Advertisement

Boston Celtics fans say team could win it all, as playoffs begin this weekend

04:30
Download Audio
Resume
Karl Volker, the owner of the Underground Express souvenir store in downtown Boston, arranges the hats. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Karl Volker, the owner of the Underground Express souvenir store in downtown Boston, arranges the hats. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

Karl Volker's shop in Downtown Crossing sells T-shirts, mugs and other souvenirs emblazoned with some of Boston's best-known brands: Harvard University, the Patriots, the Red Sox and the Bruins.

But these days, the hottest items come in green and white — the colors of the Boston Celtics. "The biggest is the Boston shirt with the shamrock on it," Volker said.

Celtics souvenirs at Underground Express in downtown Boston. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Celtics souvenirs at Underground Express in downtown Boston. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

The Celtics are headed into the playoffs Sunday against the Brooklyn Nets as one of the hottest teams in basketball. They finished the season in second place in the Eastern Conference. And some analysts and fans believe they could win their first championship since 2008.

The enthusiasm is hard to miss. Attendance at TD Garden, where the Celtics play, has exceeded levels before the pandemic. And everyone from local residents to foreign tourists are scooping up Celtics gear, Volker said, giving local merchants a big lift.

"I think it's psychology," Volker said. "If the team is winning, then the tide lifts all boats."

The Celtics are among the most storied franchises in pro sports. Seventeen banners hang from the Garden's rafters.

But since Larry Bird and the Big Three in the mid-'80s, the C's have yet to equal the kind of dominance of the Patriots or the Red Sox. They claimed just one NBA title in the past 35 years.

Lucky the Leprechaun, the Boston Celtics team logo, peers out from in between Celtics championship banners hanging in their new basketball team practice facility. (Elise Amendola/AP)
Lucky the Leprechaun, the Boston Celtics team logo, peers out from between Celtics championship banners hanging in the team's new practice facility. (Elise Amendola/AP)

But after a sluggish start to this season, the team roared to the front of the pack with the league's best defense, led by guard Marcus Smart and stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.

The second-half turnaround was so good — vaulting the team from 11th to second place — it ranked as the best of any team in NBA history.

"Beating teams on the road — and dominating from wire to wire — which is what they've done almost 20 times this season," said Boston journalist Dart Adams as he stood outside TD Garden. "These are things that teams that win championships do."

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) dunks ahead of Memphis Grizzlies guard John Konchar (46) in the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 10, 2022, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill)
Celtics guard Jaylen Brown dunks ahead of Memphis Grizzlies guard John Konchar in the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 10, 2022, in Memphis, Tenn. (Brandon Dill/AP)

But for Boston to fully embrace the Celtics, some say they’ll need to vanquish the rival Brooklyn Nets this weekend.

Nets fans chanted "we want Boston" after the team beat Cleveland earlier this week, securing their first-round playoff match with Boston.

"Well be careful what you wish for,” a TNT announcer responded.

Boston is considered a four-point favorite in early betting, meaning they'll have to win by more than four points for betters to cash in.

And some think the two teams could be in the early stages of building a new basketball rivalry.

That's because the Nets feature former Celtics star Kyrie Irving, who has become an arch-nemesis for Boston ever since moving to Brooklyn as a free agent in 2019.

Adams, the sports analyst, recalls Irving insulting local fans by stomping on the Celtics' leprechaun logo after the Nets beat Boston in a playoff game last year. Irving and the Nets went on to end the C's season that year.

"Because after Kyrie Irving stepped on the logo, a lot of people who don't live in his region don't understand the significance of that," Adams said. "I think it's important for the fandom to see the Celtics humiliate — possibly eradicate — the Brooklyn Nets."

Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving scrapes his foot on the Boston Celtics logo at mid-court after they defeated the Celtics in Game 4 during an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Sunday, May 30, 2021, in Boston. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving scrapes his foot on the Boston Celtics logo at mid-court after they defeated the Celtics in Game 4 during an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Sunday, May 30, 2021, in Boston. (Elise Amendola/AP)

Now many Boston residents, like Sebastian Atryzek, think it's time for the Celtics to bring home another title. Atryzek is already counting on the players to match slugger David Ortiz's triumphs for the Red Sox against the hated New York Yankees.

"We're down by three. Grand Slam!" Atryzek said. "I'm just giving that as an example of what we're about to do."

Another Celtics die-hard is South Boston native Mike Greenwood. Sitting on a bench in Boston Common in a green-and-white Celtics hat, Greenwood said he isn't sure these Celtics can overcome the best in the NBA yet.

But he has hope.

"Boston fans are tired of not winning basketball," he said. "We really are. I can't see how they're going to not bring us to the championships."

Greenwood said he quit drinking, so he doesn’t watch the basketball games at the bars like he once did.

But at his daily Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, he said, everybody is talking about the Celtics.

This segment aired on April 15, 2022.

Related:

Headshot of Simón Rios

Simón Rios Reporter
Simón Rios is an award-winning bilingual reporter in WBUR's newsroom.

More…

Advertisement

More from WBUR

Listen Live
Close