The Boston Celtics have always loved playing at TD Garden, and for good reason. The raucous home crowd has propelled them for decades. In the Celtics' long history, they're a stellar 1,987-861 at home, per StatMuse.
However, home-court advantage didn't really exist for Boston last season. The Celtics went a disappointing 5-6 at home during the postseason and ended their playoff run in disappointing fashion by losing on their own floor in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat.
During the 2023-24 season, it's been a different story. The Celtics seem determined to atone for their past failures in Beantown.
Celtics get back to dominating at home
After beating the San Antonio Spurs 117-98 on Wednesday night, the Green Team now boasts a perfect 20-0 home record. That's the best start at home in franchise history and keeps the C's on pace to try and surpass the 1985-86 Celtics' amazing 40-1 record in Boston. Plus, according to the Celtics official statistics account, the 2023-24 squad is one of just 13 teams in NBA history to rattle off 20-straight home wins to start a season.
Following Boston's win over San Antonio, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla commended the crowd for their unwavering support.
“As far as the fans, you know, I think they've been great for us all year.”
When asked about how it felt to be chasing history, Mazzulla admitted that he didn't know the 1985-86 Celtics were that dominant at home. To him, proving themselves in front of the fans and earning their encouragement is more important than trying to set any records.
“The goal has been to build a connection and an identity with our city, with our team to where they give us this lift and this level of support that they have,” he said. “We've done that the first 20 games at home and that's been the goal. So win or lose, that's the main thing.”
Not only have the Celtics got it done at home, but they've simply dominated. Three of their last four home wins have been by at least 19 points and 12 of their 20 total home wins have come by double-digits.
After a comeback win over the Detroit Pistons in late December, guard Derrick White emphasized the importance of playing for the fans. When Boston was on the verge of giving the Pistons their first win in over two months, White said that he was more concerned about protecting home court than breaking Detroit's historic losing streak.
“I wouldn’t say that we were like ‘if we lose, we’re the team that they broke the record against’, but you’re just out there competing, wanting to get a win, especially here on our home court,” he stated.
While the advantages of playing at home aren't completely tangible, it's not hard to recognize the Celtics' stellar chemistry. Winning can cure everything and it's clear that Boston's 20 home wins have helped bring the team together.
Two-time All-Star Jaylen Brown, who was fresh off a 21-point performance against the Spurs, praised the Celtics' camaraderie this season.
“I've been on some great teams. And we had some great locker rooms and this marks up as one of the best groups and teams in character that we've had,” he said. “We all get along. It's a good atmosphere. Guys come to work every day, trying to improve and get better.”
Brown and company will need to continue to work together to ace perhaps their biggest test at home all season, as Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets come to town on Friday night. This is the first time all season Boston has played the reigning champs and it'll be a great challenge for a talented Celtics team with championship aspirations of their own.
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