Boston Has Bought Into Its New Celtics

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Boston Has Bought Into Its New Celtics

Posted: Mar 01, 2015



By Marc D'Amico |  @Marc_DAmico
Celtics.com
March 1, 2015

BOSTON – The juice is back in Boston. There’s no doubt about that.

Boston’s faithful has bought into their new Celtics. The C’s, who had won three in a row and seven out of 10 heading into Sunday, were treated to an unbelievable atmosphere Sunday night at TD Garden.

A sellout crowd of fanatical fans packed into the Garden to watch their team take on the top opponent in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors. These fans didn’t come only to get a peek at the Splash Brothers. No, they packed the house full because they believed their Celtics could knock off the best team in the league.

That’s the type of confidence that begins to grow when a team plays the way the Celtics have for the past nine days. There is no team in the NBA plays harder than this group. There is no team in the NBA plays with more energy than this group. This is something that Boston’s newest star, Isaiah Thomas, hasn’t experienced since his days at the University of Washington.

“My college team. We played really hard. But not a pro team,” he said after being asked if he’s ever been with a group that plays with such passion. “Everyone that gets into the game is putting their heart on the line, and that’s what it takes to win games in this league.”

Boston’s inspired play was on full display Sunday night. The Celtics sent the Garden crowd into hysteria and nearly took down the mighty Warriors.

It was Boston that looked like the best team in the league during the first half of this tilt. The Celtics ambushed Golden State over the first 24 minutes of the contest, running circles around the Warriors on offense and swarming Golden State on defense.

The Celts apparently forgot that they were facing off against the league’s top field goal percentage defense. That, or they just didn’t care.

Evan Turner’s midrange game keyed a 38-point first quarter for Boston. The C’s shot 53.6 percent from the field during the period. The Warriors, meanwhile, scored only 25 points on 35.7 percent shooting.

The fun spilled into the second quarter, when Boston scored 18 of the first 23 points of the quarter. The Garden crowd exploded after Jae Crowder and Jonas Jerebko capped the run with back-to-back 3-pointers, prompting Warriors head coach Steve Kerr to call for a timeout.

“It was one of those games I used to watch on TV when (Kevin) Garnett and those guys were here and the crowd was wild,” newcomer Isaiah Thomas said. “The energy was crazy.”

So was the score. Jerebko’s 3-pointer put Boston on top by 26 points with 6:53 left on the first half clock.

Remember, this was the best team in the league that the Celtics were embarrassing. The crowd was loving every second of it, which reminded team veteran Brandon Bass of the good old days when he, Garnett, Paul Pierce and company were competing for titles.

“It was kind of like a playoff atmosphere tonight,” he said. “It felt great to play in an atmosphere like this. It kind of felt like old times.”

Sunday’s environment is what Boston is known for. This place blows the roof off when its team is playing well, and that’s exactly the type of atmosphere players want to experience on a nightly basis.

“That’s what you want to be a Boston Celtic for. That was amazing,” said Thomas. “It just hurts because you didn’t finish it off.”

Unfortunately for Boston, Stephen Curry and his teammates enjoy playing in that type of atmosphere as well. They battled back during the second half and upended the Celtics by a score of 106-101.

But don’t worry, Isaiah. We’ve got plenty of season left on the schedule.

Fans have an opportunity to pack their way into the Garden 11 more times this season to watch these entertaining Celtics play. If things continue to play out as they have over the past nine days, it wouldn’t be a surprise if more games are added to that total.

That’s right, we’re talking about the playoffs. This Celtics team looks like it should be in the playoffs, and it looks like a team no opponent would want to catch as a first-round matchup.

And that right there is why the juice is back in Boston.



bob




.

There's nothing quite like a crowd of animated Boston spectators.  But I credit the enthusiasm of last night's throng to Rosalie.

Sam

sam wrote:There's nothing quite like a crowd of animated Boston spectators.  But I credit the enthusiasm of last night's throng to Rosalie.

Sam

I heard her yelling and the sound went off the scoreboard, thru the rafters, off each rim, though the window, out on to causeway street over to 93 south, banged a right on the Pike heading west and proceeded 8 miles to my place in Newton where I definitively hear Ros' roar as I had the windows in my TV room open as it has been such a splendid winter weather wise....

Then I saw Rosalie, Larry and Michael quaffing a few beakers at the Fours after the game!

Bobc,

Whatever you were drinking, I'd like some of that.

Sam

sam wrote:Bobc,

Whatever you were drinking, I'd like some of that.

Sam

Sam actually just a little wired after a long drive home to Newton from the Berkshires.

Went to see Brandon play some playoff basketball. His team won and they are going to the final Wednesday. His previous game he hit 11 three pointers, many from well behind the line. He is 5'2" at the most and in 8th grade. 11 three pointers in a 40 minute game? The kid is unbelievable. Tonight he hit 4 three pointers with 3 of them coming down the stretch when the game was on the line. I'm doing my best to keep him humble, the team lost the game in which he made all the threes and I pointed out to him he never mentioned that in his Facebook posts, then asked about how many steals, how many assists, how many hustle plays...... But still of course give him compliments on his shooting. He actually is better playing defense as both he and his backcourt mate play ferocious, harassing defense while committing very few fouls.

I'm amazed at the amount of threes they take at this level. Some of the kids can barely reach the basket from that length but it seems every kid on every team always has a green light to launch. It doesn't bode well for the future for those of us who are not thrilled with the three point shot.

Bobc,

It's great to hear that Brandon is doing so well.  He's fortunate to have a loyal friend and mentor in you.  Very fortunate!

These days, scoring is the name of the game at every level, and threes are unfortunately the name of the game when it comes to scoring.

You and I can bemoan those facts.  But Brandon's in another basketball sphere, and he seems to be doing very well according to the values of that updated sphere.  So good for him.  We've had our time, and they'll never experience that, for which I feel sad.  But we never got to appreciate the original Celtics and more than the end of the long stocking times.  I suppose some 120-year-old guy is out there somewhere recalling those days with great relish.

And so it goes.

Sam

Sam