BOSTON — The Boston Celtics didn’t bother to bring swagger to their work Sunday afternoon. They left that little bit of housekeeping to their fans, who had plenty of it during Boston’s 123-91 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at TD Garden.
It wasn’t just that Celtics fans were loud. It’s the postseason, and in the postseason, everybody’s fans are loud. And it wasn’t just that they bestowed special attention on Jayson Tatum, who was appearing in his first playoff game since tearing his right Achilles tendon last spring at Madison Square Garden (more about that in a moment).
No, what made this crowd special on this day, and particularly against this opponent, was a chant that made absolutely no sense without some important context.
First, the chant: “We want Bos-ton! We want Bos-ton! We want Bos-ton!”
And now, the important context: Last Wednesday, after the 76ers had completed a 109-97 victory over the Orlando Magic in the Play-In tourney, their fans made it clear they were looking forward to a playoff series against the Celtics. They did so with a chant: “We want Bos-ton! We want Bos-ton! We want Bos-ton!”
Makes sense now, right? And so as the Celtics were having an easy time of things against the Sixers in Game 1, somebody in the Garden screamed, “We want Bos-ton!” And then somebody else did it, and somebody else, and somebody else, and next thing you know, the whole barn was doing it. Look at it this way: We never would have had the wave at ballparks if somebody didn’t stand up first.
But there was added intrigue in Sunday’s “We want Bos-ton!” chant in that it invited a historical comparison with a famous chant from the old Boston Garden that also involved the Celtics and 76ers. This one took place on May 23, 1982, as the 76ers were finishing off a 120-106 victory over the Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Sensing defeat, and then accepting defeat, Celtics fans came up with one of the most memorable impromptu chants in NBA history.
“Beat L.A.! Beat L.A.! Beat L.A.!”
The messaging was easily understood: As much as Celtics fans hated the 76ers, they hated the Los Angeles Lakers more. A lot more. It was a classic case of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” basketball division. Alas for Celtics fans, the 76ers lost to the Lakers in six games in the NBA Finals.
Sunday’s “We want Bos-ton!” chant won’t be remembered forever on, as the “Beat L.A.” chant surely will, but it didn’t go unnoticed by the Celtics. Even if they chose to be diplomatic about it all.
“There’s some history to the series, which you have to appreciate,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “But at the same time you have to focus on the task at hand … I thought our fans were great tonight. They helped us get off to a good start. It’s playoff basketball, which obviously means more and is different in Boston, which we appreciate. But we move on, and (see) how can we get better.”
Jaylen Brown, who led all scorers with 26 points, said, “Yeah, we heard it. But for us, just coming out, playing basketball, it’s a good team over there and we take nothing for granted. It’s one game, but we have to continue to play well and play physical. We’ll just focus on that.”
Which brings us to Tatum, who scored 25 points in his 32 minutes and 25 seconds on the court. Let’s begin here: To the surprise of nobody, Tatum received no special treatment in the run-up to Game 1. During the rollout of the starting lineups, for instance, longtime public address announcer Eddie Palladino was content with being his usual, reliable self. He introduced the Sixers’ starters as though reading off departure times at a bus station. He was fiery, spirited and energetic when introducing the Celtics, but with no over-the-top panache for Tatum.
There was no video tribute for Tatum. No mayoral proclamation. He wasn’t named a Celtics “Hero Among Us.”
But everybody, everybody, understood what this game meant for Tatum, and, more importantly, what it means for the Celtics in their pursuit of a 19th NBA championship. After all the work Tatum did to recover from the injury, his return to action came in three installments. He made his regular-season debut on March 6 (20 points in 20 minutes against the Cleveland Cavaliers). On April 9, he made an emotional return to Madison Square Garden, where the injury happened.
And now there’s this: Playoff Tatum is back. And he returned in a fashion that was pure beauty for hopeful Celtics fans. While we don’t have access to one of those old-fashioned “Applause-o-Meters” (or whatever they were called) that were once a presence at arenas, the cheers Tatum received before, during and especially after his performance might have been at an all-time high.
Many Celtics fans worried Tatum wouldn’t be back this season. If he did come back, went the corresponding fear, he might not be 100 percent. And guess what: By the standards Tatum has established for himself, he’s not 100 percent. “I’m still rehabbing,” Tatum said after Sunday’s game.
Maybe, but the mob liked what it was seeing.
“We have a tremendous crowd,” Tatum said. “Obviously, missing 60-some-odd games, I missed playing in front of our home crowd. Just the opportunity to play a game in the playoffs, it’s something I’ll never take for granted.”
Of course. All athletes speak words along these lines. But there was such a great throwback quality to what happened on Sunday. The fans didn’t need to be artificially ramped up by some scoreboard graphic or sound effect to do the “We want Bos-ton!” chant. They just did it. And it wasn’t in response to a cue from the PA guy that they went wild over Tatum. They just did.
Big win for the Celtics.
Big win for spontaneity.