Bob Ryan Impels You To Calm Down, Have A Beer

Bob Ryan put together a well-researched, much-needed, valium tablet of an article today asking the Celtics faithful to ignore some of the press and the fatalistic thinking and calm down. The article is worth reading in full, but Ryan makes some nice points. This is when having a guy that has covered the Celtics for decades really comes in handy:

What is going on in this Atlanta series is nothing new. We have seen it all before. Everyone really does start off 0-0 in the playoffs. The regular season does not matter.

The home team wins Games 1 and 2 at home, often in rousing fashion. The home crowd starts thinking sweep. You get to the other guys' place for Game 3 and it's all different. The crowd is maniacal. The other guys are all pumped up. You simply don't take them seriously enough in Game 3. You claim you've learned your lesson, but Game 4 comes and what you're really thinking is "They can't play that well again, can they?" But they do, and now you're coming back home 2-2 and the series officially begins.

I repeat: The regular season records no longer matter at that point. Want some examples?

1972 -- 56-26 Celtics tied at 2-2 with the 36-46 Hawks.
1973 -- 68-14 Celtics tied at 2-2 with the 46-36 Hawks.
1974 -- 56-26 Celtics tied at 2-2 with the 42-40 (Buffalo) Braves
1976 -- 54-28 Celtics tied at 2-2 with the 46-36 Braves
1976 -- 54-28 Celtics tied at 2-2 with the 49-33 Cavs
1976 -- 54-28 Celtics tied at 2-2 with the 42-40 Suns
1981 -- 62-20 Celtics tied at 2-2 with the 40-42 Rockets
1984 -- 62-20 Celtics tied at 2-2 with the 47-35 Knicks

OK? It happens.

In all the above cases the Celtics won Game 5 at the Boston Garden and went on to win the series, and all but the 1984 Knicks series ended in 6.

Game 5s when it's 2-2 are fun. They are mini-7s, which is why their absence in the Finals for the last 23 years is so sad. Yeah, there are Game 5s, but they should be in the court of the team with the home court advantage. The finals are far less suspenseful as a result.




I feel good about tonight. I think the hometown crowd is exactly what this team needs.Source URL: http://ledger-heath.blogspot.com/2008/04/bob-ryan-impels-you-to-calm-down-have.html
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