{"id":458754,"date":"2022-06-07T06:00:41","date_gmt":"2022-06-07T03:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/winning-in-boston-still-represents-historic-nba-rite-of-passage\/"},"modified":"2022-06-07T06:00:41","modified_gmt":"2022-06-07T03:00:41","slug":"winning-in-boston-still-represents-historic-nba-rite-of-passage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/winning-in-boston-still-represents-historic-nba-rite-of-passage\/","title":{"rendered":"#Winning in Boston still represents historic NBA rite of passage"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a412fae92ddc\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a412fae92ddc\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/winning-in-boston-still-represents-historic-nba-rite-of-passage\/#%E2%80%9CWinning_in_Boston_still_represents_historic_NBA_rite_of_passage%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Winning in Boston still represents historic NBA rite of passage&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CWinning_in_Boston_still_represents_historic_NBA_rite_of_passage%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Winning in Boston still represents historic NBA rite of passage&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--columnist inline-module--author\">\n<div class=\"inline-module--author__img\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"76\" height=\"69\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/mike-vaccaro.png?w=76&amp;h=69&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-nyp_columnist size-nyp_columnist\" alt=\"Mike Vaccaro\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/mike-vaccaro.png 76w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/mike-vaccaro.png?w=38 38w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 76px) 100vw, 76px\"\/>      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Boston Garden is long gone, 25 years since the bandbox atop North Station was reduced to rubble and replaced with a newer, shinier, tonier version of itself. TD Bank has been the name sponsor for the new place since 2005; no self-respecting bank (or loan shark, for that matter) would\u2019ve ever chosen to be commemorated alongside the old joint.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But when the NBA Finals return to Boston, as they will beginning Wednesday, it always feels like an <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ropriate homecoming. You can love the Celtics or you can loathe the Celtics, but there is no way you can be a self-respecting fan of professional basketball and ever minimize the Celtics.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Even Kareem Abdul-Jabbar \u2014 who had more reasons for more built-up enmity toward the Celtics than anyone else not named Wilt Chamberlain \u2014 conceded as much.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey didn\u2019t buy all those banners at Woolworth\u2019s,\u201d Jabbar once wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>At last count there are 17 of them scattered in the ceiling at TD Garden, putting the Celtics in a flat-footed tie with the Lakers for most NBA championships. Sixteen of them were accrued at the Old Garden and shifted to the new digs; No. 17 came some 14 years ago. And all the Celtics need to do to start stitching up No. 18 is hold serve at home after splitting the first two <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a>s of these Finals with the Warriors in San Francisco.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1240938126.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"The Celtics' banners hang from the TD Garden rafters during the team's second-round series against the Heat.\" class=\"wp-image-22556067\"\/><figcaption>The Celtics\u2019 banners hang from the TD Garden rafters during the team\u2019s second-round <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> against the Heat. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">NBAE via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Which also leads us to a corresponding point of interest with the Warriors, who won Game 2 to squeeze themselves back into this series, keeping alive the possibility they might win a fourth championship in eight years. Now, that may pale in comparison to the 11-titles-in-13-years splurge that the Bill Russell Celtics put together from 1957-69, but it is as close to a dynasty \u2014 lowercase \u201cd\u201d \u2014 as we have in the sport right now.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And it feels like an appropriate locale for the Splash Brothers to make their run at history. They needn\u2019t apologize for the three titles they\u2019ve already won, since all three came with LeBron James on the other side, and whenever you can have your way with the generation\u2019s best player that\u2019s an accomplishment worth savoring.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But across history, almost every worthwhile champion has had to first figure out a way to shake off the ghosts and goblins that used to inhabit Boston Garden, and make regular appearances at the new place, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The championship Knicks won a Game 7 at Boston Garden in 1973. The Bad Boy Pistons and the Dr. J Sixers inspired chants of \u201cBeat L.A.!\u201d when they conquered the Celtics after years of falling short. Even Michael Jordan\u2019s principle coming-out had to happen at Boston Garden, his epic 63-point playoff outburst in 1986 inspiring Larry Bird to gush, \u201cI\u2019ve never seen a player like that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"838\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-494154923.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Larry Bird shoots against Michael Jordan at the Boston Garden. \" class=\"wp-image-22556093\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-494154923.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-494154923.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-494154923.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-494154923.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Larry Bird shoots against Michael Jordan at the old Boston Garden. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">NBAE via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Only three teams \u2014 Russell\u2019s Celtics, the Showtime Lakers and Jordan\u2019s Bulls \u2014 have ever won as many as four titles in an eight-year span, so the Warriors have it within their sights to join a rarefied group of historical elites. And they probably figured they might be able to pull that off merely by defending their home court \u2014 a blueprint that was crumpled as soon as the Celtics flattened them in Game 1 with an epic fourth-quarter comeback.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So now they have to go to Boston, win at least one there, and it feels exactly right that should be the surcharge for entry to immortality. The new Garden has hot and cold running water, something you couldn\u2019t always count on in the old days. It\u2019s supposed to reach 80 in Boston on Wednesday; back in \u201984, during the Finals, the Lakers demanded that the Celtics do something about the stifling conditions in their locker room.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Red Auerbach responded by sending them a window air conditioner. Still in the box.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/1401265159.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Stephen Curry dribbles during the Warriors' Game 2 win over the Celtics. \" class=\"wp-image-22556101\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/1401265159.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/1401265159.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/1401265159.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/1401265159.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Stephen Curry dribbles during the Warriors\u2019 Game 2 win over the Celtics. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Red is gone now, too, and so are the dirty tricks that he may or may not have perpetrated on his bedeviled rivals. All that remain are the banners, and the retired numbers, and the sense that beating the Celtics in Boston is the same championship rite of passage it\u2019s always been \u2014 same as beating the Yankees in The Bronx has always been, same as beating the Canadiens in Montreal used to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>When the Lakers finally did conquer the Celtics in 1985, Pat Riley crowed, \u201cWe survived the belly of the beast!\u201d The belly awaits for Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and friends. Want to be a dynasty? You\u2019ve come to the home office.\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/06\/06\/winning-in-boston-still-represents-historic-nba-rite-of-passage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Winning in Boston still represents historic NBA rite of passage&#8221; Boston Garden is long gone, 25 years since the bandbox atop North Station was reduced to rubble and replaced with a newer, shinier, tonier version of itself. TD Bank has been the name sponsor for the new place since 2005; no self-respecting bank (or loan&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":458755,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/06\/newspress-collage-22555999-1654570556633.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1654556382&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[129995,71052,87254,128084],"class_list":["post-458754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-6-6-22","tag-boston-celtics","tag-golden-state-warriors","tag-nba-playoffs-2022"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=458754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/458755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}