Myles Turner: ‘Everybody and Their Mother Is Rooting for’ Celtics over Pacers in ECF

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner said in an interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews on NBA Today that “everybody and their mother is rooting for Boston right now” in advance of his team’s Eastern Conference Finals matchup with the Boston Celtics.

Turner’s remarks were part of a response to Andrews’ question: “What gives you confidence that you can push past the Celtics?” His full answer was as follows:

“Our confidence is just in our preparation in ourselves, you know, I think that we’re built for these moments. You know, just the roster that we have and the things that we’ve been through this year.

“You know, like you said, you mentioned the in-season tournament, being able to play such high-level games so early in the season, get that experience that was much-needed, something that helps us. I’m just excited for the opportunity more than anything, I think we all are.

“I think everybody and their mother is rooting for Boston right now. But in our city, in our locker room, we’re very confident in ourselves.”

The Celtics have enough haters out there to assume that not everyone is rooting for them, but one would be hard-pressed to find many people outside Indianapolis and the most ardent of Pacers fans who believe Indiana is going to win this series.

The 64-18 Celtics won 17 more games than the 47-35 Pacers this regular season. They also took the regular season series, albeit by just a 3-2 margin. Boston also holds homecourt advantage, which is important for a team that went 37-4 at TD Garden in the regular season.

The Pacers have enjoyed a great run, though, and having the NBA’s top-scoring offense (and second-most efficient unit on that end) could give Boston some problems. And they certainly have the confidence, as Turner said, to get the job done given their run thus far.

The series will start shortly with Boston hosting Indiana for Game 1 on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.