There's a lot of outside noise throughout the 2023 NBA playoffs, but Boston Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon believes his team can block it all out.
After a disappointing Game 1 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers without Joel Embiid, Boston looked disorganized and unfocused to start the second round. Yet, in the C's past two games, they've played much more soundly and closer to their full potential.
According to Brogdon, the 2023 Sixth Man of the Year, the Green Team has been locked in following the series opener.
“We’re so locked in right now,” Brogdon said, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. “We’re really connected and we’re competing at an extremely high level. We’re not really worried about anything else other than what we’ve got in this locker room. We’re not letting anything distract us.”
To prove his point, the C's were unfazed by all the festivities prior to Game 3 when Sixers center Joel Embiid received his MVP trophy. In fact, Celtics star Jayson Tatum said he actually channeled the noise from the ceremony and used it as motivation during the victory.
“It got me really ready to play,” he said, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “You could feel the energy from the crowd in the building. I’m happy for him. He earned it, he deserved it. But I was just focused on trying to win tonight.”
Now up 2-1 in the series, Boston should expect the Sixers to play like their lives depended on it. The Celtics have had a tendency to ease up a little too early at times, and they cannot afford that in Game 4 this afternoon.
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