CLEVELAND -- Plenty of comparisons have been made between the 2009-10 Celtics and their counterparts from the 1968-69 season. From an aging roster with a closing window of opportunity to the fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference and a lack of home-court advantage in the postseason, the teams are frighteningly similar.

Now here's another thread Boston hopes remains common between the two teams: The 1969 Celtics were one of only two Boston squads ever to lose Game 1 of a best-of-seven series on the road, then rally to win the series.

Boston is a mere 2-6 in that situation, and 8-14 overall when losing Game 1 of a best-of-seven series regardless of home-court advantage.

What's more, teams with home-court advantage that win Game 1 of a best-of-seven series are 256-40 overall in the history of the NBA playoffs, a sterling 86.5 winning percentage.

All of which is to say that the Celtics find themselves in an undesirable situation after Saturday's Game 1 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a conference semifinal series.

Yet, Boston is hardly pressing the panic button.

"If we take it to seven games, we'll have three more opportunities to play here," point guard Rajon Rondo said before Sunday's practice. "[Game 1] is behind us. We wish we could have had it back, but that's yesterday."

The Celtics are taking the position that, so long as they take care of business at home, the Green simply need to steal any of four potential meetings at Quicken Loans Arena to win the series.

History suggests that's easier said than done. But a Boston team that lost two Game 1s last year during the postseason, only to bounce back with a pair of Game 2 wins, seems unfazed by the daunting task ahead.

"We've been here before," Ray Allen said. "It doesn't shake any one of us. We have a lot of experience. Everyone is ready to play."

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