Ime Udoka is the head coach of the Celtics. (0:58)
Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka said that it was only fitting that this series would come down to Boston having to win, after his team went through a roller-coaster ride of a season to get to this point.
Udoka said on the video conference call that it had been all season long. We can be better, for sure, even though it has been difficult in these playoffs.
It is another opportunity for us. You have two games to win one if you go up 3-2. We have been up and down in this series, so it is where it is right now, as much as you want to finish it on your home court.
The Celtics had a chance to close out the Miami Heat at home in Game 6 on Friday night, but Jimmy Butler put up 47 points, nine rebound and eight assists in 46 minutes to ensure that the series would go to a seventh game.
Boston had a poor start again, something that has bothered the Celtics in this series. The third quarter was a sore spot.
With their season on the line in Game 7, Udoka said the Celtics are focused on making sure they get off to a better start in what could be their final game of the season. They spent the game trying to dig themselves out of a 12-5 hole after committing several careless turnovers in the opening moments.
Udoka said that a lot has to do with the Celtics starting slow and having to play catch-up the whole game. Most of the game, I was behind the eight ball. Although we got the lead late or tied it quite a few times, it felt like we were always in an uphill battle, shooting ourselves in the foot. We want to get off to a better start and put some pressure on the opponent, like we did against Milwaukee in Game 7. That is our mindset coming in. We want to start better in Miami. We have confidence in going down there and winning, but we have to get ourselves off to a better start and not give them life early in the game.
The Boston Celtics and Miami Heat are tied 3-3 with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line. You can watch the action on the internet.
Game 7 is on Sunday. The program is on ABC
Udoka talked about how Miami was able to keep Jaylen Brown off the board in the second half. After both of Boston's star wings scored 18 points in the first half, they combined to take seven shots in the second half -- and only one each in the fourth quarter, as the Heat went out of their way to force other players to beat them.
It almost worked, as White had a great game off the bench. It is a balancing act for his stars to find their teammates when the defense collapses on them while still being aggressive enough to make plays for themselves.
The defense will break down and open up for them later in the game if they get off the ball early. We want those guys to stay aggressive. We had a lot of turnovers in the pocket when we found their opportunities. They were encouraged to be aggressive by passing up a few open shots and driving into traffic. The number of field goal attempts was low for the half. They were supposed to try to take it out of their hands. We always want to stay aggressive and make the right play, even though we had it going a little bit. They are our leading scorer and we need them to bring it home in the fourth quarter. We need to find them, get them the ball and put them in spots knowing how the defense is guarding them.
It would be hard to imagine the Celtics playing in a Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals four months ago. It has been a season like that in Boston. The Celtics have come out with wins in each of the past two games they've played at FTX Arena, and Udoka said the team's resilience can help them do that again.
Udoka said that they have been a resilient group. Nothing has been easy, and that is how the season has gone. It is almost like we have to take the harder route at times, due to some of the things we have done in this series.
We understand the big picture and what is in front of us. We put ourselves in the position of having two games to win one, and have to go finish it in Miami now.
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