Celtics and Bruins, some season-ending thoughts ...

Celtics vs. Heat: The better team won: Celtics’ fans might want to argue over whether the better team won the Miami Heat-Celtics best-of-seven Eastern Conference final series (the Celtics lost 4 games to 2), but clearly that was the case. When Games 1, 2 and 6 were on the line, and with the Celtics holding 12, 14 and 6 point leads, respectively, the Celtics failed to show an ability to close out those games, losing all three, and they collapsed in embarrassing fashion down the stretch in Game 6, the clincher. Everyone agrees that their bench isn’t strong enough, but it remains to be seen what kind of players Celtics’ basketball boss Danny Ainge will be able to add to the roster.
Celtics fans should root for the Heat, who played with a lot of heart against the Celtics, in the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. (The Heat are trying to recover from what, entering tonight’s game (Tuesday, Oct. 6) is a 2-1 deficit.) The Lakers, especially with the Heat’s injured players, have the edge.
Rooting interest: Here’s one reason to root on the Heat: a win by the Lakers would allow them to tie the Celtics (at 17 apiece) for the franchise with the most NBA championships. Of course, the Celtics won 11 of 13 in the late 1950s and 1960s, but haven’t won since beating LA in 2008 (they lost to them in seven games two years later), while the Lakers haven’t won a title since that 2010 win.
The Bruins: The best thing we can say about the Bruins’ playoff run in the bubble is that they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion. The Tampa Bay Lightning have had the Bruins’ number for years, and that was the case again this season. …. The Bruins will look differently next season with free agency and trades. Goalie Tuukka Rask may be unwelcome after leaving the bubble in the midst of the Carolina series, and the Bruins also might have to bid goodbye to defenseman Torey Krug, who will enter free agency; Krug will be missed.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Prayers for a somber Passover

  Passover began Monday night (April 22, 2024), and with war raging in the Middle East, it hasn’t been a typical Passover. There is much trouble accompanying this holiday, and antisemitism is at an all-time high. In this column, published in the April 20-21 Weekend edition of The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA, I shared my prayers for this Passover season. The link to the column, as it appears on the newspaper’s website is:    https://www.thesunchronicle.com/opinion/columns/larry-kessler-a-passover-like-no-other/article_f002c65f-a5fc-5711-b6ac-a7ca5c623fb3.html ****** Passover, the eight-day Jewish Festival of Freedom, will arrive later than usual --- the holiday will begin the evening of Monday, April 22 with the first of two ceremonial meals called Seders --- because the current Hebrew calendar year of 5784 is a leap year. It's no secret that the holiday hasn’t been normal since 2019. First came the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, followed by an improved, but caut...
Read more

Renewing my love affair with baseball --- and the PawSox

Image
"Walpole Joe" Morgan shouts "Play Ball!" at PawSox Heritage Day. WooSox employees with longtime PawSox connections are honored at PawSox Heritage Day. Larry Kessler's ticket to the final PawSox game on Sept. 7, 2020 that never was. CUTLINES: 1.  "Walpole Joe" Morgan, a former PawSox and Red Sox manager, shouts "Play Ball!" at PawSox Heritage Day at Polar Park in Worcester on Saturday, July 9.  (Worcester Red Sox photo) 2.  Worcester Red Sox employees with long tenures at the Pawtucket Red Sox who were honored in a pregame ceremony during PawSox Heritage Day at Polar Park on Saturday, July 9 are, from left: WooSox Vice Chairman Mike Tamburro of Seekonk, WooSox Senior Vice President of Communications Bill Wanless of North Attleboro and Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships Michael Gwynn.  (Worcester Red Sox photo) 3.  The author's ticket to what would have been the final game in PawSox history on Monday, Sept. 7, 2020. That game, ...
Read more

Going the distance at LA Marathon

Image
Arianna Kessler relaxes shortly after finishing the Los Angeles Marathon on St. Patrick's Day 2024. I'm donning my Proud Papa hat to share the news that my older daughter Arianna completed her second marathon on Sunday in Los Angeles in a little more than 5 1/2 hours. Ari, who is a teacher in New York, trained hard through the winter to be prepared for the challenge presented by the marathon. She paced herself well during the race to make sure that she'd have enough in the tank to finish the race in relatively good shape, and she accomplished that goal. After the race, she went to a place to eat on a crowded St. Patrick's Day afternoon wearing her marathon medal, and she and her friends were admitted without what would have been a long wait because the owner was impressed by her medal. Ari ran her first marathon in May of 2022 in Providence, R.I. The post on that race can be found on this blog.
Read more