Tim Legler drops no-hold-barred criticism of Boston Celtics' wasteful offensive showing in Game 1 loss

The Boston Celtics led by as many as 20 points in Game 1 against the New York Knicks. They ultimately lost by three in overtime.

Joe Mazzulla's team set new records for the most 3-pointers attempted (60) and missed (45) in a single game in NBA Playoffs history. They were up double digits in the second half, but their offense ran dry when it mattered the most.

Notably, that's why NBA analyst Tim Legler didn't hold back while criticizing their offensive game plan, going as far as to call it 'an insult to basketball:'

“Listen, man, what the Boston Celtics did last night was an insult to basketball, in my opinion, man,” Legler said on his ALL NBA Podcast with co-host Adam Mares. “That’s an abomination, an abomination offensively to play the way they played."

Legler argued that while the Celtics usually live and die by the 3 and seemed to have some uncontested shots, they didn't manage the clock and rushed every single possession, which eventually led to blowing such a big lead:

"There’s a difference between what you might even think is an uncontested shot and a rushed shot. You can still have an uncontested shot that’s rushed.

"What I didn’t understand was why were the Celtics playing… For literally an entire 18-minute stretch, they played offense like there was three seconds left in the game. Every guy that caught the ball."

The Celtics led the league in 3-pointers made per game (17.8) and were also tied-ninth for the highest 3-point percentage in the league (36.8%), so there should be some positive regression to the mean.

Then again, if their shot isn't falling, they will have to make adjustments and figure out a way to counter Tom Thibodeau's suffocating defense.

Boston Celtics have no margin for error

The Celtics swept the regular-season series with the Knicks this season, taking them down four times. That includes two big wins at Madison Square Garden, so they've already shown that they can win there.

Nevertheless, everything changes in the playoffs. The Celtics are battle-tested and have overcome adversity in the past, but the Knicks proved that they won't back down or stop fighting regardless of the deficit.

They will now face a pivotal, Game 2. They can't afford to arrive in the Big Apple with a 0-2 deficit, and they will have to do a better job of finding clean looks at the rim.