Boston Celtics Know What They Need to Win Game Seven

The Boston Celtics can feel prepared heading back to Boston for a game seven

Game seven is both the most amazing and maddening thing in sports. The Boston Celtics will be heading home knowing they could have ended the series in six, and now it comes down to one elimination game, where absolutely nothing can be assumed or taken for granted.

The good news is that the Celtics battled all season long, and this alone validates getting that one seed, because home court has been the biggest advantage in this series, and what a difference it makes to have game seven in TD Garden.

There is always going to be the fear of that anomalous game seven, determining the series on a fluke, but that risk is on both sides, and the Celtics will be coming into this game the confident ones, despite the heat breaking loss in game six.

Anything can happen in a game seven. With talent like John Wall and Bradley Beal, there are a lot of different ways this game can be blown up, but the Celtics know what they have to do to be in the best possible position.

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The Celtics have had enough time to see how the Wizards are successful, and what they need to do to make up for the amazing things that the opposing back court can do. There is a very simple way of looking at this. For both teams, the biggest indicator in this series has been turnovers. The Celtics know they will lose if they are turning it over, and the Wizards know they will not have enough to win if they are not running in transition.

That’s where everything starts for the Celtics. They know that the shots will not always be falling. They will be a hot and cold team, but they can get by even if they are not hitting all their open shots, as long as they have the kind of clean and high functioning attack that has lead to all their success this season.

The Celtics know how their offense needs to work if they are going to be in a position to win game seven, and now they know how to get their offense there. It will always start with Isaiah Thomas. Whether he is passing or shooting, Thomas needs to be involved in getting the offense at their best, but they need a lot more than that.

The Celtics know that they have a lot of different ways to attack the Wizards and the key will not be limiting themselves. Right now, three players can be focused on. Thomas, Al Horford and Avery Bradley have given the Celtics a great arsenal to attack the Wizards, and they need to embrace every bit of it.

The Celtics know they can win it if this comes down to a battle of the back courts again, but their advantage is being more dynamic and versatile than that. The Celtics need to embrace all the players that have been playing well, particularly the ones that the Wizards have not been able to account for.

The Celtics need to look to those three players to generate the easy offense. It is not just a matter of those guys each creating their own shots. The key is that they are the three players that can create the open looks for their teammates, and they know better than any others where they need to attack to get high percentage looks.

The Celtics know how to attack and they know who to attack with. In the end, the is a make or miss Celtics team, but the real regret comes if they lose in a game where they sell themselves short.

The Wizards have proven they have incredible talent. They have the players that can blow up a game, and if everyone on their end comes together for a career day, you walk home miserably, but tip your cap to a team that earned a win.

That being said, if the Celtics do not sell themselves short. If they find their offensive rhythm, get multiple players the easy looks they need and keep the Wizards out of transition, it would take a miracle for the Wizards to do enough to win.

The Wizards are only at their best when the Celtics are at their worst because of turnovers. The Celtics have a great degree of control, because much of the Wizards’ success this series has been a response to when the Celtics play poorly. If they play poorly, and fall into turnover troubles, Wall and Beal are too good to get past.

The home team has won every single game between these teams this season, but things change in game seven. You can bank on at least one role player stepping up and having a career day, and usually at least one star will come out flat.

There are way too many factors to have any kind of strong confidence in a game seven, but given the circumstances, the Celtics can feel as though game seven is under their control. The Celtics cannot get lost in the hype or distractions, but this is the first signature series and first signature game in the Stevens era.

Next: No Matter What the Celtics are in Good Position

This is the most important test for this core of players, and it will be an experience that none of them forget one way or another. Game seven will always be madness, but the Celtics have every reason to be confident in their ability to win this game, and with TD Garden behind them, it would be a great way to get that eastern conference finals appearance.

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