Friday, May 25 - Game 6 - Celtics at Cavaliers
Pregame – Most of the C's Will Play in Uncharted Territory Tonight
CLEVELAND – Save for one active player, the Boston Celtics are in uncharted territory as they enter tonight’s Game 6 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Boston is on the doorstep of the NBA Finals. A victory would advance them to the championship round and give them the conference crown.
Aron Baynes, who will start at center for the second straight game tonight and was unavailable for comment on this story, is the only active member of the team who has been in this position before. Kyrie Irving has as well, but Irving is sidelined for the season with a left knee injury.
There is no doubting the fact that a potential berth to the NBA Finals is a sizable prize to be on the line. It would be nearly impossible for the Celtics to not think about it heading into tonight’s game.
With that in mind, Celtics.com asked Brad Stevens before tip-off what the key is to the C’s pushing that thought out of their minds and playing strictly for tonight. He first answered in jest, saying we would need to ask Baynes himself, but the coach then gave his thoughts on the topic after pointing out that he, too, has never been to the Finals.
“You’re not going to get anywhere by looking ahead or behind,” he said after noting how much stamina is required by teams to reach this stage of the postseason. “If you’re not in the moment, you’ll be down 20 in the first. We have to stay in the moment, and play the right way, and let the chips fall where they may like we have all year.”
Fortunately for Boston, as Stevens also pointed out, it has done an outstanding job of staying in the moment throughout the regular season and the Playoffs.
“More times than not, it’s been good,” he said. “But we could play really well tonight and lose. We could play really well tonight and win. At the end of the day, let’s just focus on what we have with the task at hand and stay in the moment and go from there.”
Cool as a cucumber. Laissez faire at its finest. Gotta love Brad Stevens.
With the exception of Baynes, the Boston Celtics are all feeling the nerves of being on the brink of the NBA Finals for the very first time. How do they overcome the pressure? Stay in the moment – just like they have all season to this point.
- Marc D'Amico