Celtics Owner Describes Pressure Boston Fans Put Him Under

The Boston Celtics have a different environment from most around the league. Just as the City of New York's pulse revolves around the Knicks, Beantown bleeds green. Bill Chisholm, Symphony Technology Group's Managing Partner, and the new brain trust's figurehead, noted how that adds strain to the operation.

He took aim at the Golden State Warriors fanbase while speaking with Derrick White about the Celtics' diehards, subtly digging Massachusetts for not offering what Northern California does on weekends.

"I love the slogan, 'It's different here,' because if you don't live here or you didn't grow up here, I don't think people understand," Chisholm said on Celtics guard Derrick White's "White Noise Podcast with Derrick & Welsh." "I've spent a lot of time in California and the Warriors are great. I don't like the Warriors, but the Warriors for people that live there are great.

"But people go to the game, they go home and they have their dinner. The Warriors win [or] lose, yeah, it's fine. There's other things. You go to the beach, you go up to Tahoe. The Celtics lose and people are depressed. ... People really internalize it here.

"It's different here. Other places, they got to put it up on the jumbotron, like, 'Let's cheer' or 'Make it louder,' the fans here, they just get it. And to your point, this is the Boston Celtics. There's a standard here."

Celtics Ownership Cut Costs But Left Something to Believe In

Brad Stevens did a lot of cost-cutting in anticipation of the team's sale, shipping off Jrue Holiday's contract and turning down the chance to sign up for long-term money in Al Horford and Luke Kornet in free agency.

Stevens didn't totally tear it down, though. There was value to be had on the trade market in Jaylen Brown's Supermax. Ditto for Derrick White's recently-signed extension and Payton Pritchard's value deal. Even Sam Hauser could've fetched a few second-rounders at worst.

The Celtics kept these pieces, and the fans now have a reason to care. This is no rebuilding year without Jayson Tatum; this is an identity shift to Moneyball that's firing on all cylinders with a chance to make noise when Tatum is back in the lineup in February or March.

Chisholm now has a product everyone cares about. That wasn't the plan, and with that comes a newfound pressure to compete. That's the standard in Boston.