Unpacking how the Celtics blew it

The Celtics used the phrase "unfinished business" as a rallying cry this season as they chased banner number 18 for the Garden.

Driving the news: The Miami Heat wouldn't let the team finish that business in Game 7 Monday, and fans are asking what's next for a talented Celtics roster that got so close.

• ESPN's Tim Bontemps blamed the disappointment on the Celts' habit of "spiraling out of control" late in the game. The Globe's Dan Shaughnessy agrees.

What they're saying: Derrick White's Game 6 buzzer-beater kept the Celtics alive in dramatic fashion, but all it did was stave off elimination by a more powerful Miami team, writes The Herald’s Steve Conroy.

• "In the end, the Celts were a team that was far too reliant on the three-point shot to be championship caliber," Conroy wrote.
• The Celtics went 9-for-42 from beyond the three-point line in Monday night's humiliating 103-84 loss.

Sports Illustrated's Rohan Nadkarni offered the Cs some advice on how to proceed after the defeat: listen to arch nemesis Pat Riley.

• After Riley’s star-studded 2014 Heat team lost its second finals in four years, Riley told them not to panic, because even the best dynasties have off years. Even his Lakers of the '80s-era, won five championships and lost seven.

• "You got to deal with it. You got to come back," Riley said.

Nadkarni points out that the core of the Celtics squad is still young.

• Jaylen Brown is 26. Jayson Tatum is only 25.

What’s next: Next season starts in October.