After Bruins Playoff Loss, Celtics Stand as Boston’s Last Championship Hope
The Red Sox exited the postseason early in 2017. The Pats lost the Super Bowl. And now this? Basketball is our last hope.
Photo via AP/Charles Krupa / Photo via AP/Charles Krupa
We’ve hit a drought.
The Bruins were bounced from the NHL playoffs Sunday night following a loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, dashing all hopes that TD Garden would see another Stanley Cup.
We don’t need to remind you that the lights went off in tragedy at Gillette this season, or that the Red Sox—despite posting a 96-win year—exited the playoffs early in 2017. Add the Bruins loss, and things are getting unbearable.
And so, Celtics, we need you.
Brad Stevens’ squad is rolling right now, and let’s hope things don’t stall faster than an Orange Line train during rush hour. The C’s have the chance to knock off the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night and move on to the Eastern Conference finals with a sweep under their belts. They’re just nine wins from the championship trophy. So close, yet so far.
Yes, the Sox sit atop the AL East, but it’s only May, and this city is hungry for a title. The only option is for the Celtics to turn the Garden back into a place for the seeds of victory—rather than the weeds of defeat—to flourish.
Think, if you will, of the infants. The poor babies born since February 5, 2017, have not yet experienced a championship in their lifetimes, because they were not around ages ago to see Tom Brady and company mount their epic comeback. Tens of thousands of 1-year-olds have never had confetti rain down on their sweet faces; have never watched a triumphant Boston athlete hoist a trophy above his head; have never experienced a victory parade march its way down Boylston. It’s horrifying.
We have to end this victory dry spell, because it’s simply unacceptable. We need the Celtics to, as one coach Bill Belichick might say, do their job. We can’t take another team coming up short.
