CELTS COMING ON STRONG
Capitalize on Cavalier effort
On Mother’s Day, the Celtics were LeBron’s Daddy.
The Cardio Kids ran over, past and around the NBA’s senior resident monarch and the stragglers he brought to Boston to turn Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals into a demolition derby.
The King and His Court were far too cavalier when it came to playing defense, rebounding or executing any of the fundamentals necessary to win on the road in the playoffs. Boston led by 18 after 12 minutes yesterday and won by 25.
The Patriot Way — or what it used to be — is thriving this spring at 100 Legends Way.
And we’re not just talking about Drew Bledsoe.
(P.S. Drew, we’ll pretend that 31-0 victory over the Patriots in 2003 never happened.)
You want a brilliant coach/GM combination? Here’s Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge.
You want shrewd and sage local ownership? Meet Wyc Grousbeck and Co.
You want a “next-man-up” mentality? We give you a 1-0 lead and home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference finals.
You want a GOAT? Well, Tom Brady is off running somewhere on a beach. You see, he needs 34 yards to reach 1,000 rushing in his career.
Meanwhile, LeBron James was last seen walking it back on defense yesterday afternoon.
Everyone keeps counting out the Celtics, except of course, the Celtics. This year’s team is younger, faster, more athletic and much more offensively capable than their predecessors a year ago. The Celtics were smoked in the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals by Cleveland, 4-1, having never led once in Boston despite home-court advantage.
The season was reportedly finished when Gordon Hayward broke apart on opening night. The Celtics responded with a 16-game winning streak after losing their first two. The “nattering nabobs of negativity” in Brighton dismissed that as a pre-holiday fluke. These kids, you see, weren’t conditioned to play deep into the season. Ainge’s latest reincarnation was once-and-for-all doomed once Kyrie Irving’s nagging knees manifested themselves this spring.
Today’s Boston Celtics have accomplished what so many Baby Boomers have been willing but unable to do — they’ve bypassed those annoying millennials and gone straight to the head of the class in the NBA’s Eastern Conference powered by Generation Z (those born between the early 1990s and early 2000s, depending on whom you ask).
Of the eight Celtics who played meaningful minutes yesterday, five are 24 or under. It’s not just Scary Terry. It’s completely terrifying for the rest of the NBA.
James continues to astonish at age 33 — yesterday’s flop notwithstanding.
An entire generation of NBA fans cannot remember pro basketball without him. Count rookie of the decade Jayson Tatum, 20, and Jaylen Brown, a seasoned veteran at 21, among them. Both were unapologetic devotees of James in their younger youth.
Yesterday, the King abdicated as Brown and Tatum delivered multiple body blows and combined for 39 points. Good ol’ Marcus Morris and Al Horford did the rest.
We all know the small print. This is just one game. The Celtics were at home. LeBron is still LeBron.
Until Cleveland can prove otherwise, however, Boston is the still best team East of the Mississippi.
And regardless of their playoff fate, Ainge and the Celtics enter the offseason with more assets than Kim Kardashian. Given his track record and the expected recovery of both Hayward and Irving (if he isn’t dealt first), next year’s team should be even better than this year’s model.
If there is a Game 7 of the NBA Finals, it might occur on Father’s Day.
Winning on that Sunday may finally silence the Celtics naysayers once and for all.