Published on : 16/06/2022 – 02:12Modified : 16/06/2022 – 02:10
Boston (United States) (AFP) – Decibel wins don’t make headlines, but Celtics fans will play their 6th man role to the end on Thursday, for the final game of the Finals at TD Garden, which will still be a green hell for the Warriors to ignore. .
This is the whole paradox that accompanies Boston’s journey in these play-offs: they have six wins and five losses at home, an average record, caught up by a greater ease in winning away from home (8 times in twelve games).
But the Massachusetts team, in search of a record 18th title but with their backs to the wall, as they trailed 3-2 and had to win to survive, might not do without the tireless support of their supporters.
“It’s the last home game of the season. I’m looking forward to facing the crowd, knowing that they’re going to give us a boost of energy, like they always have. It’s going to be very noisy, there will be a great atmosphere”, welcomes Jayson Tatum in advance.
An atmosphere that reflects in the streets of the city, where “we bleed green” (“we bleed green”).
Around the hall, there are countless green and white jerseys on match days, with the crowd then gathering in the bars to attend.
First because there are only 18,000 places, then because you have to pay 500 dollars for the cheapest, under the roof, at 18,000 dollars if you want to be “courtside” next to rapper Jay- Z.
Volcanic
In the opinion of many NBA observers, the green public is the most volcanic that it has been given to see and hear in a long time as part of a final. Often for the better, the deafening noise, the non-stop support of his people during matches, sometimes for the worse, the incessant insults hurled at Draymond Green during matches 3 and 4.
The Warriors winger, who does not have his tongue in his pocket, has become public enemy N.1 in Boston, following imposing and winning a big physical fight in the second game in San Francisco.
And the “F… you Draymond” (Fuck you… Draymond) to bloom in the Garden, where his children and his companion were present, who judged this particular treatment “disgusting and shameful” on social networks.
“We have already played in front of insulting people. Letting go of + Fuck you … + when there are lots of children around, it’s very classy. Good work, Boston”, had slammed the shooter in the same momentum of the Warriors Clay Thompson.
“The TD Garden… Unlike any type of garden in Boston, they don’t grow beautiful flowers there. They cultivate mean fans,” ESPN consultant Max Kellerman said.
“The Pompom”
Insults that fuse, it is the daily lot of the 30 rooms of NBA, some, of a racist nature, resulting in banishment to those who utter them, as has been seen in Utah.
But in Boston they were heard consistently and deafeningly in this final.
“They’re loud, very loud. Obnoxious even. The Cleveland fans were obnoxious too, but those people are the pompom. Afterwards, when you’re trying to win a championship, it has to be loud. The fans have to be all in. So I respect that and I think following the playoffs I’ll even appreciate it,” Green said.
If Stephen Curry alone silenced the opposing furia in match N.4, with a 43-point masterclass, to snatch the equalizer at 2-2 in the series, his teammate Keyvon Looney recognizes that the management of the environment isn’t easy: “When things don’t go your way, that’s when the crowd comes in and you have to be really able to respond to adversity. That’s the biggest challenge to relieve”.
The challenge of a fourth ring to hang in eight years lends itself to this. And if necessary, for Golden State, there will be a 7th decisive game on Sunday, at the Chase Center in San Francisco, where the racket can also be hellish.
© 2022 AFP
