NBA & NHL Finals Previews, Plus a D-Day Note

NBA Finals: Dallas Mavericks vs. Boston Celtics Begins Thursday, June 6

This is a great matchup - should be spicy.

The Boston Celtics had the best regular season record in the Eastern Conference (64-18, 14 games better than the #2 seed New York Knicks) and were not seriously challenged through the first three rounds of the playoffs. They are led by the duo of Jayson Tatum (5x All-Star, 3x All NBA First Team) and Jaylen Brown (3x All-Star, 1x All NBA Second Team). There is pressure on the Celtics and their star duo as they have made it to the Eastern Conference Finals six out of the last eight years, advanced to the NBA Finals only once in 2022, and lost to the Golden State Warriors in that matchup. 

The Dallas Mavericks earned the Western Conference 5th seed with a 50-32 record and were able to outlast the efforts of two rising teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves, during the playoffs. They, also, are led by a star duo of Luka Doncic (5x All-Star, 5x All NBA First Team) and Kyrie Irving (8x All-Star, 1x All NBA Second Team, 2x All NBA Third Team). Championships opportunities are fleeting and a victory in this final would positively alter the negative narrative on Irving as a malcontent lacking leadership qualities. 

There is so much more in this series beyond a tremendous matchup of star duos.

Irving is hated in Boston, and you know Boston fans can get their hate on. Irving came to the Celtics in 2017 with dreams of multiple NBA championships in the heads of young fans from Bunker Hill to South Boston. The Celtics never quite played up to the lofty expectations in his two years and then Irving bolted in free agency after the 2018-19 season after essentially promising the fan base that he would resign with Boston, according to Gio Rivera of NESN.  

Celtic Kristaps Porzingis is returning from injury and could be the X factor in the series. He played two plus seasons from 2019-22 with - you guessed it - the Mavericks and it didn't necessarily go well with rumors that there was tension between he and Doncic, as reported by Justin Leger of NBC Sports Boston. Dallas fans probably don't feel the same level of hate for Porzingis, but they might by the end of the series since he is a unique talent that - if truly healthy - could swing the series decidedly in the Celtics favor. 

There's even more:

• If Boston wins, they will break a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most NBA championships with the 18th franchise title.
• Leger of NBC Sports Boston further pointed out that Celtic Al Horford is in his 17th season and would become only the fourth player to win their first title so late in a career.

Should be the beginning of a great series Thursday night and the first thing on my schedule Friday morning is a tee time. Let's do this.

NHL Stanley Cup Finals: Edmonton Oilers vs. Florida Panthers Begins Saturday, June 8

Dan Rosen of NHL.com reports the Florida Panthers, who lost in the Stanley Cup finals last year to the Las Vegas Golden Knights, are the sixth team to return to the finals a year after losing in the final round since the NHL expanded in 1967-68. A victory would net the Panthers their first championship cup. In the Key West Citizen, Tim Reynolds predicted Florida will take the cup due in part to their offensive depth and outstanding goalie play by Sergei Bobrovsky. 

It was only three years ago when a Canadian team played in the Stanley Cup finals when the Montreal Canadians lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-1, but it has been 31 years since a Canadian team won the cup when Montreal beat the Los Angeles Kings, 4-1. That is an incredibly long drought for our neighbors to the north. Jim Biringer of FullPress Hockey.com thinks the defensive emphasis of Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch is just what the offensive-oriented Oilers needed to push them into the finals and potentially, finally bring Lord Stanley's Cup back to Canada. 

If you want to get a feel for the fervor of some Canadian hockey fans, check out the ESPN 30 for 30 I'm Just Here for the Riot. I stumbled across it this week and was only able to watch a portion of it, but it was astonishing. I had no idea. 

D-Day 80th Anniversary

All of the above honestly means nothing in comparison to the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. All of the Medal of Honor recipients from that day have now passed, but a few precious veterans still remain with us. To all who contributed to that great effort, simply, thank you.

An X thread with a letter from 2nd Lieutenant John Keith "Jack" Lundberg of the 534th Bomber Squadron, 381st Bomber Group (Heavy), Eight Air Force, U.S. Army Air Forces to his family is worth the read. May he, and his fellow servicemembers who have left us, rest in peace. Job well done.