The15 take delight in the knowledge we have much to discuss as Boston sports fans. The Red Sox are coming out of the All-Star break in the playoff hunt. The World Champion Celtics are playing the kids in the NBA Summer League. The Patriots training camp is soon to open. Bruins fans wait for news on netminder Swayman’s new contract. And then there’s always the Revs, amirite? In other non-local sports, the British Open starts today and the Summer Olympics begin next week. And so much more. So after a spirited discussion, where several not unkind things were said, the matter of this wildcat ‘summer hiatus’ has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of all involved. Mr. Scartelli will be on modified limited hiatus, as long as he provides a ‘Sports Junk Drawer’ column every week during said hiatus. In closing, we wish to thank all our readers for their passion and loyalty.
— Steve Bosell
Managing Editor, The 15 Net
Steve Bosell has been Managing Editor of The 15 Net since fall 2012. He resides in Lynn, MA with his wife and three children.
Note: Patrick Scartelli has taken this week off from Cleaning Out the Sports Junk Drawer. In his place is an excerpt from good friend of The15net dot com, sportswriter Mr. Stanislas Tecumseh Darden, Jr., with an excerpt from his book, ‘406 Little-Known Beantown (& Foxborough) Sports Facts!’
…
Boston Celtics GM Danny Ainge traded the first overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft to Philadelphia for their third overall pick, and selected Jayson Tatum!
John Bucyk scored 545 goals as a member of the Boston Bruins!
The city of Boston has never hosted an Olympic Games!
Boston Red Sox center fielder Dom DiMaggio’s brothers Vincent and Joseph also played baseball professionally!
Former Bruins player Gregory Campbell’s nickname was and is ‘Soupy!’
Celtics mascot Lucky doesn’t take cabs!
During a 1961 game between the then-Boston Patriots and the then-Dallas Texans, a fan in a trench coat went into the end zone to bat down a potential game-winning pass!
From 1947 until 1999, no advertisements could be found on Fenway Park’s Green Monster!
In 1970, Robert Gordon Orr won the Norris, Art Ross, Conn Smythe, and the Hart Trophy, becoming the only player to win all four awards during the same season!
Dick Flavin is an American poet known as the “poet laureate of the Boston Red Sox!”
Boston Garden was the first arena to host the Stanley Cup Final and NBA Finals at the same time in 1957!
Coachmen love The Head of the Charles Regatta!
On Mother’s Day of 2007, the Red Sox erased a 5-run deficit in the bottom of the 9th inning, winning 6-5!
After losing the Snow Bowl playoff game in Foxboro to the Patriots, the Oakland Raiders reached the Super Bowl the very next season, and lost that game as well, 21-48! Quit whining about the officiating, losers!
Fenway Park has not hosted an All-Star Game since 1999!
The Boston Bruins were founded in 1924!
When Ted Williams played the final game of his career at Fenway Park on September 28, 1960, there were only 10,454 people in the stands, much fewer than the total number of people who would later claim to have been there!
The Boston College Eagles were charter members of the original Big East Conference!
There is no longer a GameStop location in Patriot Place!
Late Celtics star Reggie Lewis played his college ball in Boston as well, for Northeastern University!
David ‘Big Papi’ Ortiz has an Identical Best Friend, named Sixto!
The USS Constitution “Old Ironsides,” like many Navy vessels fields a baseball team!
Nina Kuscsik was the first woman to officially win the Boston Marathon, which occurred in 1972!
The Bruins were the first NHL team to own aZamboni and also the first NHL team to get rid of Zamboni, TD Garden have used Olympia Ice Resurfacers since 2015!
During his pro wrestling career, Pete Doherty, The Duke of Dorchester defeated Fred Marzino 28 times with no wins scored by Marzino!
Schaefer Stadium was originally built in Mexico as a soccer venue for the 1970 World Cup, and was purchased at discount by the Sullivan family, disassembled, transported stateside, and rebuilt in Foxboro!
The original Boston Garden opened in 1928 as ‘Boston Madison Square Garden!’
The Patriots record during Upton Bell’s tenure as GM was 9-19!
Former Red Sox skipper Walpole Joe Morgan meets broadcaster Joe Morgan every few months for lunch to exchange misaddressed fan mail!
Surveying the landscape, the ramifications of the second apron now in full effect; the restrictions and penalties are onerous and assist only the greediest and cheapest owners. Until circumstances change it is safe to assume dynasties are impossible. The last five champions are in variations of turmoil.
• The Los Angeles Lakers are shackled to LeBron and his various whims, are deep in the red and have no real avenue to contend in a younger, more talented western conference. • Milwaukee could have won another title in the years 2019, 2020 and 2022 when the team around Giannis was younger and better. But Fred VanVleet had a baby, swung the east finals series for Toronto. Jimmy Butler emasculated Giannis in The Bubble. Khris Middleton got hurt and was never the same. Now they are capped out, fired a very good regular coach in Mike Budenholzer, are rudderless at the head coach position and only have 3 actual NBA players. • All Golden State needed to do was hit one just ONE of their lottery picks from 2020 and 2021 they wouldn’t be in this mess. James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody could have easily been LaMelo Ball (I am not faulting them for not trading down for Tyrese Haliburton, nobody else did it), Franz Wagner or Alperen Sengun. Then they probably are able to get Paul George or Lauri Markkanen this summer instead of staring at the abyss of wasting the rest of Steph Curry’s career. • Denver should have repeated this past year, but as fate would have it blowing a 20-point lead in a home Game 7 was the toll price paid for last season’s success. Famously cheap owner Stan Kroenke let lynchpins Reggie Jackson and Kentavious Cardwell-Pope depart leaves Denver more vulnerable with an underwhelming bench and I’d go as far to say they have fallen a tier in my rankings. • And then there’s the sweet, beautiful boys in green… Wyc Grousbeck announced his intentions to sell and we’ll wait for the details to come, but if he hands the keys off to someone like Tillman Fertitta then we have to worry about cost cutting measures because someone rich enough to buy a professional basketball team didn’t have deep enough pockets to pay for it’s roster.
The NBA has become the NFL. Strangling dynasties in their cradle, turning the window of contention into a revolving door. In reality the window for title contenders are usually two measly years. The Celtics fortunately held on to nearly everyone from the title team; we’re still waiting to hear about Oshae Brissett and if there are any ring chasers looking for a spot.
Wrong aprons.
The draconian rules of the second apron have set the NBA on the course for potentially becoming Major League Baseball, undermining the bargaining power of the players by instituting harsh penalties for spending too much. If a player feels he isn’t being respected at the negotiating table because the team doesn’t want to enter the second apron, then what if the other teams he goes to share that same fear? This is what we’ll see unfold in the near future.
In this new era it is arguably preferable for a team like the Clippers to let Paul George walk for nothing, because now nothing is something. Nothing is a mid-level exception you can use to sign a free agent. Nothing is some much needed financial wiggle room that takes you out of the deep red and into a light shade of orange. Los Angeles could have traded George to Golden State for a solid, young player like Jonathan Kuminga and veteran backup point guard Chris Paul and chose not to. If this was 10-years ago the Clippers would admit defeat and look to reposition their aging roster in an advantageous position to sell for parts, garnering assets along the way.
Right now the Celtics are paying over $547 million for their championship roster. Having made Jayson Tatum the richest player in league history; surpassing his teammate Jaylen Brown who achieved this honor last summer. Speaking of which, his supermax officially kicks in this upcoming season, Tatum’s will in 2025-26. They’re over $66 million over the cap, $15 million above the first apron and are $5 million above the second.
The penalties for crossing the second apron are both Byzantine and draconian:
No signing exceptions Team becomes hard-capped at Second Apron by or can’t use/do: • Using Tax MLE • Aggregating two or more player salaries in a trade • Sending out cash in trade • Acquiring a player using a TPÈ that was created via a previous sign-and-trade • Can only: • Re-sign own free agents • Sign draft picks • Sign players to minimum contracts • Make trades where one player salary is sent out and equal or less salary comes back (can do a 1-for-2 or more trade
One doesn’t have to look to far to surmise the possible reason Wyc Grousbeck is selling his shares because when the bill comes due he wants no part of the aftermath and it’s not like pulling the plug now is an option. The Celtics are well worth their hefty salary and are poised to repeat in the minds of oddsmakers in Las Vegas. To preserve the runway now is to obliterate a proven near term future. Wyc will not do what Clay Bennett did to Oklahoma in 2012 and trade a star player just to duck the luxury tax.
However, when the Celtics do find themselves too far in the red it is safe to assume the ramifications will be ugly. This means potentially breaking up the Jays, either in a gut-wrenching trade where the Celtics pursue assets and cap relief rather than a “win-now” player, or a divorce similar to what Klay Thompson and the Warriors just went through. One side chasing another monumental pay day, and a withering dynasty consumed with apathy for one of its signature players.
But that’s all future Celtics problems. The hope I have is Wyc cares enough about the Celtics to not sell his shares in the immediate term and instead do it when the bill is coming due. It would be more profitable to sell now, give the team over to some cheap billionaire who’ll cry poor and in a year breaks the team down to spare parts. But maybe Wyc hangs on and lets Brad Stevens write the checks even if it decreases the value of the sale?
The pressure is on the Celtics, like it was this past season, to get the job done (again) and try to accomplish what would be the most impressive back-to-back championship in league history. There are plenty of reasons to assume it won’t happen, and a lot of them happen to be out of the Celtics control. This was the second straight playoffs where the championship team didn’t play a fifty-win team en route to the finals. Everything for the Celtics broke their way, and just like the 2015 Golden State Warriors made the most of their opportunities, you can expect the following playoffs to be more strenuous.
Of the last 9 teams to go back-to-back only one of them repeated with the same ease like they won in the first go-around.
1986-87 Lakers: 15-3
1987-88 Lakers: 15-9 (3 Game 7s!)
1988-89 Pistons: 15-2
1989-90 Pistons: 15-5
1990-91 Bulls: 15-2
1991-92 Bulls: 15-7
1993-1994 Rockets: 15-8
1994-1995 Rockets: 15-7
1995-96 Bulls: 15-3
1996-97 Bulls: 15-4
1999-00 Lakers: 15-8
2000-01 Lakers: 15-1
2008-09 Lakers: 16-7
2009-2010 Lakers: 16-7
2011-12 Heat: 16-7
2012-13 Heat: 16-7
2016-17 Warriors: 16-1
2017-18 Warriors: 16-5
⁃ 4 repeat champions where the difficulty on the back-half was comparable to the first part. ⁃ 1 repeat champion had an easier road to than the first time. ⁃ 4 repeat champions where the journey was harder on the back half.
We haven’t seen a repeat champion since Golden State. Every champion since fell into a decline two-years removed from their moment of triumph. Toronto nearly made the East Finals in 2020, then twiddled their thumbs as players like Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam depreciated in value; Lowry and VanVleet leaving in free agency for nothing. The complacency bug bit their general manager Masai Ujiri.
LeBron’s Lakers won off the backs of two-way role players, and evidently he found that too boring and ordered the front office to go dumpster diving for the highest scoring free agent they could find. Trading Danny Green for Dennis Schroder when they already had Kentavious Cardwell-Pope as the creator on the second unit. Low-balling Alex Caruso. Trading KCP and Kyle Kuzma for Russell Westbrook. Then trading Westbrook for D’Angelo Russell, only to inexplicably hold on to him at the deadline when they could have netted an asset. The charade reached new highs when LeBron magnanimously offered to take a pay cut if Rob Pelinka could coax a star to join him in Los Angeles. Of course, they wasn’t possible given the short span of time. Los Angeles’ decline was self imposed.
But what of the newer generation of players who now made their way to the championship? Why hasn’t Giannis or Jokic returned to the winners circle? The answer could be winning the title doesn’t possess the same advantages it once did. You don’t get the LeBron 2013 season where he is freed from the shackles of scrutiny and the league officially becomes his. Instead, you’re expected to do it again with a bigger target painted on your back. The media becomes more vicious and wears them down. The Nuggets enjoyed a quiet rise to the top in 2023, later burdened by expectations and being treated as inevitable possesses an underrated threat to defending champions it did not before. Inevitability used to galvanize the favored team and demoralize the challenger, now the roles are reversed.
It is very possible we’ll see more additions to the “One and Done Club” due to the circumstances of the modern NBA.
The superstars in the One and Done Club list is:
• Dirk Nowitzki • Julius Erving • Moses Malone • Rick Barry • Elvin Hayes • Wes Unseld • Jerry West • Nikola Jokic • Giannis Antetkoumpo • Jayson Tatum
Besides Dirk, before the beginning of the 2020s it was rare to win just one championship between the years 1988 and 2002. It used to be when you win the title once you’re going to do it again. Most of the One and Done champions came from the turbulent 1970s when team building was volatile due to strenuous contract negotiations, rampant egos and unpredictability. Only the Knicks and Celtics were allowed to peacefully decline. The Warriors fell because Rick Barry‘s petulance. The Blazers fell because of Walton’s poor feet and poor treatment of Maurice Lucas. The SuperSonics fell off because Dennis Johnson alienated the team during his contractual standoff. It would happen so suddenly too. The Warriors should have repeated in ‘76. The Blazers in ‘78.
Now the team that “should have” repeated loses in a more graceful, dignified manner. The short-handed Bucks fought the Celtics valiantly in ‘22. The Nuggets simply ran into a bad matchup in round two this year. Had nothing to do with egos or fisticuffs. Merely the grind becoming too much and the bottom giving out.
But this team “feels” different. The circumstances feel more favorable to Boston than in the past. The last eastern conference team to win the title was Milwaukee, the only reason they lost was because Middleton was injured. Many people picked them to repeat because the conference was viewed as easy pickings compared to the stronger west. Had they remained healthy they at least make it back to the finals and then it’s up to you whether they’d beat Golden State.
Fast forward to today, the east is still viewed as the “Leastern Conference”, the contenders don’t particularly stand out. Philadelphia signing Paul George will help ease the burden on Joel Embiid. But the issue for Philly is Embiid is never healthy when he is needed the most. They lost Nic Batum and Buddy Heild, and don’t possess a quality starting center or a deep bench. If your fourth best player isn’t at the level of Derrick White you’re going nowhere.
New York reunited the Villanova Wildcats by paying a premium for Mikal Bridges to complete their set. Their core of Jalen Brunson (28), Josh Hart (turning 30 next March), Donte Divencenzo (27), and the aforementioned Bridges (28) are poised to give the Knicks at least two more cracks at the title before the dearth of assets and financial flexibility hammer them. But it’s the hefty price of 5-first round picks they paid for Bridges that bothers me. They should have played hard ball with Brooklyn; there’s no way the Knicks didn’t know Bridges already wanted to go to them. Plus, they’re going to need those picks for potential future deals. Losing Isaiah Hartenstein to Oklahoma City leaves only the talented, but often injured Mitchell Robinson as their quality starting level center. Which isn’t ideal. I would have waited for Donovan Mitchell to become available because easing the scoring load for Brunson was more of a pressing concern to me than trading for Bridges when I am already paying a lot of money for O.G Anonuby.
The Knicks have time to fix their problems, though they don’t have many tools left in their arsenal. Tom Thibodeau is a great head coach, but tends to grind his players knees into dust which is how you get the pitiful Game 7 exit they ended last season with. They may have won the off-season, but can they win the post season?
So who are the real challengers for the champion Celtics? Milwaukee deserves a mention for having Giannis on their team. Beyond that they don’t have much to intimidate them with. If Brook Lopez is traded that leaves a hole at the center position, and it is quite frankly a bad idea to cast blame for the team falling from 4th in defensive rating in ‘22-23 to 19th in ‘23-24 on him and not Middleton’s continued decline and Damian Lillard being a turnstile. The front office is blaming the wrong player for their woes.
The real contenders are Miami, because they’ve beaten Boston before and more recently than Milwaukee. Much is ballyhooed about the rift between Jimmy Butler and Pat Riley, but they were never going to trade Butler. He is on an expiring contract, coming off an injury riddled campaign and Miami wouldn’t get much for him if they bit the bullet anyway. Unless Miami experiences another three-point shooting variance in the playoffs (can’t count out lightning striking twice) then this is the last stand for Heat Culture. Regardless, there is a chance the young guns Jaimie Jacquez and Nikola Jovic contribute and provide the aging Heat roster with a needed shot in the arm. Anything is possible with Erik Spolstra.
And lastly, the Indiana Pacers. Yeah, the team Boston swept. The only team that didn’t win a game versus the Celtics in the playoffs. Yeah, those guys I am saying could be the ones to do the job if the cookie crumbles in a certain manner. Indiana’s offensive rating in the East Finals was an astonishing 116. They play fast, efficient and are very smart. Rick Carlisle coached up Andrew Nembhard and everyone not named Myles Turner played really well offensively in that series. Defensively is a different story. But if they get a healthy Tyrese Haliburton in the playoffs and Bennedict Mathurin it’ll better compliment an already deep Pacers squad.
My only advice for the Celtics is try your damndest to avoid an unfavorable matchup in the second round. The second round is where the playoffs are the most volatile. It’s also where four of the last five defending champions fell.
Vinny Jace appears on the Entitled Weekend podcast. He does not come from the future.
Wow, summer sports doldrums really set in this week, am I right, Michael? Heh heh heh.
Celtics just gonna set it up and run it again? Love to see it.
Matt Grzelcyk will be swapping out the NHL’s original Black and Gold for a different town’s black and gold. Enjoy the Three Rivers, Grizz. Charlestown is forever proud of you no matter. Best of luck, pal.
Just wait until our soccer players are playing in Europe then we’ll be a force to be reckoned with.
I guess Marketa Vondrousova has plenty of unplanned free time now to take in the sights and sounds of London town.
It’s okay Wyc. Lots of us don’t own a sports arena. Thanks for your stewardship of the team.
I am not a fan of all these advancements in AI. I’m worried more people are going to lose their jobs to robots. This World is moving all too fast for me and I just don’t trust AI unless it is being intended for good causes. Plus I hate that the lower-case L and capital i look the same in Twitter font. I’m having a tough time deciding if people are talking about AL or Ai.
Idiot holdouts denying me Supermax Jayson Tatum and Framingham Karen Read in the same week.
Portugal always has awesome uniforms.
Did I tune into day two of the NBA Draft or was that a Make-A-Wish documentary?
Cakes are cooking for Kurtwood Smith, Iain MacDonald-Smith (no relation), Betty Buckley, Dave Barry, Jan Smithers, Frank Tanana, Montel Williams, Stephen Pearcy, Hunter Tylo, Tom Cruise, Greg Vaughn, Moises Alou, Neil O’Donnell, Brian Cashman, Teppo Numminen, Audra MacDonald, Benedict Wong, Shawnee Smith, Teemu Selänne, Shane Lynch, Ludivine Sagnier, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Olivia Munn, Sebastian Vettel, and Elle King.
One of the things I love about the NHL Draft is how, once round 2 starts, teams just announce picks right there from their tables. Rapid fire.
You know Red Sox fans, if the MLB playoffs started right now, that would be really odd seeing as they haven’t even played the All-Star Game yet.
Hey, gang of grifter ghosters! This week’s Phrase that Pays is, “I got, like, a bunch of felonies, like, that I’m facing. And like, I want them to go away.”
Cumberland Farms upping the coffee price every 6 months is so annoying. They’re not much cheaper than Dunkin anymore.
Don Sweeney? Absolute immunity! Sorrey!!
How many of you remember the expression “three hots and a cot?” Old Army guys would say they joined up to get three hot meals a day plus a place to sleep.
I never seen Lauri Markkanen rockin’ the Adidas slides with the gray Fubu sweatshorts. Ya dig?
‘Esplanade’ is a fun word.
Karen, you’ve really emboldened this bullied kid to talk more openly about shitting his pants.
If I can’t call Nikita Zadorov ‘Big Z’, I will instead call him, Baked Ziti! All abroad!
Take the T on the 4th of July: Subway: Saturday service to 3pm, then weekday. Bus: Sunday service. Commuter Rail & Ferry: Weekend service. FREE subway, bus, CR, and ferry after 9:30 PM.
Are the Free Jacks primed to Free-peat?
I hope NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is doing okay health-wise. There appeared to be something off at both Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final and last night at the NHL Draft. I am not a doctor and my opinion on this does not matter, but I hope he’s doing okay.
At least Martin Mull can be reunited with Shifty Shellshock.
There is a small but deadly population of Timber Rattlesnakes in the Greater Boston area, as well as other isolated parts of Massachusetts.
Xander Bogaerts (not playing) and Don Orsillo (as an opposing broadcaster) returning to Fenway Park for the first time really had me in my feels.
Do you think Alan Jackson lubes his cock before he fucks Karen Read in the ass, or does the anal leakage act as enough of a lubricant?
Elephants are famously large. Making larger than life sculptures of them seems like gilding the lily.
Six hardboiled eggs is a perfectly sane breakfast to eat on vacation.
I hope Jared Zero was able to watch the Celtics parade coverage from that nice farm he’s on in upstate New York.
There she stood in the street. Smiling from her head to her feet. I said, “Hey, what is this, now baby”, maybe, Maybe she’s in need of a kiss
I said, “Hey, what’s your name, baby? Maybe we can see things the same.” Now don’t you wait or hesitate, Let’s move before they raise the parking rate.
All right now, baby, it’s all right now. All right now, baby, it’s all right now. Let me tell you now.
People regarded Jordan & Pippen as a Batman & Robin situation as opposed to a Superman & Batman partnership and that affected how every other basketball duo was viewed in the past 35 years… Jayson Tatum & Jaylen Brown are more like Iron Man & War Machine or Cable & Deadpool.
Make one joke about an asteroid taking out a bunch a lunatics in pink shirts outside a courthouse and next thing ya know, one week twitter ban. Free speech yada yada yada.
Honk if you know the US President who was born on the Fourth of July.
Patriots just gonna set it up and run it again with Bill the GM’s players? Love to see it.
Gary Striewski signs multi-year extension with ESPN. But not during Pride Month?
76’ers collecting all the slugs. Trust that process.
I have a friend who screws up Rocket Man every time. Instead of “Burning out a fuse up here alone” he says “Burning out a fuse with Cheap Cologne” it drives me nuts.
FSG shoulda brought that Barstool whoah-personality in on Friday so Donny O could get a piece.
Fun Fact: the HP Hood Company maintains several stands of birch trees throughout all six New England states that eventually become the Hoodsie Cup’s iconic wooden spoons.
Know this: ‘Himno Nacional’ sounds like someone Peter Gammons tried to foist on us as a Very Special Person in the late 90s.
What an honor it must be to shake the hand of the deputy commissioner of the NBA at 4:42 on a Thursday afternoon when the Pacers pick you 36th overall.
When are the Bruins going to re-sign Swayman?
I hope that poor performance doesn’t affect the USMNT’s really real top 15 FIFA ranking.
Everybody knows about Joe DiMaggio. You’re a baseball fan if you can explain about Vince and Dom. You may need help is you know about Vince Jr.
Robots counting 18 munchkins would be wild.
Does anyone know a good Vancouver based sports marketing firm? Asking for Jake D.
The social media app is Twitter, the tall building at 200 Clarendon is the John Hancock, and people who own NBA franchises are Owners. GTFO with this governor nonsense.
We sure the Celtics didn’t mean to draft Creighton Scheierman from Baylor?
Some EXCITING news to share on the eve of long holiday weekend ahead: All three Rub Smoke Love rubs are now found in all Massachusetts Hannaford grocery stores!
Best bet for the weekend: Solarcaine.
A fine summer tradition.
Material from interviews, wire services, Twitter, Meta, other writers, league and team sources, Bill James, and the members of #the15 were used in this column. I will be taking next week off for real. Something will run in this place. Enjoy the 4th.
BdlG wants you to know the beaches are open! Except for the closed ones.
So after the confetti fell and delighting in the promise of a new beginning, let’s look back at the last hurrah for the Old Guard Celtics dynasty. The old, hobbled 1976 Celtics nearing the end of their unheralded run of the decade. The last vestiges of the Bill Russell-era John Havlicek and Don Nelson stand at 36-years old, which in the 1970s for an athlete they might as well be pushing 50. In the final season before the ABA-NBA merger provided an influx of young, raw and exciting new players, the dynastic Celtics faced off against the Cinderella Phoenix Suns in what would be a memorable battle between young and old.
Watching the Celtics of this era you could tell this was the end, and even the vaunted cultural values exposed by Celtics great of the fifties, sixties and early seventies gave way to more me-centric style of basketball. While they fought to hold off a more harmonious opponent, the 1976 Celtics had subtle conflicts between young and old that would lead to a period of non-contention between 1977 and 1979.
Paul Silas stood for the old guard. You can imagine him on the 1962 Celtics next to Satch Sanders, hustling and making the smart players. But on the other side you had guard Charlie Scott who never saw a shot he didn’t like. Silas acknowledged the vibe was off, saying “One of these nights, we’re going to reach back and nothing’s going to be there.”
Perhaps the Celtics are guilty of losing touch with themselves during this era, and deserve more blame for trying to get with the times as they’d later regret when they acquired Curtis Rowe, Sidney Wicks, Marvin Barnes and most disastrously Bob McAdoo.
Historical franchises born into the lap of God tend to have a certain mystique to them, often attributing their own success to a code of ethics. The Yankees even before the George Steinbrenner enforced dress code in 1974, still wore a snooty, arrogant, clean cut attitude revealing in their superiority complex. The New England Patriots (until Belichick was ousted) preached many things, but mostly accountability and a dedication to preparing.
What the Celtics are then and still are is the most egalitarian franchise. While the league rushed to adopt the heliocentric model where one player has an astronomical usage rate, the Celtics spread the wealth making them pliable. From the days of Cousy, Heinsohn, Russell, to today with Tatum and Brown, the Celtics are not one trick ponies and will be damned if you find them in a position where they are top heavy.
The hinge point of the Celtics is the trading of backup point guard Paul Westphal to Phoenix for aforementioned guard Charlie Scott. Westphal was a young, budding star languishing in anonymity on the bench. Red Auerbach was left with a dilemma. The 1975 Celtics outside of Jo Jo White and Cowens, are an old roster, and White would not coexist with Westphal. White did not want to have nights where he was complimenting Westphal and didn’t get the shine.
Jo Jo needed a partner in the backcourt and it wasn’t going to be Westphal. Out he went and in came Charlie Scott. The Rasheed Wallace of his day in terms of fouling out of games. Scott shot the ball well on the stat sheet and I’m sure he was a quality player, but every time I seen him play I come away annoyed. The ball slips off his palm, he’s too eager to shoot and doesn’t move the ball to my liking… but that’s not what the stats say, so maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about.
Scott performed as White’s companion and the Celtics finished 54-28, second only to the Golden State Warriors for best record in 1975-76. Scott averaged a 17-4-4 on decent shooting, and fouled over four times a game making him an erratic player. In the playoffs Scott would foul out of 11 of the 18 games, 5 of the 6 finals games, and somehow save his best for last.
Before Game 6 Klay, there was Game 6 Charlie. The Celtics won their playoff series in roughly the same fashion every time. Six-games it would take, with Scott doing the honors of slamming the door shut once and for all.
Vs Buffalo: 13-24, 31 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists
Vs Cleveland: 7-13, 20 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists
Vs Phoenix: 9-24, 25 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists – 5 steals! (The box score didn’t track steals in games before the finals)
Phoenix headed home in the hopes of extending their Cinderella tale to a seventh game. On the backs of star Paul Westphal, and two precocious, extraordinary rookies Alvan Adams and Ricky Sobers. The 42-40 squad shook the shackles of mediocrity, upsetting the favored defending champion Warriors (because when they beat up Rick Barry he threw the game when he realized none of his teammates defended him). The gentle coach John MacLeod had taken his diverse group of veterans, cast-offs, rookies and made them title contenders through grit and spit. They played a better brand of basketball the Celtics did that year and is not a coincidence that a Celtic was at the head of it all.
1976 is the year everything changed for the Phoenix Suns.
Heading into the sixth and final game of the finals, after a three-overtime thriller, it was apparent early on that both the Suns and Celtics were punch drunk. White played 60 minutes and by the end of the night was sitting on the hardwood floor during free throws. Gar Heard led the game by playing 61 minutes. And in the heated Boston Garden Tom Heinsohn collapsed due to heat exhaustion. Fortunately, this being the 1970s he merely went home and did not go to the hospital.
Phoenix was not haunted by the loss the game before, coming oh so close to what would’ve been a commanding series lead. In fact, they were inspired. “We know we’re going to beat them.” Gar Heard declared. “It’s going to take seven now, but we know we’re going to beat them. We showed we came to play.”
Perhaps the confidence stemmed from the fact back in those days participating in a game that required such heroics just to finish earned praise from supporters and detractors alike. Back when we used to celebrate athletic feats of heroism and not subscribe value in the end result.
The weary teams, littered with battle scars limped around for forty-eight minutes hoisting up off balanced, out of rhythm shots having only a prayer of converting. The game was like if two prize fighters went the full fifteen, but the judges decided a sixteenth was needed.
No team cracked 20 in the first or second quarters. Boston held Phoenix to 13-points, the lone pulse of the Celtics offense being Scott who dawned the Superman cape for the third straight Game Six. Having fouled out of every game of the series, Red approached Scott and explained to him his importance and how if he were to foul out where the Celtics reserves were Glenn McDonald and Kevin Stacom they’d be in trouble. Scott only fouled 5 times that night and avoided fouling out.
Possessions resembled a car crash under the basket. The rhythm and flow of the game was off by a substantial margin, each team searching for that extra jolt that wasn’t there.
The game had a total of 12 ties, the Suns were all too real to be a fairy tale and never let the Celtics put them to bed. Garfield Heard and Curtis Perry regained their sea legs and established their running game and pierced the Celtics defense to a 66-all draw with 8 minutes left to go.
Boston couldn’t establish much of a running game and settled for outside shots (back when that was considered a bad thing), their tired legs couldn’t jump over a phone book and during the parade of misses the Celtics mustered a pitiful 34 points in the second half.
The shifting tide came from the tired legs of Cowens finessing the ball from the gangly arms of Adams, leading the the 6-9 center to take it to the basket for the only way you could get three-points in one possession pre-three point line. The Celtics cranked up the old machine one last time to shut down the Suns and in the blink of the eye the old bastards led by 10.
When the game finished it felt like mercy was delivered. The green teams legs seemed rejuvenated not only by the victory, but by the fact the grueling experience was over. The sickly Heinsohn who captained an old Celtics team with a dearth of options to the mountaintop once again.
When all else failed, the Celtics fell back on their time-tested values. The Suns proved worthy foes. The two clashed for the most underrated playoff series in league history, filled with countless momentum shifts and leaving it all on the floor. The Phoenix Suns experienced a rebirth. The Celtics gained another banner.
Not this one.
Vinny Jace appears on the Entitled Weekend podcast. He does not live in The Valley of the Sun.
To win a title a team needs the stars to align, a peaceful alignment of karma throughout the cosmos. You need to feel God is on your side. The Golden State Warriors are the last team to achieve the dream of back-to-back championships, and even their talent-laden roster needed the big man from upstairs to do them a favor or two.
The Eastern Conference may be the weaker conference, but the Celtics had their way with the West just as much.
East: W/L: 41-11
Wins Per 82 Games: 65
Net rating: + 10.1
West: W/L/ 23-7
Wins Per 82 Games: 63
Net Rating: +14.4.
Their win percentage of 79% (counting both regular season and playoffs) is good for 11th all time, one percent below the vaunted ‘87 Lakers. Their point differential of + 1,083 (+10.7) is the fourth highest in NBA history. What we’ve been treated to over the course of a year is one of the best teams ever to have stepped on the hardwood. If next year’s team is more human, then they earned that right to be so.
The Celtics both won the title “ahead of schedule” and “just in the nick of time”. The core of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis and Derrick White will turn 26, 28, 29 and 30 respectively next season. They are either entering their primes, or in it right now. The nick of time aspect stems from the ages of Al Horford, Jrue Holiday, and the often unavailability of Kristaps Porzingis. Horford might’ve played his last game at the age of 38, and after 186 playoff games he finally claimed the ellusive ring.
An underlying subplot to his return to Boston was his defying of Father Time. His tip-top conditioning kept him from falling out of the rotation like 36-year old Bucks center Brook Lopez recently did, and the Celtics staggering him prevented any chance of Old Al being run into the ground. When Porzingis went down in the playoffs, Horford’s minutes went up, finding himself playing close to 40-minutes for a team with a dearth of options to relieve him. How will Boston ever survive without him? It’s a question we might have to answer real soon (for now, let’s enjoy the moment).
Regarding Porzingis, the Celtics took strenuous steps to preserve his body just for this part of the year, for the all important 16-game stretch and as fate would have it he would be more of an obstacle to overcome. Missing a month when the team needed him most, a setback that would have ended any other teams season was brushed off.
Health, regression, and random occurrences all play a role in the modern NBA in disrupting a would-be back-to-back champion. The Raptors fell victim to the ultimate anomaly in the Player Empowerment Era, their superstar bolting after winning the title. Los Angeles could have captured gold after 2020, but the short off-season following the pandemic resulted in injuries to even the iron man himself, LeBron. The Bucks appeared poised to be a dynasty with Giannis as the face, only for Khris Middleton to injure his ankle. The Warriors grew old and their young guys never grew into the successors to assist Steph. And lastly, the Nuggets with the Best Player In The World, Nikola Jokic fell into an unfavorable round two matchup versus Minnesota after losing a late regular season matchup to San Antonio and a rookie Victor Wembanyama dropped them in the standings.
The modern NBA is a field of landmines waiting to be stepped on. The Celtics overcoming all of that to win inspires more relief than jubilation. A tearful, yet jovial sigh of relief. The feeling of security and validation. We can now talk about Tatum’s unique place in NBA history.
Tatum’s total playoff points of 2,711 eclipses the mark of his mentor Kobe Bryant’s for most playoff points before turning 27. Despite playing in seven-fewer playoff games than Bryant, and when you factor in when he entered the league he had the best player in the world in Shaquille O’Neal, it makes what Tatum’s done more impressive because from day one he had to shoulder the load as the teams best player year in and year out.
Tatum’s played 107 playoff games and has been an iron man his entire career, quickly rising up the all time playoff totals in his first seven seasons of his career:
Points 1st
Minutes 4th
Games T-7th
Assists 10th
Rebounds 12th
Steals 18th
Blocks 27th
Jaylen Brown’s played more playoff minutes before turning 27 than Magic Johnson, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jerry West (RIP). These Celtics at their core are battle tested, sport gnarly scars from various battles and experienced heartbreak that would break lesser teams – but not them.
Some teams are cursed with the moniker, “always the bridesmaid, never the bride”. The 2010’s Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets through a mixture of bad luck and the mistakes ceded the era they seemed destined to dominate to San Antonio and Golden State. In the 2000s the Phoenix Suns always knocked on the door, only for it to never open.
But there are teams who nonetheless persist and will never take no for an answer and sometimes those teams are rewarded by the big man upstairs for their ability to preserve in the mighty storm that is professional basketball.
From 1962 to 1972 the Los Angeles Lakers for 11 seasons banged in the door until their fists bled. 8 trips to the final four, 7 finals appearances, losing to Bill Russell’s Celtics six times and then once to the Knicks for good measure. Then on Halloween night, 1971 after a tough loss to Nate Thurmond and Cazzie Russell’s Warriors, Lakers stalwart Elgin Baylor decided to retire and inadvertently kicked off the longest win streak in NBA history stopping at 33 en route to the title.
The Bullets of the 1970s appeared cursed to be forever the Bridesmaid Team. It started when they drafted Wes Unseld to be for them what Bill Russell was for the Celtics. Pairing Unseld with Earl Monroe was like pairing Russell with Oscar Robertson. They crashed the finals in 1971 when Monroe ripped the hearts out of the Willis Reed-less New York Knicks; Bullets’ Gus Johnson made a critical basket late in the game to lift the Bullets over the Knicks 93–91, but stood little chance against Lew Alcindor and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Baltimore went under a transformation, trading Monroe to New York, and Johnson to to the Suns. The Bullets remained prominent, but like the Celtics post-Kyrie didn’t have much star power to combat the Knicks or Celtics. Baltimore acquired Elvin Hayes from the Houston Rockets and drafted Kevin Porter in the third round of the ‘72 Draft.
The slow, steady build up led to them shocking the defending champion Celtics in the ‘75 conference finals stealing two games on the road and ending them in six. Old Celtics guard K.C Jones was at the helm, back in the 70s Celtics magic was all over the NBA. Red Auerbach’s disciples led the Lakers to the promised land, many had hoped the same could be said for the Bullets. Entering the ‘75 Finals versus Golden State, the Bullets were thought to have the more complete team and favored in the series – only to be swept, losing the first and last game in front of their home fans.
Just when the Bullets thought they couldn’t fall any lower, they lose to the Cavaliers in the Miracle at Richmond and Jones was kicked to the curb. Dick Motta is hired, the Bullets are wandering the scene in search of a purpose. Then all of a sudden the 44-38 Bullets, who were considered long shots to win the championship in 1978 found their moniker “It Ain’t Over ‘til The Fat Lady Sings” and finally climbed the mountain.
Who said Bullets?
Through all of that, the biggest change the Bullets made was they signed Big Game Bob Dandridge (who was the Robert Horry ‘glue guy’ of his generation). From all the Perseverance Championship Teams, the Bullets are the ones who came out of nowhere.
The Dr. J-era 76ers nearly won the finals in his first year, took a 2-0 lead over Portland, then Maurice Lucas fought Daryl Dawkins and helped them rediscover their mojo and the series was considered a runaway after that. They make it back in 1980, but the Lakers are deeper than they are and win in six. They lose a heartbreaker to Boston in ‘81 when they’d be favored over Houston had they won. Andrew Toney comes into his own in ‘82, murders Boston, but they still aren’t better than the Lakers. Their version of the Smart trade was moving beloved, long-standing center Dawkins for MVP Moses Malone. They ripped through the ‘83 season, went “Fo Fi Fo” en route to the title.
Teams can come back from heartbreak, shake off the losses but after a while you need something dramatic to happen that shakes up the formula to give them the best chance to get over the hump. When Brad Stevens traded Marcus Smart for Porzingis this was one of those moments.
When Danny Ainge departed, the shift from big game hunting towards empowering what they already had. Brad Stevens inherited the Celtics at a moment of crisis. Tatum was good, nobody knew how good. Kemba Walker was making a lot of money and was on the fast track to being out of the league. Stevens was quick, smart and not afraid to do what seemed unpopular at the time and that was empowering Smart by making him the point guard. Bringing back Al Horford when most of the NBA intelligentsia thought he was washed.
The 2022 team was a test of faith in the home grown, 2023 was a harsh reality check. The 2024 Celtics are reminiscent of the 1984 Celtics, with Bill Fitch playing the role of Smart. A change was in order, the formula had grown stale.
Despite the noise both locally and nationally, the smart money the whole year was on the Celtics. Early on you felt something special was unfolding. After years of the breaks beating the boys, the boys began beating breaks.
Stevens knew he couldn’t help the Celtics to the fullest as the coach, and so he became the general manager and constructed the best team of the decade (so far). The 2024 Celtics net rating equaling the 2017 Warriors mark of 11.6, tying for third best in NBA history, second to the 1996 and 1997 Bulls. But the late-90s NBA was diluted by expansion. This era has more talent, is more skilled and better coached. There aren’t any “easy wins” anymore.
Moving on from Smart allowed Derrick White to take on a bigger responsibility. What Smart provided was essential, but what held the team back was the psychological hold he had on the team. When possessions bogged down in crunch time, Tatum and Brown deferred to the alpha Smart who was left with little recourse but to shoot a low-percentage shot. The Jays needed to be pushed out of the nest.
Tatum asserted himself more as an on-ball player, acting as the de facto point guard at certain times. His passing took a massive step forward, after many years of growing pains Tatum learned how to contribute when the jump shot abandoned him.
What the Celtics accomplished is a testament to their ability to shrug off countless setbacks, and the front office for not falling in love with chasing big names. I don’t know how many front offices wouldn’t have traded Brown for Kevin Durant two-years ago. How many teams can ignore the incessant noise demanding the Jays be broken up, citing redundancy as the contributing factor why they haven’t taken that final step.
The final marks: 80-21 in total, 16-3 in the playoffs. They are the first team in seven years to win the title after sporting the best regular season record. From the first game of the season until the last the Celtics were the best team in the world and despite all the noise, nobody came close to stopping them.
The Celtics managed the health of Horford and Porzingis masterfully, even when the latter was felled by not one but TWO injuries in the postseason, the Celtics saw the adversity, ate it up and spit it out. They faced it all and they stood tall and did it their way.
Vinny Jace appears on the Entitled Weekend podcast. He does not live along the parade route.
If I were Michael Hurley, I would simply not be terrible and unfunny.
Giddey. Caruso. The rare impactful honky-for-honky trade.
It’s bad enough when these NFL draft morons ‘grind tape!’ We’re supposed to believe that some whore from Florida with saggy silver dollar flapjacks is watching junior hockey?
if there isn’t already a Boston championships parade shirt with “we’ll duck you up”/“time to get ducked up”/“let’s ducking go” and a duck boats illustration……… we need it
Has anyone been bitten by a shark while hoisting the Stanley Cup?
Lukaku is Congolese for the ‘cattle are dying.’
Cakes are cooking for Rober Davi, Tara VanDerveer, Mick Jones, Chris Issak, Patty Smyth, Greg LeMond, Harriet Wheeler, Pamela Wright, Kirk McLean, Shannon Sharpe, Nick Offerman, Paul Thomas Anderson, Gretchen Wilson, Derek Jeter, Chad Pennington, Michael Vick, Casey Desmond, Jennette McCurdy, and Ariana Grande.
Just once in my life, I want to witness twin tornadoes so I can exclaim to no one in particular, “Ok…we got sisters!”
I’m gonna use a saying my dad told me years ago in relations to Gisele ..if you’re gonna build your house on the golf course..then you can’t complain when the golf balls start coming thru the window
The Knicks paid out way more for Brooklyn’s Bridges than the Dutch originally did for the island of Manhattan!
What good is the “eye test” when you don’t know what you’re looking at?
Red Line Reminder: Beginning at 8:30 PM on Friday, June 28, and through the weekend of June 29-30 Alewife Trains bypass Kendall/MIT Station due to construction. Riders can transfer, for free, at Central or Charles/MGH.
The Negro League kept better records than Sal.
Hey gang that definitely has no cultist tendencies, this week’s Phrase that Pays is, “I’m not in a cult retard.”
So every “Heat Culture” loser currently peacocking over a Fort Lauderdale hockey team’s heimlich maneuver Game 7 win were discounting the Celtics three-loss playoff performance last week, yes?
We are not perfect ..remember that ..
The worst thing about Italians is they don’t realize they should be ashamed of being Italian.
July is almost here which means it’s time for another round of my Zoom workshop for aspiring sportswriters. Been incredible seeing many who have taken it in press boxes all over this year. Come learn what it takes to break in. Email bychriscotillo@gmail.com for info/pricing.
People who like Keefe are the same people who go into a taproom with a selection of 100 beers and order a Miller Lite.
Do you think Aidan Kearney would drink Karen Read’s toilet water? I do.
Last chance to be 1 of 5 picked to win $10000 cash if you throw a FB through a car window from 12-2 tomorrow at Albrecht Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram in Westboro. Sign up at dealership.
Photograph your living room and post it in the comments.
The only thing Todd McShay should be providing any opinions on is appearing on ESPN drunk out of his mind.
People I know, places I go, make me feel tongue-tied. And I can see how, people look down, They’re on the inside.
Here’s where the story ends.
People I see, weary of me showing my good side. And I can see how people look down, I’m on the outside.
Here’s where the story ends. Oh, here’s where the story ends.
It’s that little souvenir, of a terrible year, which makes my eyes feel sore. Oh, I never should have said, the books that you read were all I loved you for. It’s that little souvenir, of a terrible year, which makes me wonder why. And it’s the memories of your shed, that make me turn red. Surprise, surprise, surprise.
One thing I will never do is debate Boston sports on Twitter with a fan who roots for teams in four different states. Not to be a snob but we are not the same.
My estimate is that had face masks not been invented, major league baseball would now result in the deaths of an estimated 4.6 umpires per month.
Honk if you remember Earl Wilson’s no-hitter against the Angels on this day.
I’ve been a Taylor Swift fan for a long time and I’m so happy her and Travis Kelce are together. Travis is the first guy that truly feels madly in love with her and she deserves that. If they end up getting married, I’ll be very happy about that too.
All real Bruins fans use “Y’all” liberally on social media.
When there is more than just cheese it ceases to be a grilled cheese sandwich.
People regarded Jordan & Pippen as a Batman & Robin situation as opposed to a Superman & Batman partnership and that affected how every other basketball duo was viewed in the past 35 years… Jayson Tatum & Jaylen Brown are more like Iron Man & War Machine or Cable & Deadpool.
Dan Le Betard’s expanded universe of Hispanics must be stopped.
That fat Mets fan Frank is going to be a pallbearer at RA’s funeral, sponsored by DraftKings & Dude Wipes.
Scottie Scheffler has the slow beating heart of a criminal.
Grapefruit League Babe Ruth Bobby Dalbec with two home runs for the Woo Sox last night?
What’s Alan Jackson’s favorite client to fuck? The next one.
Happy trails to you, Linus Ullmark. I bet the Bussin’ Bussi likes hugs, too though. And fire engines.
The kids who say “Play ball” before an MLB game hold so much power. What happens if they refuse to say it? Do we just not play?
Julio Foolio was just turning his life around.
Chris Cotillo’s Zoom workshops have bigger audiences than some of these Stanley Cup appearances in south Florida.
Best bet for the weekend: The Swiss over Italy in the Euro.
Not Pictured: Perk.
Material from interviews, wire services, Twitter, Meta, other writers, league and team sources, Bill James, and the members of #the15 were used in this column. I will be taking next week off. Something will run in this place. Enjoy the 4th.
BdlG, as good as the Larry O’Brien Trophy? Or maybe slightly better?
That’s not how it works. That’s not how any of this works.
Winning is great. Winning that makes everyone else hysterically sad is even better.
No one dotted Dugie? Sad!
Jaylen Brown Finals MVP. He did spend some of that Supermax contract money attending a Sick Handlez Camp!
Willie Mays. You Say Hey, we all say goodbye. OOTG’s.
I’m in tears knowing Bill Russell’s widow was in Dallas for Game 4, and in Boston for Game 5.
Meanwhile, if wasn’t already, Bryson DeChambeau sure seems to have become this weekend what golf is continually seeking: A needle mover.
Dave Brown peacocking from his long dormant & locked Twitter account is peak Dave Brown.
Cakes are cooking for Salman Rushdie, Ann Wilson, Duane Kuiper, Larry Dunn, Kathleen Turner, Paula Abdul, Simon Wright, Mia Sara, Poppy Montgomery, Robin Tunney, Doug Mientkiewicz, Dirk Nowitzki, Garfield the Cat, Zoe Saldana, Jason White, and Macklemore.
Not only was that an all-time US Open, but my daughters wanted to learn more about the game, and I got to talk through the back nine with my dad at the house like we used to do after my tournaments and biggest rounds. Happy Father’s Day, everyone. It was a memorable one over here.
Having proper Sunday night HBO programming back is the best. It dominates social media the next day. We are so back.
Tons of people were helped by Jerry West admitting to being a maniac. Many cases of lives saved. “The Logo” taught me that it’s ok to not be ok.
Orange Line Reminder: Service changes for bridge and track work June 22-23: Shuttle buses replace service between Oak Grove & North Station June 24-30: Shuttle buses replace service between Wellington & North Station. Commuter Rail is fare free between Oak Grove & North Station.
Hopefully the next time all these Patriots greats are together is at RKK’s funeral.
Ime Udoka passed this up for pussy.
I don’t know how long ago Dennis Drinkwater’s seat moved to the aisle but how does he get into it? Does he hop over the back? Need to know.
Will Buck be wearing his Donnie Beardlsey skinsuit on one of the duckboats Friday?
Edmonton has now won twice, a win for each boob flashed by that nice lady.
Suggestion for Friday’s Celtics parade: Reserve one Duck-Boat for Wyc Grousbeck and his band, and play a Dead set to bring Bill Walton into the event. “Ripple” for respect.
Al Horford, aka the Dominican Don Nelson.
Don’t know about you guys, but it’s really scary to think that any one of us could be locked up if we drunkenly backed over a Boston cop. If they can do it to her, they can do it to YOU.
Hey gang of morons, this week’s Phrase that Pays is, “I’m still peeling confetti off me.”
Not great for the Woman In Sports™ brand that a hard 4 who grifts online retards considers herself part of the group.
Uh oh. Cotillo’s back on the soft serve.
Out of Jayson Tatum’s 40 highest priced purchased cards, only 3 were bought this year.
Trying to imagine what Bill’s reaction would have been if Brian, Stephen, or Amanda hade ever brought home a Cheerleader/Entrepeneur/Philosopher to meet dad.
This has been the longest day I wish I had more energy for the Celtics tweets 😦 I’ll be obnoxious all month if they win don’t worry.
‘Riding the side boards’ sounds like a 1940’s euphemism for gay sex.
I just wish Fergie would do every NBA Finals anthem.
The flow of porn spam from the usual suspects on Twitter has disappeared from my feed, and I have mixed feelings now that nobody seems to be trying to scam me. It’s like “wait, am I not worth the effort to try to steal from anymore?”
Abby didn’t need any gay champagne goggles.
Huh. I wonder why Bill forgot to mention the backstabbing rat of an in-over-his-head linebackers coach.
This human Subaru just femsplained to literal DNA forensic scientists the science of forensic DNA detectability.
Bill Clinton don’t become Willie Mays.
Sometimes I just shut up and let my past work talk. I earned these two days off and I’m going to enjoy every, single, minute of it.
PFF geting Betamaxed out of existence wouldn’t be terrible.
My favorite thing about watching women’s basketball is that they actually post up and use low post moves. It’s a lost art in the men’s game.
When the Starks & Baratheons get these blonde freaks up outta here >>>>>
Have the Revs turned a corner?
In the Boston Celtics 17 NBA Championships it has taken them an average of 6.12 games to win in the NBA Finals.
‘Claudia Bellofatto’ is a made-up name.
I can look out from the roof of this building I’m on and see five other buildings that I built. Three of which I saw from steel beam to final clean. I built half this block.
Today would be a great day for the race war to kickoff. Just like the Tet Offensive.
Gonna see the river man. Gonna tell him all I can About the plan For lilac time.
If he tells me all he knows ‘Bout the way his river flows. And all night shows In summertime.
Fun Fact: women were disallowed from serving on juries in Massachusetts until 1950.
Somewhere in this town, there are crab legs & I’m gonna go eat more of them than the Rangers had hits Sunday.
Probably a relief to Jerry West that he didn’t have to see another Celtics championship.
Would you rather have one 12-foot statue of Tom Brady or twelve 1-foot statues of Tom Brady?
Narrator: The Mavericks as it turns out did not figure out the Celtics’ scheme.
There are too many withdrawals, no deposit , You can’t grow like that !!!
Wonder if Bill saved Linda’s fake cans for the new girl.
I’ve never figured out how they keep the baseball IN the hat when the hat jumps in the air during that dancing-hat thing where they want you to guess which hat has the ball.
With the Finals being over, how will people now learn that there is a new Bad Boys movie in theaters?
Honk if you remember Brett Hull’s Stanley Cup winning ‘no goal.’
That wasn’t a travel on Prichard’s beyond halfcourt halftime buzzer-beating three, it was a Eurostep.
Linda Cohn is still on TV? Well good for her!
I’m still trying to see ‘likes’ on Twitter like Homer Simpson forgetting to dial the new area code.
It’s really not like Anna Horford to use her brother’s fame to curry favor.
Imagine if Danny and Brad took advice from the radio talking men and the ink-stained wretches. lol
Belichick can probably still kill spiders and open tight jar lids at his age.
Also, I want the repaired Christopher Columbus statue the city is too scared to put back up riding on one of the duckboats.
If The Sports Hub had a Kevin, I think I’d know about it.
Best bet for the weekend: Ocean State Job Lot starts selling the ‘NBA Players Association’ championship merch.
Tom. Patriots Hall of Famer.
Eeep.
Material from interviews, wire services, Twitter, Meta, other writers, league and team sources, Dan Kelley, Bill James, and the members of #the15 were used in this column.
And Happy Birthday to Czech supermodel Veronika Vařeková. Všechno nejlepší k narozeninám!
The 15 