MIAMI — Al Horford already knew the amount off the very best of his head. The Celtics had merely misplaced a disgraceful Sport 3 to the Warmth on Sunday night time time, and the veteran was doing his most interesting to conjure up notion. However the data had been on his ideas.
No group in NBA historic previous has ever come once more from a 3-0 assortment deficit to advance, the state of affairs the C’s uncover themselves in heading into Tuesday night time time’s Sport 4.
“We’re not out but,” Horford talked about. “It’s 3-0. I do know what it appears to be like like. I believe I noticed the opposite day, 0-149 or one thing like that. So, we’re not out but. We’re nonetheless kicking. Certainly one of 4 groups which can be nonetheless kicking.”
The chances are literally prolonged, even longer considering how broken, irreparable and hopeless the Celtics appeared in Sunday’s humiliation. Solely three teams in NBA historic previous have even compelled a Sport 7 after falling behind 3-0, the ultimate being the 2003 Blazers.
The following 12 months, the 2004 Pink Sox grew to grow to be the first group in baseball historic previous to beat a 3-0 hole after they did so in opposition to the Yankees throughout the ALCS, sooner than worthwhile the World Sequence.
May it happen as soon as extra within the equivalent metropolis? It seems extraordinarily unlikely, nevertheless it certainly did for the Pink Sox, too, after they misplaced 19-8 in Sport 3.
David Ortiz, at least, has hope.
“There’d be no higher time than this one for that occur,” Ortiz talked about in an interview with The Related Press on Monday morning at his charity golf match. “For those who do it in basketball, it’s bought to be the identical metropolis. You understand what I’m saying.”
“Being 3-0, you’ve bought two selections: You both give up otherwise you return out, and in skilled sports activities, when you get to that time, there’s no method to give up,” Ortiz continued.
Earlier than Sport 4 in 2004, Kevin Millar famously talked about, “Don’t allow us to win tonight.” Who on the Celtics will make the identical rallying cry?
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, a Rhode Island native, acknowledged that the 2004 Pink Sox can present his group some hope.
“I believe it’s vital to sort of construct that perspective and have an understanding,” Mazzulla talked about. “I believe that helps us maintain a narrow-minded focus that one thing like that has been performed earlier than. Particularly being on this metropolis, it offers us a chance to sort of spearhead that identification and that chance that we now have. I believe on the finish of the day, that’s how we now have to take a look at it. Now we have a chance, we gotta take it one recreation at a time.”
The Celtics have been out-played, out-toughed and out-coached throughout the first three video video games. They’ve been embarrassed by a Warmth group in the hunt for revenge. Their delight, in the event that they’ve any, is being examined. The end end result seems inevitable. However equivalent to those 2004 Pink Sox proved, they think about there must be a major.
“That’s the strategy it’s important to take,” Malcolm Brogdon talked about. “We nonetheless imagine we’re the higher staff. Now we have not performed prefer it in these three video games. However there may be at all times a primary.”
Originally posted 2023-05-22 19:52:56.