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The Boston Celtics have their backs against the wall of the NBA bubble, but they are not yet ready to burst.
After losing Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals Wednesday night and falling into a 3-1 series deficit against the Miami Heat, the Cs know they can’t afford to take a step back, so they only seek to advance little by little. -inch to prevent your season from bursting.
“We only have to win one game at a time,” Jayson Tatum said after his team’s 112-109 loss in Game 4. “You don’t have to win a series the next game. We just have to give everything we have. It’s either winning or coming home from here on out, so that’s the approach we need to take. ”
The Celtics will need to come out with the same kind of urgency they displayed during Saturday night’s 117-106 Game 3 win, which they led from start to finish. Unfortunately, they were unable to carry as much urgency to Wednesday as Miami got off to a good start and led most of Game 4.
“I just don’t think we attacked enough,” said Kemba Walker, who had 20 points, five assists and four rebounds. “I don’t think we were aggressive enough. We were not as aggressive as the last game, so we have to get back to that. ”
Jaylen Brown said the team doesn’t just have to be aggressive on the offensive side, but also on the defensive side of the ball. He noted how once Miami shooters got comfortable early on, it was hard to break their confidence, particularly that of 20-year-old rookie Tyler Herro, who scored a career-high 37 points.
“The good thing is that we have another chance and a chance to keep playing,” Brown said. “I think I am a fighter to the end. This is how a lot of our guys’ minds are connected, so we only have to go out and play one game at a time. ”
Walker’s mind is certainly wired in that way, especially now that he’s finally had a taste of postseason success for the first time in his eight-year NBA career.
“At the end of the day, we have to find a way,” the All-Star point guard said. “We can do it. It’s about pride, it’s about wanting to do it, and the next game we have to go out and show it. ”
Yet only a handful of teams – 13 out of 257 to be exact – have ever shown such determination when facing a 3-1 series deficit. Those historical odds don’t mean much to C’s coach Brad Stevens though, as he and his team are only focused on the current moment.
“It doesn’t really matter,” Stevens said. “In the situation we are in, we have to play well on Friday. We don’t have to win three games on Friday. We have to win one. That will be our focus, that will be our attention and we will seek it. ”
Brown will also not allow historical data to go to his head, and it shouldn’t. After all, the Celtics have beaten Miami three times during the 2019-20 season, so there’s no reason to believe they can’t beat them three more times.
“We still have a chance, we still have a chance,” Brown reiterated. “I believe in the team. We are down 3-1, but I think we can still come back and win. We all have to believe it. We all have to go out there and play like this starting today, starting now, starting the next game. ”
