The Celtics aren’t going anywhere after another triumphant series…
but at least a villain from MLB is finally hitting the dusty trail.
Celtics Continue to Cruise
What Happened: If you feared the Eastern Conference would fail to deliver much excitement in these playoffs, your worries have been fully realized.
As expected, Boston steamrolled through the conference on its way to the NBA Finals. Derrick White’s three-pointer with 45 seconds remaining broke a deadlock and gave the Celtics an eventual 105-102 win to oust the Pacers for good.
Jayson Tatum’s squad was expected to conquer the East again, and it did so in a breezy fashion, going 12-2 so far this postseason. Is this team dominating its way towards a title, or setting up for an inevitable disappointment against whoever the West produces?
Why It Matters: Boston remains heavy title favorites at -225 per ESPNBET. The Mavericks, who are one game away from sweeping the Timberwolves, have a +190 chance to win it all. Minnesota? We’re saying there’s still a chance…at +3300.
Tatum has dominated in the playoffs, becoming just the fifth player in NBA history to lead his team in points, rebounds, and assists en route to a Finals appearance. He is now an even-money bet to win Finals MVP.
There are two ways to view Boston at this moment: either you see a team finally ready to become a champion after falling short in recent seasons. Or, the Celtics just won the race to lose to the champ out of the West, a stronger conference that proved much more difficult to navigate. (Although Dallas sweeping Minnesota wouldn’t help that argument much.)
Anything other than a title will be considered a failure in Boston, but so far, the Cs remain on schedule.
How We’re Feeling Today
Relieved to wake up to the news of Angel Hernandez.
An MLB umpire since 1991, Hernandez became a household name to all baseball fans. And no, umps don’t generally get their names in headlines for doing their job especially well.
Name a MLB team and its fanbase will surely have memories of Hernandez mucking up a game involving their favorite club. There was never a question of bias with Hernandez either; he was bad across the board.
Baseball purists who prefer to see the human element remain in the game are going to lose when automated umps soon take over. Watch one game with Hernandez behind the plate though, and your opinion of robots in the game was likely to sway more towards the positive.
The Look Ahead
Mike Conley Jr. PRA – As Minnesota’s resident “guy who’s been here before,” the Timberwolves will rely on Conley to provide steady play under tonight’s pressure-laden conditions. Fighting to keep your season alive is also a hell of an incentive. Conley’s PRA line for tonight is 20.5, a number he’s bested in each of the last two games and in 10 of Minny’s 13 postseason games.
