The Celtics Underdog Trick

Boston has a weird way of taking teams down

FanSided

The Boston Celtics just took out the Chicago Bulls for good by destroying them 105–83 on the road in Game 6 of the first round. They’ll take on one of their rivals in the Washington Wizards in the Eastern Conference semifinals, starting Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Celtics lost the first two games of the Chicago series as a one seed, almost killing their hopes of making a deep run in the playoffs. Then, everything changed when Brad Stevens inserted Gerald Green into the starting lineup. The space on the floor the small lineup created was impossible for the Bulls to stop. Avery Bradley also tortured Chicago on both ends of floor, holding Jimmy Butler to under 40% shooting when guarding him.

A lineup change certainly helped Boston, but there’s something deeper here. This team was dead in the water, and it’s hard to believe that Gerald Green allowed them to win four games in a row. What happened is that the Celtics went into familiar territory. They became the underdog.

Jae Crowder said going into the playoffs, “I wake up feeling like an underdog.”

This is coming from a one seed, so it was hard to believe. Then Chicago put a hurt on Boston in the first two games, and the Celtics were a legitimate underdog once again. This team plays so much better when they aren’t the favorite, and that goes to show the type of players they have on the roster.

PlayAthlete.com

Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, and Amir Johnson. Three Celtics starters that were second round picks. Boston has been dubbed “the team with no superstars,” or “the worst one seed ever.” Those statements help them get motivated to play their best basketball.

Boston in some way or another will trick themselves into believing they are the underdog and motivate themselves to play their best basketball. This series against the Wizards is no different, except they won’t need to lose their first two home games again to be considered the underdog.

I’d be surprised if the so called “experts” choose the Celtics to beat the Wizards in the Eastern Conference semifinals. There’s been a widespread love affair of the Wizards this season, for some reason. I get that they have one of the best back courts in the NBA, but I feel that their very obvious weaknesses are generally ignored when they are measured up against other top teams.

The Celtics will love this. They know they’re better than the Wizards, and will relish in the opportunity to prove people wrong. They are coming off of four straight victories in which they won each by double digits, and held their opponent under 100 points. Isaiah Thomas has also had his way with John Wall this season. Here are their head to head numbers this year:

Thomas: 27.8 ppg, 8 apg, 40% FG

Wall: 17.8 ppg, 8 apg, 37.3% FG

Boston will act like they are upset at the lack of respect they receive, but just know that they prefer it that way. It’s no fun to be expected to win. The people that write the Celtics off are doing them a favor. Usually, the top seeded team in the East isn’t considered an underdog at all. This team probably has the most players in the league with chips on their shoulders, and you want to make those chips bigger? That’s fine with me.