How Ime Udoka, Jaylen Brown, Celtics Feel Ahead Of Game 1 Vs. Nets
'You can tell the group is ready to play'
The second-seeded Boston Celtics on Saturday held their final practice before their first-round matchup against the seventh-seeded Brooklyn Nets.
The Celtics appear to be excited heading into the NBA playoffs.
“You can tell the group is ready to play,” head coach Ime Udoka told reporters Saturday, as transcribed by Celtics.com’s Taylor Snow. “The rest is needed and is good, but at some point, you start to get a little jittery and ready to play after this much time off and knowing what’s coming up. So you can feel the anticipation and our guys are ready to roll.”
Jaylen Brown seemed to echo the same sentiment as his coach, especially the comment about jitters.
“It’s exciting,” Brown told reporters. “I’ve had a little bit of trouble sleeping, so I’m just trying to calm myself down. I?m ready to go, I’m excited.
“It’s playoff time, it’s the best time of the year. This is what you work for. So ultimately, going out there and just breathing and being yourself is going to be key because I know it’s gonna be a lot of energy in the Garden.”
The Celtics will have a tough fight ahead of them as they play two of the NBA’s best players, with another potential impact player attempting a comeback.
Boston is a four-point favorite according to oddsmakers at DraftKings Sportsbook. With -110 odds, a $100 bet would pay out $190.91. After Boston’s latest hype video, those odds seem like a steal.
Game 1 of the Celtics-Nets series kicks off on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET at TD Garden, airing on ABC.
