Boston Celtics: Kemba confident in C’s chances… but should he be?

Heading into game-seven, Kemba Walker is confident in the Boston Celtics’ chances of coming away victories. But as recent history suggests, odds are not in C’s favor.

At this specific point in time, it’s hard to believe that the Boston Celtics were once .5 seconds away from going up 3-0 in this Eastern Conference Semifinals series, having the Toronto Raptors on the edge of elimination and, in turn, on the verge of advancing to their third Conference Finals in four years.

This was all a reality last week.

Fast forward a bit and, now, we see the series tied up at three games apiece as we head into tonight’s “win or go home” game-seven.

For the shamrocks, a win would be yet another improbable accomplishment from the 2019-20 season. After losing their franchise player Kyrie Irving, team leader Al Horford, and countless other valuable commodities last offseason, the buzz on Boston was a bit gloomy heading into the campaign.

For Toronto, a victory would simply keep their hopes of repeating as world champions alive.

Heading into the exhibition, it’s anyone’s guess as to who will come away victorious, as both teams have equal amounts of firepower and incredible coaching in Brad Stevens and Nick Nurse. However, if you ask Boston’s All-Star point guard Kemba Walker, he believes the Cs to be in a prime position to come away from tonight with a ‘W’.

"“I’m confident. We have a good group of guys and we love playing basketball with each other and we love making each other better. I know we’ll respond. We’re going to come out and play hard again.”"

Like Walker, we at the Houdini feel like the Boston Celtics have a fantastic shot at coming away from tonight’s game with a win. With their level of talent and high basketball IQ, it is an unquestionable fact that this Cs team has the capability of beating anyone… including themselves when they play out of synch.

That said, we hope this will not be the case tonight and Boston will end up bringing all they have to the hardwood.

In regard to their chances in game seven, while confidence is on the side of the shamrocks, history during the Stevens-era is unfortunately not.

Over the course of his seven seasons in Beantown, Brad Stevens and the Celtics have found themselves in the postseason facing elimination on seven separate occasions. During these “do-or-die” exhibitions, the franchise has only managed to accumulate a record of 2-5, leaving a bit of a stain on an otherwise pristine resume for Boston’s head man.

Add in the fact that Kemba Walker himself has found very little playoff success throughout his NBA career and one has reason to be concerned heading into the contest.

No, Boston Celtics fans, this is not me trying to bring one’s hopes down. This is not me saying the odds are completely stacked against them. Like I said in the beginning of this piece, I believe Boston has a very good chance of finding themselves advancing to the next round by the end of the night.

This is, however, me stating that we need to keep our emotions in check as we work our way toward’s the 9 PM (ET) tip-off.

The Raptors have proven themselves to be a formidable adversary in this second-round series. Anything less than perfect is a recipe for disaster and could very easily lead to an unwanted one-way ticket back home.

So, while Walker’s words of confidence are indeed a “feel good” narrative to have, at the end of the day talk is cheap, and actions speak far louder than words.

Boston needs to put forth their best showing of the season tonight if they wish to advance. They undoubtedly have the talent to accomplish such a feat. That said, as Kevin Durant once famously proclaimed, “hard work beats talent when talent refuses to work hard.”

Let’s hope Stevens’ squad puts forth the work needed to keep their bubble hopes alive in 2020.

As always folks, go Celtics!