Simone: The Celtics' clutch gene is defined by confidence - and an eerie lack of emotions

PHILADELPHIA — Nothing was different in the Boston Celtics locker room. Nothing except the room itself.

Back in Boston, after an ugly Game 2 defeat, the Celtics sat at their lockers stonefaced. Obviously, not pleased with the night’s result, but showing no bitterness. There was little anger. No rage. No whining.

If anything, Boston was upbeat. There were normal conversations. Like any other regular-season game.

On Friday night in Philadelphia, it was exactly the same.

Baylor Scheierman ate his post-game meal at his locker. Payton Pritchard listened to music through his wired Apple headphones. Sam Hauser got dressed and left right as the media was allowed into the locker room.

Business as usual. Almost an eerie lack of emotions. As if 16 Michael Meyers were done with their last victims, and their sole purpose in life was preparing for the next.

The two results couldn’t have been more different -- one a brutal defeat, the other, a hard-nosed, clutch-time victory on the road.

But that’s how Boston has been all season. It’s not a lack of caring. It’s not a lack of effort, excitement, or even happiness. It’s a deep-rooted understanding of knowing what comes next.

“Our next challenge is bouncing back and getting better, knowing that [the] next game is going to be even harder and even more of a fist fight,” Joe Mazzulla said post-game in his usual, stoic nature.

And confidence. It’s that understanding -- and confidence.

Because that’s when Scheierman laughed at me.

How much confidence is in this locker room?

That’s when he laughed.

“A lot,” Scheierman told BostonSportsJournal.com. “Yeah, a lot of confidence, for sure. And as it should be, you know? As it should be.”

As the minutes ticked off the clock in Game 3, the Celtics found themselves in a minefield. One wrong decision, one simple mistake, and the Philadelphia 76ers would sprint down the floor and flip the game’s momentum on its head.

To win required precision. It required execution. But more than anything else, it required confidence. The unequivocal, unmeasurable gene that defines how clutch a group can be.

“Think it's just a mindset, really,” Scheierman said. “Just supreme confidence in yourself and your abilities to impact the game in multiple ways, and I think we just got a lot of those guys on our team.”

And it all came down to four moments.

First was Jaylen Brown.

With 6:47 to go in the fourth quarter, the Celtics were up 86-85. Up to that point in the night, both teams had gone back and forth. Tyrese Maxey’s shot-making kept Philadelphia afloat, just as Paul George’s pick-and-roll game did later on.

But as Maxey tried to pass the ball to George, Brown jumped it. He then dashed after the loose ball, stole it from Maxey’s grasp, and found a running Derrick White in transition to put the Celtics up by three.

From that point forward, Brown scored the next eight points for the Celtics.

Mistakes plagued the other end. A Nikola Vucevic foul that (luckily for Boston) bared no fruit, as Andre Drummond missed the free throws. A missed defensive rebound that allowed Kelly Oubre Jr. to drive the lane for a paint score. Maxey buckets and George-Drummond pick-and-rolls.

It was imperfect. But right alongside it was Brown.

“That's what it comes down to. I mean, all your preparation and stuff comes down to those moments,” Brown said. “Both teams are tired. Your team is in a, maybe, offensively, in a little bit of a rut. You got to figure out how to get a basket. Got to figure out how to create some momentum for your team. And I feel like I did just enough to shift things in our favor.”

As the Celtics’ defense scrapped, clawed, and fumbled its way forward, Brown’s buckets gave them a lifeline.

Then, there was White.

Game 3 was an offensive disaster for White. For the third straight game, he couldn’t buy a bucket. The rim was ruthless.

Yet Mazzulla kept him in the game for its dying moments.

Why? Because, in his eyes -- obviously.

“[If] anybody ever doubts D-White, then they don't really care about winning,” Mazzulla said.

With just over four minutes to play, Vucevic missed a corner three. Boston was up just two. Philadelphia could have grabbed the ball, ran down the court, and tied the game (or taken the lead).

But White snuck under the hoop and tipped the rebound out into open space. Jayson Tatum was there. The ball eventually found Brown, who nailed a tough, mid-range, pull-up jumper in Maxey’s face to put the Celtics up by four.

“Obviously, we need him. I could say it 100 times. We need him, we need him, we need him,” Tatum said. “And it's tough. As a basketball player, we've all been through it. Where you're not hitting shots at the rate that you expect to or want to. And it's just, sometimes, you just don't make them. But D-White is an unreal basketball player that still just has his imprint on the game and makes plays on both ends of the floor. Timing plays. But just never lose confidence in yourself. 

“When he's open, we're gonna pass it to him. We want him to be aggressive. Never turn down a shot. And, you know, law of averages. He's going to start knocking them down.”

A few minutes, with less than 40 seconds to go, White did it again.

Boston was up 103-100 after Oubre sank two free throws. Vucevic missed another three, this time, from the other corner.

White crashed from the opposite corner, flew into the air between Maxey and Oubre, and grabbed the ball with two hands.

He kicked the ball out to Tatum, who nailed the dagger in Adem Bona’s face.

“There's a competitive confidence there. There's a character piece there. He's not defined just by shot-making,” Mazzulla said. “Did a tremendous job. Heading into Game 1, he defended like 54 pick-and-rolls, which is the most on the team. And he has to be able to do that for us to win. 

“Those two rebounds were big-time rebounds, and he can impact winning in so many different ways. So, I'm always gonna double down on his competitive character, who he is.”

White could have been stuck to the pine. He could have been out of the game for good. But Mazzulla knows what he brings to the table.

He knows that White knows how to win.

Sandwiched in between White’s boards was Payton Pritchard’s shot.

The Celtics’ offense hit a wall. VJ Edgecombe clamped Tatum on the wing, and the rest of the guys were guarded heavily.

White in the opposite corner. Brown on the opposite wing. Vucevic in the dunker spot on Tatum’s side of the court.

And Pritchard in the same corner that Tatum and Vucevic surrounded.

With 2.1 seconds left on the shot clock, Tatum threw what should have been a grenade to Pritchard, who was smothered by Oubre.

Instead, in one fell swoop, Pritchard jab-stepped toward the basket, lost Oubre, stepped back to the wing, and drilled a three.

The ball left his hand with 1.0 seconds on the shot clock. It all happened in 1.1 seconds.

“I thought the shot that he hit was big because, like you said, he hadn't been involved much offensively,” Mazzulla said. “We found him and he made it.”

Pritchard jogged back on defense, spitting out what was undoubtedly profanity, as the confidence that seeps through his veins spewed out into the air of Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Last was Tatum.

The shot that ended the evening.

It was after the second offensive rebound White pulled down. There were 27 seconds left in the game, and the Celtics were up by three.

The ball swung around. From Pritchard. To Brown. To Tatum.

Pritchard went to set a flare screen for Brown, but he backed off. Who knows what was going through his head? It could have been anything. But maybe, just maybe, a small part of him knew what was about to happen.

Tatum sized up Bona, who slowly backed up, and when he was just in front of the Xfinity Mobile Arena logo, he pulled up for three.

Bucket. Dagger. Boston up 106-100.

“I can just speak for myself in those moments, especially today. I just missed being a part of moments like that,” Tatum said. “Where it's just a back-and-forth game. Sometimes, we had some moments where things didn't go our way, and then we had to fight back and get the lead. And it was just a figure-it-out type of game. Make winning plays. 

“The rebound that D-White got, the steal that JB got, P hitting that big shot. Just as a basketball player, being on a team where everybody's just contributing and making plays, I just missed being a part of moments like that. And it was just fun.”

Winning in the playoffs is rarely easy.

The entire NBA is whittled down to 16 teams, all fighting for the ultimate prize. And in today’s league -- where injuries are as prevalent as ever -- it’s all too common for seven and eight seeds not to be true seven and eight seeds.

That’s the case with this Philadelphia team.

Maxey is one of the best scorers in basketball. Edgecombe seems to be one of the league’s future stars. George, in spite of his age, is still a premier offensive creator. The Sixers are well-coached and full of talent. They’re going to fight.

All Boston can do is fight back.

“I mean, they are pushing us. We have to push them. Usually, competition brings out the best of people,” Mazzulla said. “And you're also in two great environments. TD Garden is a great environment. Here is a great environment. And you're throwing haymakers at each other. I think you relish that in the moment. So,  you just can't come into this, you can't have any expectation. We got to just do whatever we got to do for however long it takes.

And when it comes to winning in the playoffs’ most important moments, this Celtics team is read. It’s not perfect. Few teams ever are. But it’s ready to do whatever it takes.

“I think it's just a mindset of paying attention to the details,” Scheierman said. “I mean, a lot of winning plays come with just the attention to the detail. Whether that's the scouting report on defense or offense, just making the extra effort plays, the crashing the glass or whatnot. That's really what it comes down to.”

It all goes back to the confidence.

Boston’s back was against the wall. Maxey and Edgecombe and George were charging. They were ready, willing, and able to pounce on any and every mistake.

But much like their post-game demeanor, the Celtics were poised.

Poised and confident.

“I mean, we're all pretty confident players,” Scheierman said. “I think we're obviously here for a reason, and I think, with that, just comes confidence in itself. And obviously, the more you see success as a team, the more your confidence grows, and I think that's just been the story of the year.”

“We've been there before, so no moment is too big,” Brown said. “So, we just -- Big-time players make big-time plays. Big-time shot by Payton, big-time rebound by D-White, and then JT finished it off.”

“As you probably could imagine, we've been in this scenario time and time again,” Tatum said. “Times we've fallen short, and times we've succeeded. It's all about just learning from past experiences, and whether it's first play the game or crunch time, it's just about making the right read and making the right play.”

Just as the TD Garden faithful gave the Sixers hell in Game 1, the Philadelphia crowd did the same to the Celtics in Game 3.

It was its first chance to make an impact in the series. Every momentum swing was met with an outcry of support from fans in the stands. A packed house at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

But again, the Celtics were stonefaced.

“[It’s] something you definitely talk about, but something you got to experience [it], for sure,” Brown said of the environment. “And I think our team is still a young team, so this experience was great. It's great to get these experiences and win. 

“But when you get hit, you just got to respond. If they have a momentum play or, or if they go on a run, just get the ball out, and get up the court, and try to steal a basket to kind of break the momentum, and stuff like that. So, most importantly, just stay together through the adversity. But if you get hit, you got to to hit back.”

And for some, there’s nothing better than playing on the road in the postseason.

Or, more specifically, winning on the road.

“It's definitely something that I enjoy, coming into this hostile environment where you know everybody hates you and they're wanting you to just suck, that's the best environment to be in, because you out there and you get to shut them the hell up,” Scheierman said.

Boston could have wilted in this game.

The George-Drummond pick-and-roll success could have taken them out of rhythm, but Brown’s buckets provided the much-needed response.

Missed corner threes in crucial moments could have derailed the Celtics’ load, but White was there for the offensive rebounds.

A dead offensive possession could have given the Sixers a perfect chance to strike in the final minutes of a clutch game, but Pritchard saved the day.

Oubre’s two free throws could have put the Sixers in a position to have a chance at a game-tying shot, but Tatum’s step-back three took that opportunity away.

Time after time, the Celtics just found a way to win.

“It's what we've done. It's what we do when we're at our best,” Mazzulla said. “And so, the goal is to just try to be at our best as much as we can. So, we do that [at] training camp, preseason, regular season, playoffs. We do it. Just the trust that we'll, more times than not, try to be the best version of ourselves. So, like I said, there were big-time plays tonight by multiple people in both halves. And we just have to be able to do that.. Especially when you have 17 turnovers, four in the fourth quarter, we had some mistakes. That's going to happen in a game, but I liked the mindset that we had. 

“The competitiveness. The togetherness. I thought there was great communication, great body language, great togetherness. Just things that can help you get through stuff, especially when you're playing on the road. So, I thought we managed the runs a little bit better than we did in Game 1. We had that 37-26 second quarter. They even had a run in the first game. So, we managed those better with some of our execution, and we got to continue to do that.”

There’s no telling what happens next.

After Game 1, some may have predicted a sweep. After Game 2, some may have shifted their prediction to a Philadelphia upset.

The reality of basketball -- and the playoffs, in particular -- is that anything can happen. It’s just up to the Celtics to live in that environment.

And their confidence is what will lead the way.

“You don't get to dictate -- A series is going to take on a life of its own. And you have to just sit in it,” Mazzulla said. “You can't rush for it to be over. You can't expect it to be over. 

“You can't go into playoff series with levels of expectation. You have to just go in and settle in. And that's physically, mentally, and emotionally, you got to settle into it. And I think the guys are great at that, and I think, yeah, to the point of like – This is what you sign up for.