Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics have their backs up against the wall but aren’t backing down as they host the Golden State Warriors for Game 6 on Thursday.
The Celtics dropped consecutive contests for the first time this postseason in Games 4 and 5 but Brown isn’t feeling discouraged. In fact, he’s looking forward to getting back on track and forcing a winner-take-all Game 7.
“We got to embrace it. Ain’t no other way around it,” Brown told reporters on Wednesday, June 15. “Last game on our home floor to kind of embody our whole season.”
The Warriors are gunning to add a fourth title to their dynastic run, while the Celtics are looking for their first banner since 2008. It’s been a long and difficult journey to get to this point but Brown feels that it’s prepared them for this moment.
“We’re looking to give it everything we got. We are not scared. We do not fear the Golden State Warriors. We want to come out and play the best version of basketball that we can,” Brown said. “We know it’s a good team over there. We know they’ve done it before. But we have all the belief in ourselves. We’re going to come out and leave it all out there. That’s the whole intent.”
Celtics Want to Find Consistent Offense With Season on the Line
While the Celtics have defended well for the majority of the series, long stretches of stagnant offense have plagued Boston, especially late in games. Brown wants to see his team play with more force as they head into the elimination game.
“Play stronger. Sprint, get up the court. Not let the shot clock dwindle down before we get in our offense, get up a late shot,” Brown said when asked for some solutions on the offensive end. “Get our pace up. Play a lot stronger. I think that would help us and benefit us a lot.”
Celtics coach Ime Udoka has been adamant that his team’s defense has been championship-worthy in the series. It’s on the offensive end where he wants to find a remedy.
“For us, we want to focus on the offensive end, because I think we’ve guarded enough to win. Game 4, if we finish the game off well, not that five-minute stint, we’d be in good shape,” Udoka said. “That’s our optimism. We’ve fought off three elimination games, won some Game 7s. But you can’t just rely on that, that we’ve been there. You have to do things well to start the game, not put ourselves behind the eight ball like we did last game.”
Celtics Not Distracted by Trophy Being in the Building
With the Warriors able to lock up a title with a win, the Larry O’Brien Trophy will be in TD Garden on Thursday night. Celtics star Jayson Tatum feels that combined with a raucous home crowd should have the guys in green revved up from start to finish.
“We’re all professionals and adults. We know what’s at stake,” Tatum said. “Everybody in that locker room should and is going to understand what we got to do, what’s on the line. So it shouldn’t take a hero speech or anything like that. Everybody should be juiced up and ready to play.”
The Celtics are a 4-point home favorite for the matchup, with the total for the game set at 210.
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Celtics Star Jaylen Brown Calls Out Warriors Ahead of Game 6