With all due respect to baseball fans, spring only means one thing to me: PLAYOFFS! For the fourth straight spring Bostonians get to enjoy both the Bruins and the Celtics playing in their respective postseasons. For the fifth time in ten years, and the third time in the last four years, the Bruins open the postseason against their hated rival, the Montreal Canadiens. The Celtics get to rekindle an old rivalry with the New York Knicks. For Boston fans it doesn't get much better than this, with both teams aiming to make deep postseason runs, but there are questions abound for both squads as they begin their separate quests for sixteen wins.
More likely than not the Bruins are playing for their coach's job. Claude Julien has helped lead the resurrection of a dying hockey franchise and re-energized the hockey faithful in the city. He led an 8th seeded Bruins team to a game 7 against top seeded Montreal in 2008, and the last two years has led them to the second round (both ending in game 7 losses at home). Last year they infamously jumped out to 3-0 leads in both the series and game 7 against Philadelphia but blew both. Public approval for the Bruins hasn't been this high in Boston since the Ray Bourque days, and failing to get past the second round this year may severely test that support.
As excited as fans are for another series with Montreal, it may not have been the best draw for a team with a lot to prove this postseason. The Bruins struggled most of the year against the Canadiens, though we all remember what happened the last time they met in Boston. It would have been an emotional series anyways, but now the Chara-Pacioretty drama has added a whole new dimension. Even if they get through this series, and I expect them to, it remains to be seen how much this series will take out of them. They came out completely flat two days after their 7-0 win last month and seemed emotionally drained. Seven games of that (potentially) very well could weaken them for a second round series (which could be a Philadelphia rematch). This team claims to have moved on and learned from the Flyers series last spring. Getting over the hump and into the East Finals by potentially going through Montreal and Philly would certainly back up their claims, and would likely extend the tenure of their head coach.
While the hockey tenants in the Garden are made up of a number of younger players with limited playoff experience, their basketball neighbors down the hall in the Garden are quite the opposite. The Boston Celtics begin their journey Sunday against the reborn and rejuvenated New York Knicks. The Celtics are looking to make it back to their third NBA Finals in four years and for their second ring. They also lost an agonizing game 7 to end their season last year, in the Finals against the Lakers. There was a belief that last year could mark the end of the run of the new Big Three (Pierce, Garnett, and Allen), but Danny Ainge decided to give his core two more years together to try and win Banner 18. Outside of their core four (the Big 3 and Rajon Rondo) though the Celtics appear to be a team in flux.
The Celtics find themselves trying to integrate an entirely new bench unit even as the playoffs begin. They also seem to be mired in another end of year funk, while leading everyone to believe the team is torn apart from the controversial Kendrick Perkins trade. Optimists point to last season’s turnaround from a 27-27 close to the regular season to game 7 of the NBA Finals, but this year’s playoff road appears to be much more daunting. The Knicks are an offensive juggernaut with two legitimate superstars in Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, and are much stronger than the Heat team the Celtics saw in round 1 last year. This year’s version of the Heat with “The Three Kings” and the Chicago Bulls are head and shoulders above the Cavaliers and Magic teams of last season as well.
The Celtics will go as far as their core four can take them, and if healthy, still are plenty deep enough to make another run to the Finals. Despite having another year together (contractually) after this season, this could mark the last stand for this group. The belief is that Doc Rivers is going to at least take a sabbatical after this season to watch his son play basketball at Duke. There have also been murmurs about this possibly being KG’s last hurrah. Win or lose this year, with a lockout on the horizon, and their coach potentially walking away, one has to wonder if some of their stars may follow Doc’s lead.
So while the Bruins and their young roster are trying to climb the playoff ladder and reach new heights, the Celtics are possibly making one last stand with the group that brought the NBA’s premier dynasty back to the top. We are witnessing franchises at both ends of the sports spectrum this spring, but hopefully each can deliver the same result: a championship. The Garden is hosting 4 playoff games in the next 6 days, and hopefully these two teams can keep the building rocking through June. Forget the Red Sox’ struggles for now, it’s spring and that means playoffs, bring it on!
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