Celtics Tapping into their Road Court Advantage

Boston has won at least two road games in each of their playoff series this year. Can they get another one on Golden State's floor tonight?

SAN FRANCISCO – The Boston Celtics’ turnaround this season has been fueled in part by selfless play.

But right now…it’s time to get greedy.

Winning Game 1 on Golden State’s home floor was very much a setback for the Warriors.

Beating them twice, in as many games at the Chase Center?

That’s "find-the-keys-to-the-duck boats" time for the Celtics.

While it may seem a given Golden State will bounce back with a better performance in Game 2 to even up the series, would anyone be really all that shocked if Boston emerges with a Game 2 win?

Boston has been the best road team in the playoffs this year.

In the conference finals against Miami, Boston won three of the four games in Miami, including Game 7 to advance to the Finals.

Boston has won at least two road games in each of their previous playoff series this year.

Can they make it a three-peat?

I asked Boston’s Derrick White about the challenge of staying hungry after having already accomplished what most teams look to do early in a series which is getting a win on the road.

“We can’t really think about that,” White said. “Game 2 is going to be huge. The great thing about the playoffs is one game can change everything. We’ve got to have that right mindset that this is a big game for us, and we’ve got to go out there and compete and not try to hang our hat on Game 1 but to be a little greedy and go get Game 2.”

And at this point, maintaining a firm grip on the series is what matters most to Boston, something they can accomplish with a Game 2 win tonight.

“The good thing about our group is I feel like we're continuing to grow,” said Boston’s Al Horford. “Even as these playoffs have gone on, I've seen our team get better, and that's something that's been consistent with our group. And our guys have taken the criticism from Coach (Ime Udoka) on what we need to work on, and we've been able to learn from it and move on and try to be better. That's what we've done, and that's what we're going to continue to do. From Game 1 to Game 2 now, we're looking to be better and see how we can tighten up and be even better for the next game.”

To beat Golden State again in as many games, a better shooting performance from Jayson Tatum would go a long way towards accomplishing that goal.

Tatum had a double-double of 12 points and 13 assists (the most by a player making their Finals debut) in Boston’s 120-108 Game 1 win, but he shot just 3-for-17 from the field.

In the playoffs, the bounceback from games in which Tatum has scored less than 20 points, is real. He has had four such games the last two seasons and has averaged 37.5 points per game in the follow-up.

“Once you’ve done something before, you know how to respond,” Tatum said. “I’ve had some bad shooting nights in the NBA. So it’s like, I’ve been here before. I know what to do next game. I think a lot of it is mental. You don’t let it creep into your mind. I can’t do nothing about what happened last game. I missed some shots and it is what it is. It’s all about how to prepare and get ready for the next one.”

Tatum added, “so it’s not something that I’m losing sleep over. You know, we won. That was most important, right? It’s the Finals. That’s all that matters.”