Jae Crowder says Celtics love to be heavy underdogs against Cavs

WALTHAM, Mass. -- When the Boston Celtics punched their pass to the Eastern Conference finals with Monday's Game 7 win over the Washington Wizards, Isaiah Thomas and his teammates figured they would be declared heavy underdogs against the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers.

By Tuesday, everyone from the court of public opinion to Las Vegas oddsmakers confirmed that assessment.

And the Celtics wouldn't want it any other way.

"Did you hear anybody pick us to win last series, either?" Celtics forward Jae Crowder asked a reporter after Tuesday's workout at the team's practice facility. "What about the one before that?"

Added Crowder: "We love it. Typical. It's part of it. We don't listen to that stuff. We just go out and play. People are going to say what they want to say, but we just play."

It was noted that, despite all the chatter that Boston was one of the weakest No. 1 seeds in recent memory, the team was still a favorite against both Chicago and Washington. It was only after the Celtics fell behind 2-0 versus the Bulls that some wondered if Boston might truly be vulnerable. However, Crowder wasn't having it.

"I think there's enough people who were against us in both series," he said. "I think it was out there that we weren't supposed to get to where we are right now."

Even if some pundits picked the Celtics, Boston never paid much attention to that support. Crowder admitted these chip-on-their-shoulder Celtics are fueled by being counted out. "Exactly. We all do," said Crowder. "Everybody in the locker room really welcomes it with open arms. It's part of what we're about. Everybody in this locker room has been doubted at some point in their career. And we just use it as motivation. That's all you can do."

Told that some Celtics fans might be content if the Celtics simply won one game in the conference finals and played competitively against the Cavaliers, Thomas dismissed the notion.

"That's their opinion," said Thomas. "We've been counted out since I've been here, so it's nothing new."

Asked about using that as motivation, Thomas added, "It helps a little bit but, at the same time, we're so focused on what's going on. This group of guys we have, we're not really focused on the outside noise and what they think we're going to do. First couple rounds, they didn't think we were going to get past that so we're not really worried about what others are thinking. We're just going to take care of business."

One TV reporter told Al Horford Tuesday that, "literally no one is picking you guys to win," and asked how that felt.

Responded Horford: "Everybody is always going to roll with the champ until somebody beats them, right? That's just the way it is."

Avery Bradley agreed that being overlooked is nothing new for these Celtics.

"People have been saying stuff about us since the first [round]. We were down 0-2 and you heard everyone talking stuff about us, but I mean, it's part of the game," said Bradley. "We understand that we only can worry about us and what we can control, and that's our effort, and that's all we care about. We don't care about what anyone else thinks."