Keys to Banner 18: it is time for the Celtics to get back to winning home playoff games again

The Boston Celtics will begin their climb towards Banner 18 on Sunday afternoon when they host a mystery opponent (thanks a lot, Play-In Tournament) at 1 p.m.

Regardless if it’s the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, or Atlanta Hawks, the Celtics have to get their $#@% together and start the series off with a win at home.

Wins at TD Garden have eluded the Cs over the past two postseasons. In their 2022 NBA Finals run, they went a combined 6-6 at home. A year later, they managed to regress, winning just five of 11 games in Boston. If you neglect first-round games, their record over that two-year span is 7-11 on the parquet.

Of the teams that have played more than 10 home playoff games since 2022, Boston stands alone having a losing record.

The Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns, Heat, and even the Sixers have a positive record in their own building.

Photo by Chris Marion/NBAE via Getty Images

To make matters worse, many of those losses have come in huge spots. The Celtics dropped the following key games while playing on their home floor:

• 2022 Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 1 vs. Milwaukee (fell behind 0-1)
• 2022 Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 5 vs. Milwaukee (fell behind 2-3)
• 2022 Eastern Conference Finals Game 3 vs. Miami (fell behind 1-2)
• 2022 Eastern Conference Finals Game 6 vs. Miami (failed to close out Heat)
• 2022 NBA Finals vs. Golden State Game 4 (failed to take 3-1 lead)
• 2022 NBA Finals vs. Golden State Game 6 (lose Finals 2-4)
• 2023 Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 1 vs. Philadelphia (fell behind 0-1 to Joel Embiid-less 76ers)
• 2023 Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 5 vs. Philadelphia (fell behind 2-3)
• 2023 Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 vs. Miami (fell behind 0-1)
• 2023 Eastern Conference Finals Game 2 vs. Miami (fell behind 0-2)
• 2023 Eastern Conference Finals Game 7 vs Miami (Lose series 3-4)

Playing at home isn’t going to guarantee victory in the playoffs. But, the fact that the list of brutal losses at TD Garden is that long in just a two-year span is unacceptable.

In a year where the expectations are higher than ever, Boston can’t afford to let teams come into their building and win anymore, they just can’t.

Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

They’ve done a tremendous job of protecting home court throughout the 2023-24 season, losing only four games at TD Garden all year. Only one of those losses (April 11 against the New York Knicks, where many have speculated that the Cs weren’t engaged in the slightest) came against an Eastern Conference opponent.

Not only has Boston won their home games, but they’ve dominated. Their average point differential at the Garden this year is +15.2.

To put that in perspective, they had a +10 point differential last season when they went 32-9 at home, and a +7 in 2022, where they logged a 28-13 record on the parquet.

Despite their atrocious, borderline embarrassing, postseason record in front of the Garden faithful, the Celtics have still managed to make runs deep into the playoffs.

Had they just won their home games, they could very well be looking at an opportunity to three-peat this season.

Again, this season’s team has been unbelievably good, not only at home but overall. If there’s any group that can make TD Garden a postseason fortress again, it’s them.