‘If it was easy, it wouldn’t be us,” says Derrick White of Celtics’ failure to close out Miami Heat in Game 6

The Boston Celtics always seem to play their best when their collective backs are against the wall, and they managed to put themselves right back into such a position after squandering a chance to close out their 2022 Eastern Conference finals series against the Miami Heat on their home court of TD Garden on Friday night.

Now, instead, they will travel to Florida to play the Heat on their home court for a decisive Game 7, disappointing fans and putting their seemingly-certain trip to the finals in doubt. Can the Celtics win on the road against a gritty, disciplined opponent like the Heat?

“We’re frustrated,” explained Celtics reserve guard Derrick White after the loss. “But, if it was easy, it wouldn’t be us.”

“We’re going to get on this plane, we’re going to go down to Miami, and try to figure out how to get the big win in Game 7,” he continued. “We’ve been here before and we’ve got a lot of confidence in our group.”

Asked what the mood in the locker room was postgame, White replied that it was “just overall frustrated” but also that the players were preparing to learn from it ahead of making the trip to Florida.

There had been much chatter in the national media anointing the Celtics as the favorite to advance and face the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals, with center Draymond Green even suggesting that would be the outcome of this series.

Did that get into the heads of the team?

“Not for me personally,” suggested White. “I think they have been saying that since the play started for us. It’s a big stage, and they came out and played really well tonight.”

Boston will have to play nearly perfectly in Game 6 to assure itself of a win and a shot at the 2022 NBA title, limiting the turnovers, bad shots, and less-than-crisp passes that have led to losses in this series like clockwork.

But by leaning into their defensive identity while controlling the ball, they can still win this series on Sunday.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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