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BOSTON – It’s been 12 years since the Boston Celtics last hosted an NBA Finals game, which means 12 years of energy has been building throughout the City of Champions in anticipation of their return.
The team could sense the calm before the storm Tuesday afternoon while practicing inside an empty TD Garden where, in roughly 33 hours, all of that pent-up energy would be released.
“It's going to be jumping in here,” said a “super excited” Payton Pritchard before hosting the Golden State Warriors for Game 3. “People are going to be crazy. It's obviously a really late start at 9:00, which is crazy, but it should be electric.”
It’s always electric inside TD Garden. The Celtics fans make regular-season games feel like a playoff atmosphere and they make early-round playoff games feel like a Finals atmosphere.
But a Finals game? The current C’s roster can only imagine what that environment will feel like.
Derrick White has felt the electricity surging ever since joining the team toward the beginning of its mid-season turnaround. Based on that consistent upward trajectory, he expects the roof to be blown off the building Wednesday night.
“It's amazing playing here since I got traded and throughout this whole postseason,” said the veteran combo guard, who has logged 33 points through the first two games of the series. “I already know that the Boston fans are going to bring it up a notch and maybe a couple more notches in the Playoffs, in the Finals. I'm looking forward to it, and I know everybody else loves playing in front of this crowd.”
There’s no question that the crowd will bring it, which means it’s up to the Celtics to match its energy as they look to take a 2-1 series lead.
With a 5-4 record at home in these playoffs, the C’s realize that they need to turn up their intensity at TD Garden. They’ll have some added motivation coming off of a 107-88 Game 2 defeat in San Francisco, hoping to continue their perfect playoff record in games following a loss.
“As any competitor would tell you, when you get hit in the mouth like that, there's only one way to respond,” said Marcus Smart. “And if you're not really ready to do that, then you don't need to be on this stage. This is a stage where we've got to be willing to risk it all out there for your team and for the victory.”
On basketball’s biggest stage, there is no room for stage freight. However, that’s not something to worry about with these C’s, especially after going on the road and handing Golden State its first home loss of the postseason in Game 1.
“We're not shy of the moment,” said Pritchard. “I think everybody is ready for the moment, ready for their opportunity to come and do well with it. We're going to be ready for Game 3, make things tough, and hopefully pull out this win.”
With 12 years of pent-up energy building toward this moment, they expect nothing less.