Three things to know ahead of Maine Celtics’ championship game

On Monday, the Celtics’ G League affiliate – headlined by JD Davison, Neemias Queta, Drew Peterson, and Jordan Walsh – hosts the Oklahoma City Blue in a deciding Game 3.

With the G League championship on the line, the Maine Celtics take on the Oklahoma City Blue on Monday night at 9:00 in Portland. Maine dominated OKC in the series opener of this best-of-three Finals, earning a 106-86 win at the Expo. 

The Blue bounced back with a 99-89 victory on their home floor in Game 2. The visitors shot below 34 percent from the field in the loss.

Led by Neemias Queta, Jordan Walsh, and two-way players JD Davison and Drew Peterson, the Celtics' G League affiliate had a dominant second half of the year after starting the season 11-11. 

Now, their title aspirations come down to one game. 

Here are three things to know ahead of Monday’s matchup on ESPNU:

1. The Maine Celtics are on the verge of the franchise's first championship 

The Maine Celtics have never been in this position before – in fact, this is the franchise’s first-ever trip to the Finals. 

Their head coach, Blaine Mueller, called winning the Eastern Conference Finals “a dream come true.” Jordan Walsh said he believed from the beginning of the season this was a team destined to succeed. 

But the organization needs one more win to achieve its ultimate goal. 

“It would be really cool,” Neemias Queta told reporters on Friday. “All the guys put in the work during the whole year for one goal and one goal only, and that was to win this championship, and we’re just one win away at this point.”

The last time a franchise’s G League affiliate won a ring the same year the parent club did was when the Golden State Warriors pulled it off in 2015.

2. In many ways, the Boston Celtics' G League affiliate is modeled after its parent club

Blaine Mueller and his staff utilize similar schemes and preach the same principles as the Boston Celtics. Some of that stems from Mueller and his staff spending training camp in Boston. In addition, Joe Mazzulla said that he regularly communicates with Maine's bench boss and that the two coaching staffs are closely aligned. 

One example is stressing the importance of holding opposing teams to 25-point quarters. Mueller and Mazzulla regularly emphasize this to their teams, pointing to the fact that when a team holds an opponent to three 25-point quarters, they have approximately an 80% chance to win it all, while if a team holds an opponent to four 25-point quarters, that number skyrockets to 98%. 

“Blaine and the staff have done a great job of kind of making it their own, but at the same time, kind of following the principles and the schemes, culturally and on both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla said. “So, I’m happy for them.”

Similarly to Boston, a different player might have the hot hand for Maine on any given night. Everyone else is happy to defer to that player in those moments, Drew Peterson said.  

Two-way point guard JD Davison has been the team’s leading scorer – averaging 22.7 points per game on the season – but players like Peterson, Neemias Queta, Jordan Walsh, and DJ Stewart have all had their fair share of 20-point outbursts. 

Peterson struggled in the first two games of the playoffs but has had an excellent Finals run so far – putting up 20 points and 11 rebounds in the series opener, followed by a 29-point, nine-rebound performance in Game 2. 

“It’s just so huge that we have guys that can really fill their role on our team,” Peterson said. “That’s so important to the organization here, and even in Boston, that’s something they emphasize top to bottom. It trickles down here with guys that fill a role and can have their big night on any given night — so with some guys off, the next guy steps up.”

3. This is a team that has built a special connection off the court

Walsh has previously said that when people ask him what team he’s on, he primarily says the Maine Celtics. And if you tune into this basketball team, you’ll get a sense as to why. 

“These guys love each other,” Mueller said after Maine earned its first postseason win. “Like if that’s not evident, if you can’t see that, you’re not watching.”

Davison, who’s been with Maine for two full seasons, echoed that sentiment after the team advanced to the Finals. 

“It means everything, especially with this group, and how we became so close off the court,” said the former second-round pick. “On the court, we’re just playing so well together. I can’t even explain the feeling right now.”

It’s rare for a G-League team to successfully put ego aside in pursuit of a larger goal. But Neemias Queta said this team has accomplished that feat.

“All the guys on the team, they’ve been a part of winning teams, winning cultures, whether it’s in college, high school, wherever it was, in the league, back in the day,” said the seven-foot-center from Lisbon, Portugal. “We all understand the sense of urgency that we need to have and how we have to sacrifice for each other in order for us to get a championship.”

You can watch the Maine Celtics take on the Oklahoma City Blue on Monday night at 9 ET on ESPNU. 

Further Reading

After Career Night, Reflective Payton Pritchard Discusses NBA Journey and His Ultimate Pursuit

'Nip That in the Bud': Celtics Address End-of-Season Struggles

Jrue Holiday on Celtics Extension: 'Try to Get More Banners, Get More Rings'

Celtics Embracing Challenge to Go Beyond Most Talented

Jayson Tatum Opens Up About Sacrificing in Celtics' Title Pursuit: 'It's a Process'