Tonight the Boston Celtics are hosting an NBA Finals game for the first time since Game 5 of the 2010 NBA Finals way back on June 13th, 2010.
It's been a WHILE, just a tick under a dozen years. 2010 was a time when wrists were littered with Silly Bandz, Ke$ha brushed her teeth with a bottle of Jack, and Blackberry was King of the smartphones! 18-year-old Dozie still had a flip phone. The iPhone 4 wouldn't come out for another week and a half (19-year-old Dozie got his on July 5th, 2011). 
Throughout this Finals run, the Celtics have done the bulk of their damage on the road. They're 8-3 away from the Garden, winning multiple road games in each of the first three playoff rounds. They're just 5-4 and 3-4 in their last seven games back in Boston.
But despite whatever reason the C's have struggled at home, they find themselves in a pretty straightforward situation. If you don't lose a home game for the rest of this series, you'll be NBA champions. That may be oversimplifying, but the Celtics stole home court with their comeback in Game 1 of this series. Of course, that's a pretty tall order against a team like the Golden State Warriors. They've got a very Patriot-like streak going; they've won at least one road game in their past TWENTY-SIX (26) series, dating back to 2013.
But the Celtics (fresh off a loss in Game 2) haven't lost back-to-back games all playoffs. Somethings gotta give (well, technically, it's possible the C's win tonight, then GSW wins Friday to keep both streaks alive but let's not officially put those thoughts on the record).
According to ESPN's BPI, which means NOTHING, the Celtics are basically expected to win this series.
I think that stat was created to anger New Englanders. What goes into this metric? Do they know if Steph Curry is gonna fall into a manhole or something? Is Steve Kerr going to resign mid-series to fight the gun lobby? (not that that'd change things too much---Mike Brown is 12-0 in the playoffs as Warriors interim coach). IMO, no team's chances should be greater than like 53%. The Celtics may be better on paper, but they're too inconsistent, and the Warriors have Steph Curry and the experience.
I'm super fucking excited/nervous for this game. I'm still debating splurging on tickets, but my primary ticket partner, the one and only S. Wrong, is on a plane right now and gun to my head; I feel like the Warriors win tonight, and the C's even it up Friday night. Plus, even though I'd likely be standing most of the game, it's tough to justify spending a G note on seats I can't even fit in. I don't have much more to say in this blog other than the obvious. Defend home court. The Garden will be rocking as long as you don't come out Flat Stanley like you've done far too many times this playoff run. It's the fucking Finals, boys. You can't afford to play with your food anymore. Chew 'em up and swallow! Even at their advanced age, these Warriors are not the banged up Bucks or Heat. They've got like 40,000 combined Finals games under their belts; they're battled-tested and prepared for any situation. Game 2 was a two-point game at half, then GSW blew the C's doors off like a category nine hurricane. Obviously, there's the different set of rules for Draymond angle and other questionable calls, but to me, that game was lost in the first quarter. The C's came out hot and were up like eight early, but careless shots and wasted possessions let the Warriors retake the lead in the quarter's final seconds and they never looked back. Also, we've been getting KILLED in the 3rd quarter this series; GSW outscored the C's by a combined 35 points in the 3rd of Games 1 and 2. That has to change tonight. Sure, none of us fuck with him now and deservingly so, but Curt Schilling was right about one thing back in 2004. Just win tonight. Don't look at it as winning three straight home games. Take care of business tonight. Worry about Friday on Friday. You cannot afford to give momentum right back to the Warriors in this swing game. I'm sure they'll have all the stats tonight about winning percentages of teams that go up 2-1 in the Finals, but literally none of that, or BPI, or what the '64 Celtics did plays any factor in tonight. Just win a basketball game. Try to avoid hero, iso ball, and take some good shots. I'd love to see Timelord give us a double-double tonight too. But it's really quite simple. Defend home court, and you'll be champions. It starts tonight. Word of advice from your friend, Ole Dozo. Stop turning the fucking ball over. 18 turnovers lead to 33 Warriors points on Sunday. GO CELTICS!
P.S.
I know it's the Finals, but the C's and Warriors should wear their #NBA75 uniforms for one game this series. They looked awesome back in December. 
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