By The Numbers: Where I'm Tellin You There's A Chance.

to be a champion, you make your own history.

or something like that.

now i’m not a big fan of the guy just cause he’s the lakers coach…

but i love that statement.

i believe the celtics will do it !

It’s All About 18

One thing that would help is for KG to at least occasionally take the ball inside and be more aggressive around the basket.

KG has played 74 minutes over the first two games and has attempted ZERO free throws! That is a mind boggling stat for a power forward who has the game to be a nearly unstoppable inside force.

that 72.8% of all stats are made up..

the big leprechaun is coming back and will hopefully put queen james and princess bosh on the floor at least a few times (for some reason i can’t hate on wade, he is just a classy guy) that improves our chances by x to teh 3rd power..go greeeeeeen!

“When I started thinking about the odds of the Celtics finishing this series winning four games out of the next six, this quote . . . .”

I suspect that four out of the next six will provide small solace; probably need four out of the next five?

“just what the odds are that the Celtics will win each of the next 5 possible games”—yeah I know, each of the games has its own odds but with the previous faux pas I just couldn’t help myself.

I watched that series in ’69 and thoroughly enjoyed the comeback almost as much as the balloons in the ceiling of the Lakers arena. Red just had to point them out as Russ was being interviewed on National TV.

However, as much as I love this Celtics team and KG I have to say that KG, at any stage of his career, does not have the heart or the ability of Bill Russell. Not a knock on KG just my opinion. If Russell was on this team I would have high hopes that we could come back and win. For that matter, I don’t think we would be down 2-0 if this was a Bill Russell lead team.

Having said that I have never and will never doubt the chances of the Celtics in a play-off series.

Did I miss something?

Sorry Tom, I usually like your writing, but….. not this time.

Your numbers represent ALL teams down 0-2 (including, for #3, all Celtics teams in that situation). This is a silly way to try to generate an understanding of what is happening now. You should retract this article…. like immediately.

The problem: we are not in the middle of a “typical” matchup. The stats you’re using include a high number of 8-1 and 7-2 matchups, plus some 6-3s too (talking about seeding, of course), and much, much fewer 2nd round series. Why? Because THERE ARE A LOT FEWER 2nd ROUND MATCHUPS TO BEGIN WITH. Moreover, it’s a fair assumption that many of those 0-2 starts that comprise those stats were, in fact, 8-1 matchups, or 7-2’s, or 6-3s.

But the most important real distinction of this series is that, regardless of seeding, these teams are very close in overall ability, as evidenced by their nearly-identical regular season record (despite a ridiculous number of injuries suffered by the Celtics, as compared to the Heat).

Therefore, if you want to get even CLOSE to an accurate statistic reflecting the Celtics’ true chances, you must wade through all those stats and pick out series where the two teams were as closely matched up as the Celtics are to the Heat now. Then, and only then, would you have something worth printing. The “stats” you actually have printed…. aren’t worth the pixels they’re written with.

Why I did I watch? But of course ESPN NBA Insider Chris Broussard-LB James was on. So he was asked a question by the host in regards to either the Celtics or Lakers having a chance to tie each of their series. Of course Broussard says, " I don’t think the Celtics can beat the Heat. The Heat are a better team and to talented. The Lakers are the defending champs and could possible tie the series because the Mavs aren’t a threat"

Really the Mavs aren’t a threat? The Mavs beat LA twice on their home court. The Mavs have 3 future hall of famers and a deeper bench than LA. So not only is LA down 0-2, but they lost Ron Artest to a suspension for a vital game 3 in Dallas. No as far as the Celtics, they have a much better chance to tie the series because they’re playing games 3 and 4 in Boston. Plus Shaq is playing and hopefully, hopefully give them a lift. Miami might of played well in games 1 and 2, but they played well on their HC. Most of Miami’s point totals come from Wade, James and Bosh. The Heat have the worst bench production in the league.

Chris Broussard is entitled to his own opinion, but he makes it look so obvious. It’s like he’s married to Lebron. Get off Lebron’s jock, now I see why people don’t like Broussard or ESPN. The Celtics better handle their business on Saturday and Monday.

For so long, overcoming a 3 game hurdle in a 7 game series was 100% impossible. Just plain never happened, ever. In any of the sports that use a 7-game series format. Heck, coming back from down 0-2 in a 5-game format was similarly Just Not Done.

But in recent year’s we’ve seen:

The Mariners come back from down 0-2 to beat the MFY in 5 in the 1995 ALDS.

The Red Sox, coming back from down 0-3 to win the ALCS in 7 over the MFY in 2004.

The Bruins, choking miserably on their on their own 3-0 lead, giving it up to the Flyers in 7 in 2010.

The Bruins, down 0-2 to Montreal in this year’s playoff opener, coming back to win it in 7.

There are a few more examples, these just popped into the top of my head.

(The Bruins are poised with yet another 3-0 series lead over the Flyers this year – hopefully they’ll stay away from history this time and close out that series.)

So these ‘insurmountable’ leads have not been quite so formidable in recent years. I suspect the increased parity in the various leagues have lead to it. Teams at the top & bottom of the brackets are more likely to be closer in talent these days.

A more cynical view is that there is more money to be made by both the leagues and gamblers in extending series, which maybe makes it more likely to reach a game 7 despite an 0-2 or 0-3 start, at which point anything can happen.

Boston fans have seen both sides of these ‘historic’ turnarounds.

Hopefully we’ll see the winning side of it in this series.

I hope not, but I was reading the L.A. Times today and there was no mention of Artests clothesline (except for one line) and plenty of blame for Gasol. But it did describe the fans booing their team. After what Jackson has done for them and what might be his last appearance at Staples – and the fans boo. No class at all.

Now I bring this up because the unthinkable could happen. We have to cheer this team no matter what,, and Doc too, because there’s a good chance we won’t see anything like this again.

You know Danny will blow everything up.

And come back to win 4 in a row and win the championship.

Shaq’s return will be humongous.

Of course the Celtics can make history. They sure can’t climb out of the hole in game 3, but one game at a time. They will be alright.