Big Ben Tuesday: Gentleman’s Sweep for the Celts… Panthers, Too?

June 18, 2024 Ben Whitney Ben Whitney, Featured 0

Two of these guys know each other. HINT: One plays for the Celtics. One plays for the Panthers.

SIESTA KEY, FL – Sometimes you put a strong rooster in the fight, but you still get trampled by a bigger cock. That was the case in the NBA this season as the Celtics finished off a remarkable season with a gentleman’s sweep of the Mavs. The Florida Panthers look to do the same tonight at home, but Connor and the Oilers will try to make it a series.

Celtic Domination

The Celtics finished with an eye popping 80-21 record, including a mere three losses in the playoffs. As much as I would have liked to have seen a healthy Knicks squad get a shot, no one was taking down the Celtics this year. This was a great team that shared the ball and played great defense.

The leading scorer in the playoffs was Tatum with 25 and all five starters averaged at least 12. This was not a top heavy scoring team like the Knicks. They played the rught way and shared the ball.

Local Ties

Old friend Kristaps Porzingis is now a champion. And  the Celtics two best players, Tatum and Brown, were drafted with picks acquired from the Nets for Pierce and Garnett. Hurray for helping!

This was a helluva team and everyone is back next year.

Panthers Try to Close<

Like the Celtics, the Panthers got waxed on the road in Game 4, but will be looking to hoist the cup tonight at home.

The Panthers game 4 loss didn’t quite have the same “oh well, let’s win it at home,” vibe of the Celts Game 4 loss in Dallas. I mean, 8-1 is a massive drubbing in hockey. And Bobrovsky has gone cold before, so maybe Edmonton can make a series out of it. Connor McDavid said “it’s supposed to be hard,” but this is the tops in degree of difficulty.

I think the Panthers get it done tonight. Write Game 4 off to a letdown. There is no way that defensive super-studs Barkov and Forsling will allow another scoring barrage.

Like the Celtics, they had unfinished business from last year and were going to be tough to beat.

Rangers and Knicks
Ben Whitney

We got some memorable moments from the Rangers and Knicks this year. The fantastic finish vs Philly capped with the DiVincenzo three, and the Kreider third period hat trick to close out the Canes. But they both fell short in the end.

I think you could make the argument that the Rangers and Knicks (healthy) were the second best teams in their leagues. But hey, there ain’t no parade for second place. Next year!

That’s it for me. Come back tomorrow for Rootin’ Tootin’ Yellin’ Screamin’ Angry Ward.

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About Ben Whitney 413 Articles
Ben Whitney comes from journalistic stock. Aside from his brothers, rumor has that his great-great grandfather was the youngest brother of Eli Whitney and covered the earliest "rounders" games. Big Ben is also another New York Rugby Club player/pal of Different Matt, Short Matt and Junoir Blaber. He likes film noir discussions, has twin girls and took up ice hockey after retiring from rugby.