Well, I was telling my friends that the Orlando Magic are certain to finish off the Boston Celtics in six games.
Now, it looks like the Celtics are proving me wrong. A Celtics sweep is not impossible after all since they play Games 3 and 4 in Boston.
I know they’ve been dismissed by a lot of NBA followers. They’ve been called as a team of “has-beens”, too old and injury prone.
Actually, it looked like all these descriptions fit right into the Celtics squad especially after the All-Star break where Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce missed significant number of games due to various injuries.
Without these two veterans, Boston began to lose momentum and absorb one loss after the other.
But when they finally salvaged a spot in the Playoffs, Boston started to return to its fiery, feared form.
The Celtics beat the Miami Heat in five games. Then, they finished off whatever championship dream Lebron James had with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Boston won the series, 4-2. Now, Boston carries a commanding 2-0 lead over Orlando.
I believe it’s all about mindset. It’s all about mental preparation. Focusing on the goal and not allowing critics to undermine your confidence.
And that is precisely what’s happening to the Celtics. They have better mental preparation than the Magic.
Vince Carter’s two crucial misses on the free throw line, as well as JJ Reddick’s failure to immediately call a time out in the dying seconds of Game 2 are just two examples of poor mental preparation.
The Magic dug a hole for themselves. Now, another wrong move here and another mental lapse there would move them closer to their “grave”.
So Game 3 will be a no-tomorrow game for Orlando. While for Boston, it could be its biggest step towards inching closer to a return trip to the NBA Finals.
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