Two Junes ago I was at the Borgata in Atlantic City for a work junket. I actually wore my Robert Parish jersey to dinner with the chairman of a Congressional committee I lobby frequently since it was a casual affair, and bolted down to one of the casino bars at tip-off. It was game six of the NBA Finals, and after that second half of the season and epic game 7 win over Miami, there was no way we were going down in six on the parquet, not even to the vaunted Warriors. But down we went--a 21 point run by the Warriors eliminated any residual confidence from a 14-2 opening run, and by the middle of the third quarter, whatever hope we held out for a comeback was gone. One of my best friends texted me, "Great Celtics season, [RSND]. They'll be back."Mark Morrison said:
After a lackluster 2022-23 campaign that more or less ended on the first play of game 7 of the ECF, the Celtics are in Mark Marrison "Return of the Mack" mode--back to sing their comeback song. With this interminable layoff, we've seen all the takes, heard all the talking heads, and there isn't a whole lot left to discuss other than the fact that the Celtics are indeed back. Back with them is Kristaps Porziņģis, who is expected to play in game one. His minutes may be limited, and he may not even start (he'll probably start), but as good as Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving are, the Celtics are the better team, especially with Porziņģis back on the court. These games will be difficult--it's rare to have easy finals in any sport. There will be frequent lead changes, we will almost certainly lose at least one game (maybe two or three), and there will be times when the game threads look like a flaming chemical spill. But in the end, the superiority of the Celtics team is what will drive this series and get us back to the Duck Boats.
I think a lot of what game one comes down to will be whether we can mitigate contributions from non-Dončić/Irving Mavs, and whether we can take advantage of Dallas' propensity to cede the three in order to protect the rim. Hit our threes, hit our free throws, and clamp down on kickouts, and we should hold serve at home.
I have an early AM flight to Boston tomorrow. I'm not flying up just to see them lose, and I fully expect to start the game
Injuries
BOS - Kristaps Porziņģis (GTD - calf)
DAL - Olivier-Maxence Prosper (GTD - ankle)
Logistics
8:30p EDT tip at the Garden. ABC/ESPN Radio/98.5 FM/SiriusXM 86 (Celtics), 212 (Mavericks), 80 (National).
WIN.
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