After a remarkable shooting display in the fourth quarter of Game 1 to outscore the Warriors 40-16, the overreactions were off the charts from some basketball analysts and fans. Some declared that the Warriors were overhyped, and the Boston Celtics would win the championship in just 4 or 5 games. Allowing a 35-14 run in the third quarter by the Warriors in Game 2 all but ended the early whispers. The reality is that this Celtics team loves to do things the hard way, and this has been a theme in this playoff run. They wanted the number two seed to play the Nets which many considered the toughest first-round opponent. They shocked the world by winning an elimination Game 6 on the road and then a Game 7 at home against the Bucks. Then, in the Eastern Conference Finals, they lost a game 6 at home and won a wire-to-wire Game 7 in Miami. Yes, the Celtics love the hard way. In this article, we will look at the five keys to the Celtics bouncing back in this series.
1. Continue to show resilience after losses-the Celtics have developed a reputation in these playoffs of being a resilient group. The team is 6-0 after losing the previous game, and dating back to the regular season, the team last lost back-to-back games dated back to the end of March when they lost to the Raptors and Heat. However, in that Raptors game, Tatum, Brown, Al Horford, and Robert Williams all sat out, and the team still only lost by three in overtime. Therefore, the last real back-to-back losses for the starters date back to January 19 and 21. It is a hallmark of a great team, and it shows that leadership is in the locker room to pick up themselves and dominate the next time on the court. They will need to embrace that attitude in game 3.
2. Protect homecourt-most teams tend to play their best basketball at home better because they feed off the energy in the building. Role players on the team historically do better in front of their home crowd. The Celtics are 8-3 on the road while 5-4 at home in the playoffs. The Celtics did their job in Golden State by getting a split for Games 1 and 2. However, they need to figure out their struggles to win at home. Although the Celtics have a rabid home crowd, too often the Celtics come to play in the 1st quarter having less energy than their opponent and facing big deficits that are hard to overcome. The players should be motivated to protect their homecourt in the Garden because doing so will mean another banner in the rafters.
3. Stop the third-quarter meltdowns-it is hard to win basketball games when you fail to show up for a quarter. In my preview to this series, I predicted the Warriors’ best punches are in the third quarter, and the Celtics needed to weather the storm. In Game 1, the lead was only 12 points but in Game 2 the lead after the third quarter was 23 points. The Warriors have outscored the Celtics 73-38 in the third quarter in both games. It took a nearly perfect quarter on both offense and defense to stun the Warriors in Game 1. The Celtics need to make the adjustments, get active on defense, and take care of the ball to stop these meltdowns in the third quarter from becoming a trend for the rest of the series if they want to prevail.
4. Forget about Draymond’s antics and share the ball-the Celtics seemed to have gotten caught up in Draymond Green’s mind games. It was a change in the mindset of the Warriors for Green to play with an edge and set the tone for the team. On the road, he would probably be ejected for the shenanigans in Game 2. In Game 3, the Celtics need to get back to a physically dominant mindset and turn the tables on Draymond. Also, they need to forget about the referees and keep attacking and sharing the ball because the more aggressive team tends to get to the free-throw line and win basketball games.
5. Star duo need to embrace their potential legendary moment- Tatum rebounded from his Game 1 output of 12 points by scoring 28 but it was an inefficient 8 of 19 from the field. However, the optimistic mark was his 6 of 9 from three-pointers. Jaylen Brown reignited the comeback the game 1 with his 24 points in Game 1 but fell flat with 17 points in Game 2. The Celtics need their young wing stars to explode as a tandem because when they score 30 together, they win ballgames. If the Celtics are to win this championship, Jayson and Jaylen must embrace the challenge of becoming legends in the NBA Finals. They can play defense, offense, and make the right passes, and now is the time to put it together for this final stretch.
Prediction: After playing three road games in 1 week, I think the Celtics will be focused on getting back on track by winning this game. The TD Garden will be buzzing, and the Celtics will bring the energy early and often in this game. I think they cut down the turnovers and squat the potential third-quarter run.
Celtics 113-Warriors 106