PHOTO BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Boston Bruins centre Frank Vatrano (72) celebrates a goal during the third period of the first round of NHL Stanley Cup playoff hockey action in Ottawa on Wednesday, April 12, 2017.
By STEVE KRAUSE
For the first time since 2013, both the Celtics and Bruins are in the playoffs, but unlike a lot of people who see this as a big deal, I do not.
Perhaps this is an outgrowth of being a spoiled-rotten Boston fan. We’ve become so accustomed to winning, and being relevant, that we consider it a birthright.
Also, we forget sometimes how fortunate we really are. Go to an area whose sports teams never do a darn thing — let’s use Philadelphia as an example — and their fans would be doing cartwheels if just one of their teams made the postseason. But the Phillies, Eagles, Flyers and 76ers are 0-for-4 since last summer — and the Phillies look like they’ll continue the streak this season.
Meanwhile, here we are. Professionally, the Boston area has had champions in the calendar years of 2002, 2004 (two), 2005, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017. In that time we’ve had college hockey champions at both Boston College and Boston University as well.
So yeah. Making the playoffs in this environment is like getting up in the morning and breathing. The Bruins didn’t make the them the last couple of seasons for a variety of reasons, but as one of the National Hockey League’s Original Six, and with the resources the team has, making the postseason should almost be a given, except when the team has made it clear it is in rebuilding mode (and this franchise clearly doesn’t seem to be interested in this). They are the “one-of-these-things-is-not-like-the-other” of Boston professional teams. They don’t seem to have a plan, and came dangerously close to not making the playoffs this season, too.
So it really bothered me when they clinched a spot to see such celebrating. Why? So they could be cannon fodder for either Washington or Ottawa? I’d rather skip the honor, blow the thing up, and build a team that can actually compete for a Stanley Cup.
There’s no way the Bruins will get past the second round — if they’re lucky enough to take down the Senators. This is more an example of how a league that sends 16 teams to the playoffs every season ends up scrounging to find enough of them worthy of qualifying.
The Celtics were in that position a few years ago, but now they’ve reached the top echelon of the NBA East thanks to general manager Danny Ainge’s ability to build on the fly. Ainge hasn’t done everything correctly during his tenure (someday I might forgive him for dumping Kendrick Perkins in a year where they actually had a chance to win), but he’s won way more than he’s lost. Ask yourself whether Peter Chiarelli, Cam Neely or Don Sweeney have that kind of a track record.
The Celtics have reached the point where they’re expected to make the Eastern Conference finals. In fact, if they don’t, there will be people calling for wholesale changes in the team’s structure.
I say even if they do make the East finals, next year’s team will be markedly different than the one you saw on the court last night. But it won’t be a case of trading this spare tire for that spare tire, which is what the Bruins do. Ainge does have a plan, and it’ll be interesting to see what he does with his resources.
But I wouldn’t be so fast to concede the Eastern Conference finals to the Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Washington, Toronto, Milwaukee and Atlanta have all, a different times in 2017, given the Celtics trouble. A seven-game series against any one of them, even with the home-court advantage, is no gimmie.
But give the Celtics their due. They at least realized some very high expectations. The word on them last October is that they’d reached a level where challenging the Cavaliers for the top spot in the East wasn’t out of the question. And that’s exactly what ended up happening.
The Celtics should get out of the first round relatively unscathed. A long series would not be a very good sign.
After that? It’s anyone’s ballgame no matter who they play, especially if it’s either Washington or Toronto.
So I don’t think it would be fair to call this season unsuccessful if they don’t make it out of the second round.
And, really, is it going to matter? If they played the majority of games in Boston, Cleveland, Mars or Jupiter, the Cavaliers would have no problem with the Celtics. The teams don’t match up well, and the C’s have nobody who can stop LeBron.
All that said, I believe it’ll be a Cleveland-Boston East final, and if the Celtics can extend the Cavs to six games, that would one heck of a season.
But if it doesn’t come to pass, I wouldn’t threaten to jump off the ledge.