Logo
The Ticker
9 days ago

Paul Pierce’s Contract: Dispelling The Myths and Stating The Facts

The first domino to fall this offseason is Paul Pierce’s contract. Until Danny Ainge figures out what he’s doing there, little else matters. As we wait for this decision, we also must face the rest of the offseason, which means it is also rumor season. With that time of year, comes plenty of information floating [...]

42
9 days ago

Final Grade: Avery Bradley (C+)

In his third year in the league, in which promising players often make brash leaps from benchwarmer to starter, from starter to star, Avery Bradley took a big step back. But his regression might be deceptive. When he returned to the Celtics’ lineup on January the 2nd after two in-season months recovering from offseason shoulder [...]

9
10 days ago

Danny Ainge Expects Doc Rivers & Kevin Garnett To Return, Unsure About Paul Pierce

A long, challenging offseason awaits Danny Ainge this summer. Before he dives in head first, he joined Salk and Holley on WEEI-FM 93.7 to discuss the multitude of decisions facing him this offseason, as well as the progress of Rajon Rondo in his rehab from ACL surgery. A few of the notable highlights from the interview. Ainge [...]

11
10 days ago

Suns Hire Away Celtics’ Assistant GM Ryan McDonough

In one way or another, there will be change this offseason in Boston. That process started in the past couple days, with the first piece moving out coming as a name most C’s fans might not be familiar with. Yet, it was Celtics’ assistant general manager Ryan McDonough, one of Danny Ainge’s top lieutenants, who [...]

0
11 days ago

Doc Rivers Finishes 13th in Coach of the Year Voting

It was a tough season for the Boston Celtics, and that includes for head coach Doc Rivers. The long-time coach battled to find the right fit for a lot of new pieces that were both underperforming and/or failed to pick up his schemes on both ends of the floor. Naturally, an unfortunate plethora of injuries [...]

23
12 days ago

Overconfident Answers To Offseason Questions (Part 1)

It seems like every offseason since 2010 we’ve been through this: a myriad of questions and concerns about the Celtics’ roster that usually involve the possibility of the core of the team being dismantled. As we head into the summer of 2013, we’ve got a whole batch of questions, many of which will be familiar.  [...]

29
Browse Archives by:

Game 3: Celtics vs. Magic, a must-win?

AP

AP

Game 3, series tied 1-1
Friday, May 8, 2009
Amway Arena, 7 p.m. EDT
TV: ESPN
RADIO: WEEI 850 AM

I love the modern day “must-win game” arguments.

Not that there’s such thing as a “it’s-okay-if-we-lose game” in the Playoffs, especially in a 7-game series. But to go down 2-1 isn’t the end of the world by any means.

Losing tonight, however, would shift the Celtics into Panic Mode for Game 4 to avoid a 3-1 deficit, which would essentially put them six feet under.

So, I guess this is a must-win?

“In the history of the NBA playoffs, the team that has won Game Three of a best-of-seven series that was tied at one win each has gone on to win the series 75.3 percent of the time (125 of 166).”

That, according to ESPN research.

So with all the intangibles working in the favor of whoever wins a “pivotal” Game 3, is it really must-win game? Do these intangibles actually exist, or are they a media/fan-generated reasoning as to how a player or team performs.

Here are common terms that don’t appear on a box score for a reason:

Momentum: Don’t buy it for a second. In baseball, the common phrase is: “Momentum rides on your next day’s starter.” Well in basketball, momentum doesn’t ride at all. It rides the bench, if anything. Just because Game 1 was arguably a moral victory, and Game 2 an actual victory, doesn’t mean the Celtics have this “momentum” heading into Game 3.

The same goes for Cleveland. Just because they’ve bulldozed through its opponents throughout the Playoffs, doesn’t mean the Cavs’ next game is a lock down win because of some sort of magical momentum. No player, not even LeBron, can automatically drop 25, 10, 5 just because of momentum from the night before.

Psychological: Along the same lines as your mysterious momentum myth, there’s no psychological block when players get on hot streaks or shooting slumps. Fans want to think that everything carries over from game to game. The only thing that carries over is our memory.

There are no rollover minutes in basketball, or any sport for that matter. It comes in daily preparation both mentally and physically. When players say they take “one game at a time,” that’s generally the instance. Pro athletes generally keep short-term memories when it comes to single-game performances, etc. The media loves to highlight slumps, streaks and statistics.

Must-win games: Do not exist, literally, until the 48-minute brink of elimination period begins.

Don’t be brainwashed by irrelevant “pressure” games.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>