The Celtics' backs will be against the wall Thursday night, but Jayson Tatum doesn't want his team to be consumed by the pressure.
Boston had a chance to put Philadelphia on the ropes Tuesday evening at TD Garden. Instead, the Celtics were embarrassed on their home floor and now will need to win Game 6 of the teams' Eastern Conference semifinal series at Wells Fargo Center in order to keep their NBA championship dreams alive.
It's an undoubtedly tall task for the Celtics and they will need to be at their best in order to take down Joel Embiid and company before what's sure to be a raucous Philly crowd. But Tatum, who at this point has nearly seen it all in the NBA playoffs, hopes his team can find a way to play free and loose in their must-win game.
"It's just not put too much pressure on yourself, go out there and follow the gameplan, try to relax," Tatum told reporters after Boston's Game 5 loss, per MassLive. "I think we were a little tight today so go out there and relax and obviously play hard and things like that, compete on both ends and play the right way. There's no secret answer, go out there and play how we know we are capable of and we'll see."
Boston has reasons to go into Thursday night's game with a level of confidence. For starters, the Celtics are 11-6 on the road in the playoffs dating back to last year compared to a 9-9 mark at home. Furthermore, Boston faced a similar situation in the 2022 Eastern Conference semifinals when it dropped Game 5 at TD Garden before winning the best-of-seven set with back-to-back triumphs.
So while Tuesday night's showing didn't paint the Celtics in the best light, the reigning East champs shouldn't be counted out.
