In the Celtics' last championship, the most thrilling victory was undoubtedly the semifinals tie-breaker.
In that scoring battle, James scored 45 points and Pierce scored 41. In the final moments of the game, Pierce stood at the free throw line, and hitting both free throws basically sealed the victory.
Pierce's first free throw was funny, the basketball jumped on the basket several times, Pierce and Garnett couldn't help but turn around, hoping to give the basketball power, and then the basketball actually fell into the basket.
Pierce said of the penalty after the game: "That's because Cardinal Auerbach over the arena is protecting us. ”
On their way to a championship that year, the Celtics played a total of 14 home games, and they were 13-1. It is no exaggeration to say that in the four-group series, two rounds to tie seven, two rounds to six games, if it were not for the home results being too secure, they may not win the championship.
However, as the oldest team in NBA history, the Celtics are now squandering their illustrious traditions a little bit.
In today's Eastern Conference final, the Celtics built a nine-point lead in the first half thanks to the excellent play of Tatum and others.
However, going into the second half, they won't be playing, or defending.
Throughout the third quarter, the Celtics gave the Heat a terrifying 46 points, which even set the Heat's all-time playoff single-quarter scoring record.
How scary was the Heat's shot in this quarter? Shooting 17 of 26 in a single quarter, including 6 of 9 from three-point range, their jump shot was simply empty.
In the last series, the Green Army defended the 76ers by less than 90 points at G6G7, and today they lost 123 points in the game, setting the record for the second-highest point conceded in this year's playoffs.
With such a humiliating performance in a single quarter, the Green Army's last-minute comeback turned into a futile one, and they eventually lost the game 116-123 and trailed 1-0 in the series.
There are naturally many, many reasons for losing, and these will be left to the young Mazura and the players to meet and summarize.
But the Celtics team is stuck in a strange circle, and the phenomenon is serious: they don't know how to win at home.
After the Bucks' first-round upset, the Celtics had the best record of the remaining teams, with home-court advantage no matter who they faced.
But is this really an advantage?
Taking the four divisional finals teams as an example, the Lakers, Nuggets, and Heat have maintained all home wins so far, while the Celtics have a home record of 4-4, which is similar to those eliminated in the first round, and the sample is larger.
In fact, this phenomenon has been evident since last season.
In the first round against the Nets, the Green Army kept two home games and swept their opponents 4-0;
After a 4-3 win over defending champion Bucks in the second round, the Green Army came up and sent a home game, and then they made consecutive mistakes in the battle of Tianwang Mountain and lost another home game. If it weren't for Tatum's presence at G6, they wouldn't even have a chance to win G7 at home.
With a 4-3 win over the Heat in the Eastern Conference, the Greens quickly receded their advantage at home after a 1-1 win on the road. And that's not all, when they won the Tennosan away from home, they lost again in G6. You know, the staff was already preparing for the award ceremony, and the fans were ready to cheer and celebrate, but the Green Army eventually went to Miami to collect the trophy.
Facing the Warriors in the finals, the Green Army also played 1-1 on the road in the first two games, this time they held G3. But in the final moments of G4, they suddenly stopped playing, missing out on a 3-1 lead. They then lost again in G6 and watched the Warriors celebrate the championship on their turf.
Throughout last season's playoffs, the Greens' home record was 2-0 in the first round, 2-2 in the second round, 1-2 in the Eastern Conference finals, and 1-2 in the finals, totaling 6-6.
It's hard to imagine that this will be the home report card of a team on the road to the championship and coming to the end.
This phenomenon continues this season and continues to be carried forward.
Facing the Hawks in the first round, the Green Army took a 3-1 lead in the first four games, and with home promotion in sight, they made consecutive defensive mistakes in the final moments and finally had to get on the plane to Atlanta again.
Facing the 76ers in the second round, against the 76ers without Embiid, everyone thought that the Green Army would easily win the home G1, but Harden gave the Green Army players a head start with 45 points. When the Green Army managed to make it 2-2, they lost at home to Tianwangshan. The script was exactly the same as last year's game against the Bucks, and Tatum then led the team to two straight wins to complete the cut.
Then came today's home loss to the Heat.
As the team with the biggest home field advantage so far, they have lost half of their 8 home games. For comparison, the Nuggets are 7-0 at home, the Lakers are 6-0 at home, and the Heat are 5-0 at home.
After losing today, the Green Army's consecutive home losses were ridiculed.
"The Celtics have suffered all kinds of inexplicable losses throughout the year, even at home to the 76ers without Embiid, and they could have done better, but they didn't," Skip said. ”
A prominent Green Army fan blogger wrote: "There will be no more 46 points conceded in a single quarter, the Celtics will do better. If you're a Celtic fan and have been following this team all season, would you really be surprised that they lost at home to G1? ”
Tatum was asked this question after the game, and his answer was: "Sh*t, I don't know why this happened, we have to do better." ”
So the question is, what is it that the Green Army often fails to win games at home?
Of course, it will not be a psychological factor, any player will play more passionately at home, and stage fright is impossible.
The key is the game strategy, taking the 4 home games lost this year as an example.
The Green Army's scores in these 4 games were:
First round G5-117: 119 Hawks;
Second round G1-115: 119 Philadelphia, second round Tianwang Mountain 103: 115 Philadelphia;
East Final G1-116: 123 Heat.
The 4 home scores they won were, in order:
First Round G1-112: 99 Eagles, First Round G2-119: 106 Eagles;
Second round G2-121: 87 Philadelphia, second round tie 7 112: 88 Philadelphia.
In the four home games they lost, they had no problem offense, averaging 112.8 points per game, but conceding an average of 119 points per game. As a top three team in the league in defensive efficiency, this is not acceptable.
In the four home games they won, their offense was still no problem, averaging 116 points per game, but they strengthened their defense, and they scored less than 100 points in three games, and only conceding 95 points per game, which is a full 26 points difference from four losses!
If this data is not specific enough, the other data is very stable.
In the four home games that the Green Army lost, the opponent's first-quarter scoring order was: 30, 31, 33, 28.
The opponent's shooting percentage is: 45%, (6 of 11 from three-point range), 50% (5 of 12 from three-point range), 52% (5 of 9 from three-point range), and 42.4% (2 of 4 from three-point range).
The above data is enough to illustrate something.
As a defensively fundamental team, the Celtics often can't maintain a sense of urgency at home from the beginning and think about solving problems defensively at the beginning of the game.
So they let each other develop their hands in the first quarter, especially the outside feel and the state of the opposite star.
Just like Trae Young's 38 points + 13 assists and Harden's 45 points + 6 assists, coincidentally, both of them hit the final minute of the game, making the Celtics home fans silent.
The same team, the same defensive stats, the difference between winning and losing at home is telling enough.
Mazura has emphasized space, emphasis on offense throughout the season, but what they really need to do well is defend.
However, there is no need for Green Army fans to be discouraged.
Because contrary to their poor home record, they tend to burst with more energy away from home.
Also from last season and this season as an example:
Last season: 2-0 Nets in the first round, 2-1 in the semifinals, 3-1 in the Eastern Conference Heat, 1-2 in the Finals Warriors, 8-4 in total;
This season: 2-1 loss to the Hawks in the first round, 2-1 loss in the semifinals 76ers, for a total of 4-2.
What's interesting is that when the Greens are playing away from home, they tend to be able to play cohesion and focus from the very beginning.
I can't get used to cheering, I can only accept boos, and I don't know whether to praise these young people for being too humble or for being too resilient to pressure.
But either way, they're going to have all the "home court disadvantages" in this year's playoffs, and you have to accept them if you don't want to.
So, if they want to win the title, the Green Army still has to try to learn to win at home.