Our next champ is … ?
Bruins, Celtics both strong contenders
Are the Celtics or Bruins best equipped to win a title this season? “Cake or ice cream?” You want both. Even if it rots your teeth and balloons your waistline. But you only get one today.
Bruins GM Don Sweeney is making this an easy choice. The Bruins locked down David Pastrnak with an 8-year, $90 million extension Thursday. It’s the best deal Sweeney has ever made. That overshadowed the acquisition of Tyler Bertuzzi earlier. And Sweeney’s win-win deal with Washington last month.
We are aware of the 15,000-word disclaimer necessary to preface this discussion.
How far back in time does one need to go back to demonstrate first-hand knowledge of playoff calamity following success in the regular season?
Is 52 years enough? We warned you about the 1970-71 Boston Bruins in January. They stacked 121 points and still got Cupblocked by the Montreal Canadiens and rookie goalie Ken Dryden in the first round. The Bruins won the President’s Trophy in 2012 but got stonewalled by Washington netminder Braden Holtby in Round 1. Holtby had played in just 21 career regular-season games.
The 1966-67 Celtics boasted a starting five of future Hall of Famers. They won 60 games. They got bounced in 5 games by Philly in the Eastern Conference finals. Wilt Chamberlain outrebounded Bill Russell in 4 of those games, including a 41-board, 48-minute performance in Game 3.
Wilt’s third-greatest performance on or off the court.
Saying the Bruins and/ or Celtics could win a championship has now become the sort of contrarian, anti-establishment, hot-take that electrifies afternoon drive-time airwaves and social media 24/7.
Green Teamers and Black and Gold Hats face criticism, scorn, and vitriol usually reserved for indoor smokers.
I was baptized in both the Greek Orthodox Church and unrepentant Calvinistic cynicism.
This unholy view of divine providence usurped the joy of Tom Brady’s six titles in New England, for some. The same doomsters telling us Patrick Mahomes is the “next Tom Brady” because Mahomes has won two Super Bowls blasted Brady for nine years because he only won three.
The struggle between pessimism and optimism remains as much a part of the Bay State as Red Line delays, malfeasance on Beacon Hill, or fighting over space-savers.
Everyone recognizes regular-season success guarantees nothing come April, May, or June. But it’s OK to think it can.
Oddsmakers favor both teams to win it all. The Celtics are +270 at WynnBET/Encore and +300 at BetMGM/MGM Springfield. The Bruins are an NHL-best +475 at DraftKings to Bring Home The Cup.
The Bruins own the best record in the NHL.
The Celtics slipped out of the top spot in the NBA and Eastern Conference this week. Home court in the East is an essential ingredient in the recipe for
Banner 18. Boston and nuclear-hot Milwaukee are separated by one game in the loss column.
The Jays are enjoying stellar seasons. Marcus Smart’s evolution is real. Boston can generate offense off the bench in the form of Sixth Player of the Year favorite Malcolm Brogdon.
A fully healthy Celtics team with home court has no excuse for failing to obtain Banner 18.
But Derrick White is the lone Celtic to play in all of Boston’s 63 games. The durability of Robert Williams and Al Horford, above everyone else whose name does not begin with “Jay,” will determine how deep into the spring the Celtics travel. Neither comes with a guarantee. Between the two, they have played in 60.3% of a possible 126 games.
Intangibles are a potentially fatal concern. Jayson Tatum was ejected for the first time in his career Monday and wore it as a badge of honor. Perhaps. Tatum is not Larry Bird, LeBron James, or Michael Jordan when it comes to jaw-boning refs. He has yet to earn the credibility that comes with a title. He’s also playing a ton of minutes. In February and March.
The Celtics temperament and inability to maintain control — see 100 turnovers in the Finals — denied Boston a championship in 2022. Steph, Draymond, Klay, and the sinister-yet-brilliant Steve Kerr played their part.
Joe Mazzulla has yet to be playoff-tested as a head coach, but he was there last June. He presumably knows what needs to be done not to get outsmarted and outplayed when it counts the most.
The Celtics cannot rewrite that narrative until they prevail in the Finals.
If they can get that far.
The Bruins have gone full Super Bowl 56 Champion LA Rams in their Cup Quest this season. They own those intangibles that raise concern with the Celtics. Four players have won a Cup thanks to the addition of Dmitry Orlov. The B’s deal with Washington filled a pair of critical needs: size up front and depth on defense. Bertuzzi won’t hurt, either.
Jake DeBrusk has skated from the outhouse to the penthouse on a broken leg. His productive presence on Boston’s first line provides an antidote to opposing teams that
once loaded up their defensive bigs against the OG “Perfection Line.”
The Eastern Conference playoffs will be a Squid Game on ice. New Jersey, the New York Rangers (Patrick Kane), Tampa Bay, and Toronto have also gone all-in ahead of the trade deadline. But the stink of 2019 is still fresh inside TD Garden, especially those three losses at home in the Cup finals.
Boston is all but assured home ice through the Finals. The Bruins have enough of a cushion to make sure their top talent is tanned, rested and ready to be playing on
Mother’s Day, never mind Father’s Day.
Boston’s biggest question mark — or perhaps its ace — is Linus Ullmark. His goal against Vancouver Saturday (a first for a goalie in the team’s 99year history) and his 54save performance Tuesday at Calgary are the stuff of championship DVDs.
Beware the hot goaltender.
The Bruins might be on the right end of one this time.
Pass the ice cream.