Well, on the bright side, 4 of the 7 Finals would be in Boston and not the high altitude.
Of course, that would require HCA actually being an advantage again for the Celtics after last year's letdowns at home.
Exactly. Even if it’s not a huge advantage, it’s still a hell of a lot better than playing in Denver. If Tatum has a below average game instead of a terrible one, C’s likely win last night. 15 points out of your best player isn’t going to cut it.
All it takes is losing Game 1 or 2 and HCA is gone. And seeing the track record, that's a strong possibility with this team.
I feel HCA in the finals, no matter who we play, is important. It doesn't always factor in, you can lose in 6 or whatever, or you can win in 6, but it is still a big advantage, and we would need every advantage we can get in a series vs. DEN. No matter how you want to break it down, our chances to win the series are better with HCA. I see no reason to discount that advantage.
We have about a 5 game lead over the top west teams. We have a pretty easy schedule down the stretch, after this road trip anyway. The team should be be taking it very seriously to hold on to HCA. Stay motivated, stay focused. Closing out the season with HCA is the next big step towards winning title. It is the most important thing (they should be treating it that way). Then something else will be the most important thing. But this is the next thing up to take care of.
Yeah I would still prefer having HCA over not. But at the same time, this team is a combined 10-12 at home the last two postseasons combined with a few killer losses (Game 6 Finals, Game 7 ECF, three pivotal Game 5s against MIL/ATL/PHI, etc.). The good news though is they are pretty solid on the road actually.
But typically the teams that win it all also take care of business at home. Denver went 10-1 at home in the playoffs last year. Bucks in 2021 were 10-1. Warriors 2022 were 11-1. It's not just about the effects of home/road, but the path. The last 3 teams to win it all had pretty easy paths with maybe only 1 tough series mixed in. Essentially they cruised to the Finals and didn't have many Game 7s to deal with. Again, that's a testament to being dominant at home and taking care of business with HCA.
Unfortunately the C's have played with their food often and choked at home. Even in their Finals run 2022, there was no reason they should have gone 7 games against Miami nor should they have gone 7 against MIL if they simply didn't play with their food at home. C's have been dominant at home this season, hope it carries into April through June.
I think you need to throw out the last couple years. Celtics weren't that good at home during the regular season either. Despite this 2 game speed bump, they have made a concerted effort to be dominant at home this year and they have been. The key is really, you can't have your best player putting up a stinker. Tatum plays an average game of maybe even just 20pts and 10 boards and we win that game.
HCA in the finals is important because all you need to do is to either A= win at home or B= just steal one on the road. which the celtics have proven they are very good at doing. the Margin of error is just so much higher on the visiting team because they have to win all their home games AND steal a game on the road. Boston can theoretically lose one at home then go steal one away and HCA is back.
I really don't have any fear of anyone in the East.....Cleveland might scare me because they guys just go off against us for some reason. but realistically we are better than everyone else.
West scares me abit if it ends up being Denver. Minnesota/Thunder I think we will be fine.
Topic: Celtics (48-13) at Nuggets (42-20) Game #62 3/7/24 (Read 10532 times)