Celtics forward Kevin Garnett can be very introspective in postgame media sessions and often comes up with some of the most interesting analogies. But following each of the past two road losses in Cleveland, there has been one question that even the deep-thinking Garnett can't seem to answer.
Why have the Celtics struggled on the road in the playoffs?
"If I knew that, man, I don't think we'd be having these conversations or these problems on the road," Garnett said.
The Celtics won an NBA-best 31 road games in the regular season. But thus far in the playoffs, the Celtics are 0-5 on the road, with three losses in the first round in Atlanta and two in the second round in Cleveland. They haven't won a road game since April 14 at New York. On the flip side, the Celtics are 6-0 at TD Banknorth Garden in the postseason.
When it came to answering the tough road question, Garnett wasn't the only Celtic who struggled with it.
"I wish I could really answer that," said James Posey. "I can't. I don't know."
Said Ray Allen, "It's hard to say. I have no answer for it. I have no answer."
With the Celtics stumped, two renowned New England sports psychologists, Harvey N. Dulberg and Alan Goldberg, were asked to give their take, with Game 5 of the best-of-seven series coming up tonight at the Garden.
Dulberg has 28 years of experience working with professional, Olympic, college, and high school athletes. While there is not enough room for the entire Celtics team and coaching staff to fit in his 250-square-foot office in Brookline, he had some interesting theories as to why the Celtics are struggling on the road.
Boston has several players with lots of postseason experience. Sam Cassell has two NBA titles, Posey has one, and Garnett, Allen, and Paul Pierce have all played in a conference final. But seven of the 12 players on the roster weren't here a season ago, so this is essentially the Celtics' first postseason experience as a team. The Cavaliers, though they made a major midseason trade, are the reigning Eastern Conference champions who overcame long odds to make it to the NBA Finals last year.
"We're chasing and looking up to that team because they've been there before," said Posey, who won a title with Miami in 2006. "This is nothing new to them. For us, it's still new as a whole. We're still learning and we're going to get it done."
Said Dulberg, "They don't have the familiarity, which is why they looked lost in the fourth quarter. The Big Three are afraid to step on each other's toes."
Dulberg also said the Celtics need mentally to treat road games as they would home games. In fact, he didn't think it would be a bad idea for the Celtics to bring their loved ones to Cleveland.
