The keys to the Celtics’ championship mentality – NBC Sports Boston

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Hang around the Boston Celtics long enough and you’ll invariably hear some barking.

Maybe it’ll occur when Kristaps Porzingis huddles up the team pregame and asks, “Where my doggies at?” Maybe it’ll happen when Luke Kornet skies for a tip-in, and Derrick White gets all the dogs on Boston’s roster riled up by barking in the middle of the lane. 

The Celtics’ affinity for pups is longstanding. During last year’s title run, Jaylen Brown routinely asked teammates, “Where my road dogs at?” and it became a locker room query for a Boston team that thrived away from home. 

These Celtics are still road dogs. They are an NBA-best 28-7 away from home this season. What’s more, that .800 winning percentage is tied for the best mark in team history, matching the 1972-73 squad that finished 32-8 away from home.

If Brown popularized Boston’s dog attendance call, he’s perfectly fine with the way teammates are co-opting it this year. 

“I didn’t invent, ‘Where my dogs at?’ It’s just something that we need to bring out, bring that mentality out of us,” said Brown. “Because I feel like we’re at our best when — we have the skill, but when we’re playing with that edge, that physicality, and that mindset that you’re not going to mess with us today, I think it’s better for our group.”

After Kornet started barking loudly — triggered by White doing the same — after a putback against the Blazers on Sunday night, teammates were asked about all the barking. 

“Luke’s a dog, so he just barks when he does dog things,” said Sam Hauser.

Porzingis was mic’d up for a game earlier this season when he asked his teammates where the dogs were. After some ruffs, the team broke the huddle with a chant of, “1-2-3 … Baja!” 

This reporter, intrigued by the unique huddle break, wondered if it was a playful nod to the Baha Men, who sang the inescapable hit, “Who Let the Dogs Out” in the early 2000s. It turns out it’s more likely, “Baja,” a potential offshoot on the popular “BBQ Chicken” phrase that Shaquille O’Neal popularized while dominating opposing big…

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Publish date : 2025-03-24 16:21:00

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