After the 2nd half the other day I expected great effort and that's not the case. Momentum into halftime tonight and as opposed to using it, looks like they breathed a sigh of relief after that 1h. I don't know if it really means anything, this team is really, really good...but something is off, motivation seems off.
per what I posted earlier re the Rangers comparison, I believe they're suffering for who their opponent is. They know their "real" opponents come after this series, so imo they're guilty of arrogantly taking this series win for granted and looking ahead. Add in their clinical home record to help diminish any sense of urgency they might feel. A few seasons back the Celtics had that series against the Hawks in which they failed to win a road game when they were clearly the superior team, never looked like losing when they themselves played at home: failed to fear losing that series, so they never showed any urgency on the road given they had HCA.