The Boston Celtics didn’t arrive in Los Angeles looking for a split. Past history suggests this is a greedy team that would have been perfectly fine with doing to the Lakers what it did to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference finals and steal two games on their home court.

It didn’t happen. Los Angeles stomped Boston in Game 1, so now Boston reshapes its goals and aims to steal a single win before the series shifts to the Hub for three games.

It’s easy to point to the Celtics’ bigs for the discrepancy. Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, Rasheed Wallace, and Glen Davis combined for 14 rebounds. Heck, Pau Gasol collected a game-high 14 rebounds himself, including a staggering eight offensive caroms that matched the team total for Boston.

Talking about offensive rebounding after Game 1, Glen Davis suggested it all comes down to will — the desire to get the ball more than your opponent. Take away all the physical breakdowns Boston endured, and the most frustrating aspect of the Game 1 loss might have been that the Lakers proved they wanted it more than Boston.

“Passion, that’s what you want to call it” said Davis. “I would say energy. I think the Finals are the Finals and it’s a different level of play. We’ve just got to bring our level of play up. I feel like our passion is there; we want to win. We know the consequences of this game. We know the consequences of every game, even if we don’t bring it.”