Through four games of this Eastern Conference Semi-Final, the home team has won every game. Each of those wins have come by a double-digit margin, often in dominant fashion. The Celtics went into Washington with a 2-0 series lead over the Wizards and looked to take total control in what has been a nasty and physical series. The Celtics then went on to lay back-to-back goose eggs which at one point included a 26-0 run by the Wizards in Game 4.
The series shifts back to the TD Garden on Wednesday night in a game that will likely determine the winner of the series. According to FiveThirtyEight, the Celtics are hanging on and currently have a 55% chance of winning the series. Game 5 is often just as important as Game 7 when it comes to the NBA Playoffs. According to ESPN Stats and Info, the winner of Game 5 has gone on to win the series 83 percent of the time. It isn’t an elimination game, but Boston needs to treat it like one.
TD Garden has not been kind to the Wizards this season, as they are 0-4 in Celtics territory this season. Washington point guard, John Wall understands the importance of being able to steal one in Boston.
“It’s going to be real loud,” Wall told reporters. “It’s going to be better than the first two games. It’s an important game for those guys. It’s an important game for both of us, but more important for those guys, going back home…They’re going to play better than they did here. And their fans are going to be amazing.”
The Celtics will need to regroup after dropping the last two on the road, especially considering the talking that has occurred on both sides since then. As far as Boston is concerned, this series is back to 0-0 and is now a best-of-three battle for a ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals. Boston hasn’t punched a ticket to the ECF since 2011-12, while the Wizards haven’t since 1979.
Game 5 is Wednesday night, 8PM ET on TNT.
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