Justin Turner, Kenley Jansen give their take on Game 7
Boston fans have seen their fair share of Game 7's. Sunday, they get another one thanks to the Celtics' showdown with the Sixers.
But it's never a bad idea to float a reminder regarding what awaits.
Thanks to Justin Turner, we have that heading into Sunday's make-or-break affair at TD Garden.
"It’s hard to describe," Turner told WEEI.com. "You put in all the work in the offseason, spring training, whatever. You go through the whole season and essentially everything comes down to this game. It’s win or go home. It’s kind of a cool feeling, honestly."
While the Red Sox haven't played a Game 7 since losing to the Rays in the 2008 American League Championship Series, Turner has had a fairly-recent run of the one-game season. Three of them since 2017, to be exact.
The first for the infielder came in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series against the Astros, when Turner's Dodgers suffered a 5-1 loss. But the next season, in the 2018 NLCS against the Brewers, his team bounced back with a Game 7 win.
Then, in the 2020 NLCS, Turner and the Dodgers came out winners once again, beating the Braves on their way to that year's World Series title.
"It’s something you dream about as a kid, your whole life, in the backyard, playing Wiffleball. Bases loaded. Two outs. Three-two count. Game 7 of the World Series. The game rides on your shoulders. That’s kind of what it feels like," Turner explained.
"Game-defining moments. You do something special in that game and you go down in history for the rest of your life."
The Red Sox are 4-6 all-time in Game 7's, having experienced their World Series heartbreak in 1946, 1967, 1975 and, of course, 1986. Then there was the Aaron Boone-induced agony during the 2003 American League Championship Series.
But the Sox have had fairly good fortune since that Yankee Stadium night nearly 20 years ago, winning Game 7 in the ALCS the following season and in the same round against Cleveland in 2007.
The Red Sox also can stake claim to another do-or-die game, beating the Yankees in the teams' one-game Wild Card meeting in 2021.
So, how are the Celtics - who have won 26 Game 7's while playing in 35 of them - going to fare? Another guy who lived the life of winner-take-all alongside Turner, Kenley Jansen, is making his prediction.
"Let me tell you first of all, man, watching the third quarter (in Game 6) scared me a little bit. Are they trying to give this game away," said Jansen, a huge NBA/Lakers fan. "But credit to everybody. Jayson Tatum, that showed toughness. That mindset of taking that one shot and then the next thing you know your scoring 16 points in that quarter.
"They got it, man. I know Philly is a really good team, but those boys showed up. I would say Celtics by 10 or 15."