Butler Game 6 guarantee is what can fuel this story if the season does end Saturday night.  Although the Boston Celtics have shown some fight, they shouldn’t even be in this position.  That is why Butler can feel confidence making a guarantee, that is why critics and fans are hesitant to completely believe.

If threes are not falling and the refs aren’t making calls, will this Celtics team implode on the court?  Or will they fight through it all?  If Tatum is the best player on the court, there should be a Game 7, but Jaylen Brown is due and so are the Boston Celtics as a team.

They are due for one of those tough, fought close game victories in which they are the team that takes the victory rather than the team that gives it away (see Game 1 and Game 2).

In concluding, if not liking each other is what brought out the best in this team, keep “fake liking” each other because it will make for a better story.