Celtics Blow it Again and Leafs in 5

 There's no let up in the sports schedule right now it is absolutely insane. Last night the Leafs played a thriller against the Florida Panthers and while that was on the Celtics allowed something like a 22-2 run to blow a big lead for the second straight time at home. At least the Thunder dismantled the Nuggets to get me to bed at a reasonable hour. If you have evening plans at any point in the next month, it's practically a guarantee that you're going to miss something exciting in hockey or basketball. What a time to exist in. I'm keeping this post short today, I've had some long ones this week already so I need some recovery time. 

Leafs in 5

I so don't know the Xs and Os of hockey like even a little bit, but just purely off of vibes this Leafs team looks different. The Leafs got down 1-0 early in the game after the Panthers scored within 5 seconds of their first powerplay. The Leafs responded with a Max Pacioretty power play goal just before the period ended. The Leafs then got down 2-1 just 15 seconds into the second period but 4 minutes later William Nylander evened it up and then at the end of the period again Max Domi gave the Leafs a 1 goal lead. 5 minutes into the 3rd period the Panthers scored to tie the game up, but just about 10 seconds later Marner scored his first goal as a new father to give the Leafs the lead again, which they would not relinquish. The Leafs that I've grown accustomed to would have folded under the pressure Florida threw at them. Florida threw the first punch and the Leafs responded, they threw the second punch and the Leafs responded, in the 3rd they threw another one and the Leafs stopped the momentum within 10 seconds. This Leafs team doesn't look shook, they believe they can win any game no matter the circumstances. Again, I can't tell you exactly why they're playing better or why they feel better other than they just look more ready for this moment than I've ever seen before. I picked Leafs in 5 mostly because I don't know hockey so if I'm wrong about it I can just hide behind my lack of knowledge, maybe I wasn't aggressive enough though.

We've seen a few playoff runs in the city in my lifetime. The 2015 and 2016 Jays had that awesome offense and a big trade deadline to propel them to the conference finals. I remember the city was full of Jays jerseys and schedules began to orient around when the Jays games were. The 2019 Raptors won it all and by the conference finals every other night you'd be out with your friends watching the games. In both of those instances, people who never watch the sport were texting me to talk about the games. I am already being that guy about the Leafs, hell I'm writing blog posts about them! I expect that if they win on Friday, the buzz will get undeniable in the city. I really hope they do it, when the city is all cheering for their team the vibes are incredible. 

WTF Celtics

Man, what is going on. The Celtics played a great game against the Knicks for 3 quarters, not allowing the Knicks to get anything going on offense while doing just enough themselves to build a big 20 point lead. Then the 4th quarter came. Just like last game, the Celtics completely broke down on offense and allowed the Knicks to make it close. In a close game, the Knicks have the clutch player of the year award winner Jalen Brunson who has now definitively proven he is the most dangerous player in the series. This game was insane to watch though, I am not exaggerating, the Celtics went at least 6 straight minutes of gameplay without even attempting a drive to the basket. They were taking 3s, but they weren't even drive and kick out to the open man 3s. It was dance around the perimeter and take a stepback, dance around the perimeter and pass to another guy to take a 3. You can't go 6 straight minutes without touching the paint even once in an NBA game. I don't know the exact gravity of the run the Knicks went on, but it was something like 22-2 or 24-2 and it was purely because the Celtics weren't even trying to go to the rim. With 20 seconds left Tatum took the ball the length of the court and drove straight to the basket for a dunk. He had a wide open lane because the Knicks weren't even considering the fact that the Celtics might drive, since they literally hadn't tried to for an entire quarter. Brunson drew a foul on the ensuing play, hit both free throws, then Tatum got swatted by Bridges on the final play for the second straight game and the Knicks took both games in Boston. 

The Celtics are 25/100 from 3 on the series so far. Maybe try something else? Honestly I hope they stay ice cold and it forces coaches to rethink this 3s over everything strategy. I've repeated myself a million times already, but how do you not drive to the basket for an entire quarter!? I see people giving the Knicks credit and sure they deserve some, but these 2 losses to me are purely on the Celtics. Insane choke job for 2 games in a row. Go Knicks, sweep them if you can. 

That's that! The Thunder don't get a segment cause their game wasn't interesting. They responded how a contender is supposed to respond after blowing a lead in an embarrassing way the game prior, take notes Celtics.