Losing is easy. Just ask Brad Stevens
“It’s much more easy to lose a game than win a game. I think the first time I heard that was from coach (Bobby) Knight. Coach Knight used to say no matter what, it is hard to win a basketball game. You should always realize that when you’ve come back into a locker room after you’ve won.
Every team has an excuse for a loss. Boston, especially, can look at this game tonight in Milwaukee and tick off a half-dozen of them. The easiest of all is that their myriad of injuries has left them too thin and too reliant on unproven, young talent to close out a team on the road.
Which is why a win tonight would be so important.
Even with what’s become a “lost” season for team that had would have stood out in this Eastern Conference playoffs, there has been a well-discussed silver lining.
Jayson Tatum has taken monster steps forward with an opportunity that opened up five minutes into the regular season. Terry Rozier has grown immensely in the wake of injuries to Kyrie Irving and Marcus Smart. Jaylen Brown has taken an extremely impressive step forward.
The post-season has given all these guys, and now Semi Ojeleye, opportunities to learn first-hand what it means when we talk about how different playoff basketball is. They have been forced to deal with the grabbing, hacking, and pushing that goes uncalled this time of year. They’ve figured out that some of those easy layups and dunks after steals become very hard contests and fouls that force them to earn points at the line… and think twice about how they act with the ball.
Tonight, they face the toughest test of all: the desperate last-gasp of a home team facing elimination.
The crowd will be on fire. The boos will never be louder. The effort from the opponent will, amazingly, reach another level as they show their fans and themselves that they’re not ready to be part of a TNT Photoshop.
No one will blame these young Celtics if they get a little awestruck by the moment. It’s easy to think about the safety and comfort of a Game 7 at home when it’s your crowd going nuts and your bench feeding off that energy.
Eventually, though, these guys will have to learn to make their death-blow on the road. No one has home court throughout their entire careers, so a playoff clincher on the road is a rite of passage for all of the greats.
This Boston team has already learned so many lessons, but their greatest one might be learned tonight.
Block out the rising decibel level.
Block out the madness and fury of desperate opponents.
Block out the natural inclination to yearn for the comforts of home.
This can be a seminal moment for these young Celtics. What will they do… feel fear, or be feared?
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