The Celtics are down 2-0 in a playoff series for the first time in seven years. For most of these guys, it's the first time in their careers. Everyone has their own ways of coping.
For Glen Davis, it's consulting an old Celtic legend for some championship wisdom.
"I was talking to John Havlicek today," Davis said. "You know, 'Havlicek stole the ball!'
"I asked him, which one of these banners were you 0-2? And he said the one that stood out to him was '69. 1969, they were down 0-2, and they came back to win it against the Lakers."
Havlicek knows his history. In 13 career postseason appearances, the Hall of Famer only faced a 2-0 deficit three times, and the '69 Finals were the only time he ever came back and won.
The Lakers were the favorites that season. The Celtics had slipped to only 48 wins and were led by an aging Bill Russell, while the Lakers had tons of hype and were living up to it. They'd just assembled a superstar "big three" — Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West.
The superteam took Games 1 and 2. Then the series headed back to Boston.
Sound familiar?
Havlicek knows that this year's Celtics are capable of doing what his team did back in '69 — winning Games 3, 4 and 6 at home, then pulling off an inspired upset victory on the road in Game 7. He's hoping Davis and the 2011 C's can learn a thing or two from his experiences.
"He said it's going to take everything in you to fight and claw back, just to get back to 2-2, to even," Davis said. "And it's going to take something really special to finish them off."
