As they pursued the Garden's record-tying 18th championship, the Celtics utilized the phrase "unfinished business" as their rallying cry.
The Miami Heat prevented the team from concluding that deal in Monday's Game 7, and supporters are wondering what comes next for a talented Celtics roster that came so close.
Tim Bontemps of ESPN attributed the defeat to the Celts' penchant for "spiraling out of control late in the game. Dan Shaughnessy of The Globe concurred.
What they're saying: Derrick White's spectacular buzzer-beater in Game 6 saved the Celtics from elimination at the hands of a more potent Miami squad, according to Steve Conroy of The Herald.
Final analysis showed that the Celtics were a club that relied on the three-point shooting "far too much to be championship caliber," Conroy said.
In their humbling 103-84 loss on Monday night, the Celtics shot only 9 for 42 from beyond the arc.
Rohan Nadkarni of Sports Illustrated gave the Cs some suggestions on how to move forward with the loss: pay attention to Pat Riley, their arch-enemy.