Boston Celtics Win the 2023-2024 NBA Championship

The Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks four games to one to win the 2023-2024 NBA Finals.  The series played out like it probably should have.  We all wanted seven games or at a minimum some close games but it wasn't to be.  The Celtics won two games by seven points but the three other games were blowouts.  Boston was the better team hands down.  Too much talent and really good defense that came from multiple players.  Luka and Kyrie had good stretches in games but overall they didn't seem comfortable.  Neither could hit a three either.  Tatum and Brown couldn't either but the rest of the Celtics picked up the slack.  Jaylen Brown was MVP but I could make an argument for Jrue Holiday.  No complaints from me though.  Brown guarded Doncic a lot and he did a good job.  I had no dog in this fight but I've always been an Al Horford fan so it was fun seeing him be so happy at age 37.  Tatum, Brown, Holiday, White, Porzingis and head coach Joe Mazzulla all deserved this too.  Boston was great all season, great in the playoffs and great in the NBA Finals.  Congratulations Boston Celtics.

2023-2024 NBA Finals: Dallas Mavericks vs Boston Celtics

 2024 NBA Finals: The Finals start tonight as Dallas and Boston go at it.  Noone is surprised Boston is here.  The Boston-Indy series was closer than the sweep looks but still the Pacers were way overmatched.  But again, this was to be expected.  The Celtics are the best team in the East.  A healthy Milwaukee or New York would have been a fun Eastern Conference Finals but it wasn't to be.  Dallas surprised me by tearing through the darling Timberwolves.  And it was all about Luka and Kyrie.  They were great offensively and had zero respect for the Minnesota defense which looked great against Phoenix and Denver.  Dallas was also the hottest team coming into the playoffs.

I like Boston in The Finals.  I get Luka and Kyrie are playing out of their mind.  The Celtics just have too much talent.  That said they can lose this.  Is Porzingis healthy?  Can Al Horford keep up the hot shooting from three?  This will be key to stopping the Maverick bigs from clogging the lane.  The Celtics also have guys who can play defense on almost anyone in the Dallas lineup in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.  That said, Dallas is surging.  Boston will have to play defense and they shoot a lot of threes.  If they go cold the Mavs could easily win this series.  I'm going with Boston in six games and expect close games but I'm not putting money on it.  Let's hope for seven games and plenty of fun games.

2023-2024 NBA Conference Finals

 It's that time of the year and the NBA Playoffs are down to four teams.  In the East we get Boston and Indy.  Love Indy and their move to pick Piascal Siakam from Toronto.  It's helped them get to the Conference Finals for the first time since 2014.  This team is centered around Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner and Siakam.  Knicks may have been banged up but nobody expected them to come back from a 3-2 deficit in that series.  Even without Kristaps Porzingis dinged up Boston is too good not to get this far.  They have so much fire power with Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White.  

I didn't think Dallas could make it this far but they out muscled OKC and got enough from their big two in Luka and Kyrie.  They can score and they played defense in the last round to help win a huge game 7.  The Minnesota Timberwolves are the darlings of the playoffs.  Their tenacious defense and breakout star, Anthony Edwards, make them so much fun to watch.  Hard to think they could come this far after they looked so bad last year after trading for Rudy Gobert.  And that comeback against Denver in the Semi-Finals.  Down 3-2.  Down 20 points in the third quarter of game seven.  Amazing.

I'll be rooting for Minnesota, and Georgia alum Edwards, as well as Indiana.  Neither team has won a championship, and it would be so special to watch another team hoist their first banner.   We've already seen two teams do it in the last five seasons - Toronto and Denver.  That said, I think its the Timberwolves and Celtics in the NBA Finals.  I do think Dallas can make this a really good series but Minnesota is just too good right now.  Boston is just too good period.  Way too much talent even with Porzingis not on the floor while he heals.  I think those two teams would be a great matchup as well.  Hopefully no matter who we get in The Finals, I hope the Conference Finals series are fun.