The Boston Celtics need one more win to complete an improbable run to the 2018 NBA Finals, but earning that final victory against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers will be an incredible challenge.
Boston traveled to Cleveland on Thursday for Friday night’s Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals at Quicken Loans Arena, where the toughest task of its season awaits.
“It’s a big challenge. Going into there place and playing against them,” Celtics center Aron Baynes said Wednesday night after his team’s Game 5 win at TD Garden.
“It’s going to be the biggest challenge we’ve had all year, but it’s going to be fun as well. That’s what you play this game for, to be in these situations. For us to go out there, we’re going to have to respond, and it’s going to be fun for us.”
The Celtics have a 1-9 road record in the playoffs, with their only victory coming in Game 3 of the second round in Philadelphia.
Boston lost both of the previous two games in this series played in Cleveland, including a 30-point defeat in Game 3.
The C’s fell behind by at least 15 points at the end of the first quarter in each of those losses, so a good start — similar to the 32-19 advantage they had to begin Game 5 — would go a long way in turning around their road woes.
The Celtics do have the luxury of playing Game 7 on their home floor, where they are 10-0 this postseason, but a Game 7 against James is not what Boston wants given his historic stats in series-clinching games.
