Monday, May 7 - Game 4 - Celtics at 76ers
Pregame – Celtics Have What it Takes to Fight off Human Nature
PHILADELPHIA – Brad Stevens said after Game 3 that no team was better equipped than his Celtics to turn the page to overtime following a shocking blow to its collective stomach at the end to regulation. The reason behind that statement may also prove to be the reason why no team is better equipped than Boston to head into Game 4 with a 3-0 series lead.
There has been a lot of talk the conclusion of Game 3 about how “human nature” can cause teams to relax once they go up 3-0 in a series. Teams understand that they only need to win once in four games to advance, and at this point, teams also know that squads are 129-0 in winning a series after they pulled ahead 3-0.
This group of Celtics, however, has fought against that nature throughout the 2017-18 season. Doing so has garnered a ton of respect from their coach.
Prior to Game 4, Stevens made a comment that had nothing to do with his team’s mindset heading into the contest while owning a 3-0 series lead. His comment, however, is certainly applicable to the scenario Boston will face tonight.
“There’s a lot of guys (on this team) that don’t let what happened yesterday affect them,” Stevens said. “They just move on.”
That’s the exact trait a team needs to be able to complete a sweep of an opponent, or at the very least, to play well during a Game 4 while owning a 3-0 series lead.
The Celtics aren’t caught up with the fact that they won a thrilling Game 3 on the road Saturday night. They aren’t thinking about the fact that they’ve beaten the 76ers three straight times, and that they need only one more win in four tries to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
This team is concerned with one thing and one thing only, and that thing is tonight’s Game 4.
So while human nature may have gotten the best of many teams that held a 3-0 series lead in the past, causing them to play poorly during their Game 4, it sounds like Stevens doesn’t expect the same from Boston. His team has mastered the ability to look forward rather than backward. That trait will go a long way toward helping the C’s play tonight’s potential series-clincher with the same tenacity and mentality with which they played Games 1 through 3.
- Marc D'Amico