“Don’t Let the (Celtics )Win Tonight”

Boston is down 3-1 against the Bucks and things are looking far from good. After getting blown out in three straight games, it seems all hope in Boston is lost and the Celtics may just pack it in for game five and take the loss. If by some chance they do show up and win game five, things will get really interesting.

“Don’t let the Sox win tonight” was the famous quote from Red Sox first basemen Kevin Millar back in 2004 when Boston was down 3-0 against the rival Yankees. Millar became the outspoken leader for Boston on their up-hill climb to win four straight games against New York.

While it sounded crazy at the time, Millar had a point. In fact, he explained his point and it made sense. “Don’t let us win tonight. You let us win tonight, we got Pedro in game 5, Schilling in game 6, and game 7 anything can happen” said Millar, and he was exactly right.

The difference between that Sox team and this Celtics team, is the Celtics have one less game to win. It’s only 3-1, they already are a quarter of the way there.

The quote was simple, take things one game at a time. Don’t think of it as winning three straight, just think of it as winning one game, three times. That’s exactly what the Red Sox did, and it worked.

For those that read my previous article here, you may be thinking how can this Celtics team win three straight games. This Boston team, full of front-runners who have shown no fight all season, are now all of sudden supposed to win three straight games against the number one team in the NBA. It seems borderline impossible, but this was the exact situation the Red Sox were in.

The similarities between the two teams are real. The Red Sox may have been even worse front runners than the Celtics. A team that had not won a title in 86 years, that has had a history of finding ways to lose, now found themselves down 3-0.

The Sox were considered complete dogs, “a team fill of idiots” with players who continuously frustrated fans. The egos were high and fans thought there was no way the comeback was possible. Then it happened, and everything changed.

If you’re looking for more similarities, try this. Both the Red Sox and Celtics got eliminated the year before in game 7, one game away from the championship series in heartbreaking fashion.

Just like the Celtics, the Red Sox were leading for almost the whole game before a late comeback was made. The Red Sox lost to their biggest rivals, the Yankees, the Celtics lost to their biggest rival LeBron James.

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Need more? in 2004, the Yankees Gary Sheffield finished second in MVP voting. This season Giannis Antetokounmpo will finish either first or second in MVP voting for Milwaukee. Just like the Celtics, the Red Sox were known as underachievers who’s talent outweighed their production.

They were both also the underdog and road teams in their respective series. Oh, and one of the Red Sox biggest stars, Pedro Martinez, was on a contract year and many people believed he may just pack it in and walk away from the city when things got tough. Sound familiar?

Now, this could all be just a big coincidence. It could all mean nothing, and at the end of the night Boston could be out of the playoffs and on to the off-season. However, if they do win tonight, game six will be back in Boston.

Do we really think Boston is going to go 0-3 at home? No one saw 0-2, but almost certainly no one can imagine not winning one out of three at home. Then, after a game six victory, as Millar said, anything can happen in game seven.

If Boston pushes it to seven the Bucks will certainly feel the pressure. It will be at Milwaukee and if the Bucks fall behind early they could start to hear the frustration from their fans. The pressure will mount and things will get tougher.

In conclusion, don’t let the Celtics win tonight. They’re back at the Garden for game 6 and anything can happen in game 7.