This morning, a copy of the Globe will be set outside each player's room. If Kevin Garnett flips on his clock radio, he'll hear Glenn Ordway and friends screaming over each other on "The Big Show." If Paul Pierce clicks on his TV, he'll see Hazel Mae at the NESN sports desk. If Ray Allen orders room service, he'll get a bowl of Legal Seafoods clam chowder.
The Celtics will be transported to the arena on a Duck Boat. The tour guide will tell them that Lake Erie is the Charles River. They'll be told Cleveland's historic Key Tower is actually the Custom House Tower. Jacobs Field? That's Fenway Park. Janet Marie Smith has really made the place over, no?
Once they get to the arena it'll be a Garden take-out party. Wyc and Pags are flying all things Causeway Street to Cleveland.
Start with the uniforms. After Saturday night's blowout, the Celtics petitioned commissioner David Stern to wear white jerseys at every game. Stern, who desperately wants the Celtics to play the Lakers in the NBA Finals, quickly agreed. So the Celtics will don white jersey tops when they dress for tonight's game. The Cavaliers are required to wear red or blue.
When the players look outside their dressing room, they'll see the Celtic Dancers, stretching in the hallway underneath the stands at the Q. They'll see Lucky the Leprechaun assembling his props for the evening's entertainment.
Before the Celtics go out for warmups, Rene Rancourt will sing the anthem for them in the Boston locker room. It'll be a private audience because the Cavaliers won't allow the Bruins/Celtics good-luck singer to work the crowd at the Q.
Francis O'Bryant, a Celtics operations liaison who has been part of the team's locker room since the early 1970s, will help the players with ticket orders and other special requests. Francis never misses a home game. His regal presence will ensure the Celtics they are safe at home.
When they finally enter the arena, some of the Celtics might notice they are not at the Garden, but Wyc and friends are doing everything imaginable to make it feel like a Garden game.
