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No NBA team has come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs. They are 0-156. Thirteen of the 287 teams (4.5%) that trailed 3-1 have won the series. And 57 of the 350 teams (16.3%) that trailed 3-2 have won.
This is the widening window of opportunity the Boston Celtics are attempting to avoid in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. With a victory on Monday night, the Dallas Mavericks should feel four times as confident about their shot at the title, since they will no longer need to think as the only team attempting to rally from a 3-0 deficit. They will merely need to become the 58th team to win consecutive elimination games.
“They are a desperate team, and they are playing probably a little freer,” said Al Horford, whose Celtics trailed the 2023 Eastern Conference finals 3-0 and forced a Game 7. “We know what that mindset is like.”
There is a freedom in knowing there is no room for error. The Mavericks have little other choice but to give it their all on every possession because one mistake could mean the end of all championship hope.
“I think what helps is we were in that situation last game,” said Dallas coach Jason Kidd. “So not to change or deviate from what we talked about in Game 4. Take each possession one possession at a time, and hopefully we can put ourselves up winning each quarter. We ended up doing that. Same thing that we are talking about today and tomorrow is we can only focus on Game 5, and trying to find a way to win here.”
As hard as they may have tried, the Celtics do not have that same mindset.
“We would love to win tomorrow, more than anything,” said Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who is shooting 36.5% in the Finals. “But if it doesn’t happen, it’s not the end of the world. We have more opportunities. So just setting that table of: Don’t surrender to that idea that we have to win tomorrow. We would love to, absolutely. But Game 5 is the biggest game of the season because it’s the next game on the schedule.”
“It would be awesome to get it done. It would be great,” added Celtics reserve Sam Hauser. “If we do lose, it’s not like the end of the world. We’d still be up 3-2, but to do it at home would be pretty…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/2024-nba-finals-if-the-celtics-win-game-5-they-will-finally-be-champions-if-the-mavs-win-171318250.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-06-17 17:13:18
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