Every April, the calendar delivers a smorgasbord of much-anticipated sporting events for Boston fans. This year is no different. The suspense comes in finding out just how fulfilling it all will be.
A brief rundown of our sports feast:
The Bruins, an enigmatic second seed in the Atlantic Division, commence their Stanley Cup playoff journey Saturday with Game 1 against the always talented, perennially underachieving Maple Leafs.
The following afternoon, the top-seeded Celtics begin their quest for the elusive 18th championship against an opponent that will not be determined until the NBA play-in round is completed Friday night.
The Boston Marathon finish line is just behind us. The NFL Draft, with the Patriots possessing the No. 3 pick and a chance to select a potential franchise quarterback, is less than a week away. And the Red Sox, a few weeks beyond Opening Day, have … uh, not been mathematically eliminated just yet, so there’s that.
It seems fitting to borrow a phrase from retiring Bruins play-by-play voice Jack Edwards: “Who’s got it better than us?”
Of course, the fun and anticipation that the NBA and NHL playoffs bring is always accompanied by tension, particularly when it comes to the Celtics and their massive expectations this spring.
By analytic measures, the 2023-24 Celtics just completed one of the most dominating regular seasons in professional basketball history.
Their net rating — simply put, their point-differential-per-100 possessions — was 11.6, tied with the 2016-17 Warriors of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant for third-best in league history.
The two teams ahead of them? A pair of Michael Jordan’s Bulls squads, the 72-win, force-of-nature 1995-96 team (13.4 net rating ) and its successor the following season (12.0).
But the Celtics’ statistical place among those legendary teams matters roughly as much as, oh, Greg Kite’s career free throw percentage. Those Warriors and Bulls won championships, and this Celtics season will be unfulfilled if they do not achieve the same.
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