Boston, MA
Boston Celtics in 6 games over the Dallas Mavericks: What to watch for in the NBA Finals
Mavericks, Celtics clash in 2024 NBA Finals
The 2024 NBA Finals are set. Will Jayson Tatum and the Celtics surpass the Lakers for most titles won, or will Luka and the Mavs bring home Dallas’ first championship since 2011?
Sports Seriously
The Boston Celtics should win this year’s NBA Finals over the Dallas Mavericks.
Led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, they have the league’s best record.
The Celtics are the best 3-point shooting team in terms of makes and boast one of the top defenses led by two NBA All-Defensive selections in Derrick White and Jrue Holiday.
They just have one problem. Well, two – Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
Those two can break down any defense and close the close games like no others in the NBA.
I’m still predicting the Celtics to win in six games, but it should be a great series that begins Thursday in Boston at 5:30 p.m. (Arizona time), on ABC. Love the coaching matchup between Joe Mazzulla, the 35-year-old coaching wiz, and Jason Kidd, one of the all-time greats as an NBA player who is proving he also can coach at the highest level.
Here are five things to watch in the finals:
Pick-and-roll defense
Holiday, White, Brown and Tatum enable Boston to switch on the perimeter, but Holiday and Brown also take pride in guarding their man through the screen.
Interested in seeing who takes on the challenge of guarding Doncic and Irving. Thinking White checks Irving and Holiday guards Doncic when looking at the size Dallas has with P.J. Washington and Derrick Jones Jr., but maybe Boston decides to put White on, say, Jones Jr. and has Brown guard Doncic.
However, the Mavs will target Kristaps Porzingis, who is returning from a right calf strain suffered in Game 4 of Boston’s first round series against Miami, and Al Horford, who struggles at times defending the pick-and-roll.
It’s tough enough guarding Doncic and Irving one-on-one, but if they’re able to play downhill with Porzingis and Horford being the last line of defense, uh oh. Boston must present consistent perimeter resistance whether it’s trapping Doncic or Irving, ball denial or just straight up man-to-man defense.
If the 3 isn’t falling
Boston not only led the NBA in 3-pointers made per game in the regular season at 16.5, but also in attempts at 42.5. They’re the only team in the league to hoist 40-plus.
Nothing has changed in the postseason. The Celtics once again are first in the playoffs in made 3s at 14.6 and launched ones at 39.8, but they failed to reach those numbers in their two postseason defeats.
Game 2 vs. Miami (L, 108-101) – 12-of-32 from 3.
Game 2 vs. Cleveland (L, 118-94) – 8-of-35 from 3.
The Mavericks were 18th in defensive rating in the regular season at 114.9, as teams shot 36.8% against them from 3. They’ve improved those numbers in the playoffs – seventh (out of 16 teams) in defensive rating at 111.1 with opponents connecting on 35.6% of their 3s.
Can the Mavs continue that trend against the NBA’s top 3-point team?
Tatum settling?
Boston generates great catch-and-shoot looks off ball movement, but takes its share off the bounce starting with Tatum. He has a frequency of 11.3 on 3s with zero dribbles and 9.9 on seven-plus dribbles.
He’s shooting 25% from deep in both cases.
Tatum has taken 274 shots in the playoffs with 100 coming from 3. He’s only made 29 of those 3s, but the All-NBA first team selection is a career 37.5% shooter from deep.
Being 6-8 with handles, Tatum could be just as much as a matchup problem for Dallas as Irving and Doncic will be for Boston. He’s attempting 7.9 free throws in the playoffs, the most of any player in the finals. An attacking Tatum is a problem, but it’s on him to consistently have that mentality.
Extra motivation
Brown is considered Tatum’s Robin.
No worries. The Celtics know how important he is, but not making All-NBA has Brown in even more of a show-and-prove mode.
Now, that can work in two ways. Brown can either come out and play his best basketball or try to do too much at the expense of the team and turning the ball over.
Winning Eastern Conference Finals MVP brings him some validation. Winning an NBA championship will add to that, but there’s a fine line between wanting to answer doubters and playing your role.
Brown’s approach to the series is just as important as how he plays in it.
Which role players will step up?
Holiday is the first name that comes to mind. He’s not only won an NBA title, but Holiday provides what is required of him to help the Celtics.
Defend one game. Score the next. Hit the open shot.
For Dallas, Daniel Gafford and rookie Dereck Lively II are lob threats on offense, but they must defend the paint to the point the Celtics, particularly Brown, aren’t getting straight-line drives to the rim.
It’s not always about blocking the shot. Altering them is just as effective.
One more – Doncic time
He made All-NBA first team for a fifth consecutive time after leading the NBA in scoring this season at 33.9 points a game. Finished third in the MVP voting.
Hit the most exciting shot of the playoffs in Game 2 at Minnesota – an icy, mean-mugging stepback 3 over now four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, 7-footer Rudy Gobert, with three seconds left to complete a comeback win and give Dallas a 2-0 series lead in the Western Conference Finals.
The word ‘superstar’ is used too loosely these days, but Doncic is one of them in the league. He controls pace without having tremendous speed or quickness, facilitates, rebounds and delivers in the clutch.
The only thing he’s not is an NBA champion.
Doncic is four wins away from that surrounded by his best collection of teammates since coming into the NBA with the best version of Irving on a redemption tour to show how great of a player he is.
Boston isn’t going to give him the championship. Doncic is going to have to earn it.
That’s what the greatest ones have done. It’s on you, Luka. Make it happen.
Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.
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Boston, MA
Boston University students protest ICE Allston Car Wash raid that BU student claims he started
A protest was held at Boston University Monday night after a student there claimed his tip led to an immigration raid at the Allston Car Wash last week.
The attorney for the nine employees who were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said three had posted bail on Monday, but none of them had been released.
Video of the incident on November 4 showed ICE agents pull up to the car wash, put the employees in handcuffs and take them away.
“They were asked basically, ‘Do you have any id or documents?’ and when they said ‘Yes, it’s in our lockers,’ they were thrown in the vans and handcuffed and driven away by 22 agents with masks over their faces,” the workers’ attorney, Todd Pomerleau, told WBZ-TV.
Zac Segal statement
Three days later, Zac Segal, president of the BU College Republicans, posted a message online, saying, “I’ve been calling ICE for months on end. This week they finally responded to my request to detain these criminals. As someone who lives in the neighborhood, I’ve seen how American jobs are being given away to those with no right to be here.”
Those comments set off a social media firestorm and Monday’s protest on campus. WBZ has reached out to Segal several times in the last week, but he has not returned any requests for comment.
“This may be naive to say but I was very surprised that this kind of energy would come out of a Boston University student. It was just really disheartening and shocking to me,” said BU employee Olivia Maliszewski, who attended the rally.
Homeland Security rejects “silly rumor”
A spokesperson for Homeland Security said Segal wasn’t the reason for the raid. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called it “a targeted immigration enforcement operation.”
“The operation was highly targeted and relied on law enforcement intelligence-not your silly rumor,” she said in a statement.
Boston University statement
BU President Melissa Gilliam said the school has “had many concerns raised by our campus community and neighbors” about Segal’s post.
“We must affirm the dignity and worth of all people. Too often, we fail to see one another’s full humanity, overlooking the rich complexity and unique gifts each person brings. When we focus only on differences-skin color, political views-we risk fostering division and pain where there should be unity and understanding,” she said in a statement.
Pomerleau said the nine employees were detained illegally without due process. They range in age from 19 to 67. One woman was taken into custody on her 45th birthday, according to Pomerleau. He said they’re immigrants from Guatemala, Columbia, Honduras and El Salvador and added that many of them have work visas.
“Three entered under the Biden administration, four were gotaways at the border, one entered illegally under W. Bush, and another overstayed his visa which expired under President Clinton,” McLaughlin said.
Allston Car Wash statement
Over the weekend, the car wash issued its first statement following the raid.
“At no point did this individual contact us, speak with management, or inquire about our employees or operations. Publicly labeling our workforce as “criminals” without any knowledge of who they are is reckless and distressing,” a spokesperson said of Segal’s comment.
“Our employees are good, hardworking individuals who come to work each day to provide for themselves and their families. We take pride in creating a workplace where people are treated with dignity and respect. Many employees have worked with us for years and in some cases decades.”
Boston, MA
Boston’s Michelin restaurants will be announced tomorrow. Here’s what to know. – The Boston Globe
The Michelin Guide will announce the restaurants included in its Northeast Cities edition on Nov. 18, at a ceremony at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.
For the first time, the guide includes Boston and Philadelphia. The other cities in the Northeast category are Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Michelin chooses which restaurants to include by sending anonymous inspectors out into the region. In addition to awarding one, two, and three stars to restaurants, it offers designations such as Bib Gourmand, recognizing good quality food that is a good value (in other words, places the inspectors like to eat when they’re off the clock), and a green star for sustainability.
Three star restaurants are extremely rare; among the handful in the United States, Alinea, Inn at Little Washington, and Masa all just lost their third star. Demoted to two, they remain in rarefied company. There are only about three dozen two-star restaurants in this country. Boston is likelier to see one star and Bib Gourmand awards for this year’s guide.
The guide’s presence is subsidized by local tourism boards. According to a Globe story, tourism marketing bureau Meet Boston declined to share the price tag for Michelin’s attention to this area, “but a person briefed on the matter indicated that the three-year partnership costs just over $1 million.”
Previously, Visit California reportedly paid Michelin $600,000 to expand its reach statewide. The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau spent $1 million. Colorado tourism boards and resort companies joined forces, paying $70,000 to $100,000 each for consideration, according to The New York Times.
Which Boston restaurants are likely to receive Michelin accolades?
Establishments that have garnered national attention will naturally be on inspectors’ radars. For example, Italian restaurants La Padrona and Pammy’s, Thai stunner Mahaniyom, and Jamie Bissonnette’s ode to Korean cuisine, Somaek, have all received recent mention in The New York Times.
O Ya, the little sushi omakase restaurant with a big reputation near South Station, has been a frequent speculative mention. Michelin has favored omakase spots in other markets: 311 and Wa Shin might also be among the contenders. Places with ambitious tasting menus — Asta, Mooncusser — could have similar draw. And perhaps nowhere has a more ambitious tasting menu than Nightshade Noodle Bar, offering up to 30 courses from chef-owner Rachel Miller. If this Vietnamese- and French-influenced ode to risk-taking and creativity isn’t a Michelin contender, what is?
That’s a question that’s hard to answer without knowing how Michelin thinks about excellence in 2025. Does the guide seek out time-tested stalwarts like Harvest and Oleana, deeply local neighborhood joints like Brassica and Urban Hearth, places that embody the terroir of the region (in our case, that would be seafood spots like oysters bars Neptune and Select), places with unique points of view that tell some kind of personal story, or all of the above?
Boston restaurants and diners will find out Nov. 18.
The Michelin Guide is a game changer for Boston
These Boston restaurants might fly under the radar, but they still deserve a nod from Michelin
Which Boston restaurants will get Michelin stars?
Devra First can be reached at devra.first@globe.com. Follow her on Instagram @devrafirst.
Boston, MA
Fund-raising philanthropist Susan Hurley, who died at 62, was Boston’s marathon woman – The Boston Globe
And then there was her personal approach to preparing first-time marathoners to toe the starting line. Over the years she took thousands of runners on countless miles of training runs leading up to Boston Marathon day.
“It’s fun,” she said in an interview posted on YouTube. “I mean, this is what I live for. I want to see people succeed. This is life-changing for them to be able to run a marathon and be inspired by a charity and earn their spot at the starting line that way. For them, it’s the Super Bowl of running.”
Ms. Hurley, who helped raise her final millions while running her last two Boston Marathons after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer, died Nov. 1. She was 62 and lived in North Andover.
“I always love to be known as Boston’s biggest cheerleader,” Ms. Hurley, a cheerleader in high school and later for the New England Patriots, said in the 2020 YouTube interview with Thom Gilligan, founder and chief executive of Marathon Tours & Travel.
Trading football field sidelines for road racecourses, she cheered on year after year of runners, even while running in the marathons herself.
“In addition to being everyone’s cheerleader, she was everyone’s mom. She really cared about all her runners,” said Sarah Wessmann, team captain and a member of each year’s marathon contingent for Last Call Foundation. The charity, inspired by the heroic life and line-of-duty death in 2014 of her then-fiancé, Boston firefighter Michael Kennedy, funds education and research to advance firefighter safety.
Near the end of each Boston Marathon, Ms. Hurley’s son Ryan McGillivray recalled, she could be spotted with her arm around the waist of another runner — helping a member of her charity team or even a stranger whose strength was fading.
From the beginning of marathon preparations, Ms. Hurley stressed that all runners should have “their Boylston Street moment, hearing the crowd roar and seeing the finish line in the distance, and the happiness that brings,” said Ryan, who lives in Wrentham and is vice president of operations for DMSE Sports, the event management firm founded by his father, Dave McGillivray.
During weeks of training runs, Ms. Hurley helped newcomers prepare for the vagaries of the potentially punishing weather, and for the constancy of Heartbreak Hill.
In February she would hold the fund-raising “Superhero 17” – a 17-mile run along the marathon course in which participants ran dressed as superheroes, their merriment a distraction from the arduous training workout.
And Ms. Hurley “didn’t just run the marathon. She had you learn about the course and the history and why things matter,” said Wessmann, who was among the runners Ms. Hurley helped train.
Ms. Hurley made sure runners knew about legendary Olympian Johnny Kelley, who completed the Boston Marathon nearly 60 times. She led training runs to Kelley’s statue in Newton so everyone could pay their respects.
“It’s a cliché,” Wessmann said, “but she really did put the fun in fund-raising.”
The third of four sisters, Susan Ann Hurley was born on April 8, 1963, and grew up in North Reading.
Her mother, Sylvia Bidmead Hurley, was a real estate title examiner, and her father, James Hurley, was assistant register at Middlesex Family and Probate Court.
A cheerleading squad champion at North Reading High School, Ms. Hurley became a runner early on.
“I started running when I used to miss the bus in high school and I haven’t stopped,” she told Boston Magazine just before the 2013 marathon. “I’m proud to say I am a person who has worked out her whole life and never stopped and rarely missed a day.”
Ms. Hurley, who attended Emerson College, formerly was married to Dave McGillivray, with whom she had two sons, Ryan and Max.
She was as enthusiastic a mother as she was training runners and raising millions, said Max, who lives in Los Angeles.
“Energetic doesn’t even cover it,” he said. “Her energy, her light, her celebratory nature was just infectious. Everyone will say it: she was a cheerleader in every sense of the word.”
Ms. Hurley found ways to make the marathon experience possible for participants facing a wide variety of hurdles, from spinal cord injuries to living without homes.
“The list goes on and on,” Max said, “and no person, in my eyes, was ever turned away from her light.”
Russell Hoyt, president and chief executive of Team Hoyt and the Hoyt Foundation, said Ms. Hurley was instrumental in helping the family organizations expand their reach and ensure their legacy after the deaths of his father, Dick Hoyt, and brother, Rick Hoyt, who had pioneered duo wheelchair road racing.
Russell said Ms. Hurley helped the organizations reach beyond the Boston Marathon to other major events, and to launch the Dick and Judy Hoyt “Yes You Can” inclusion grants, named for his parents, to assist families in getting their children with disabilities included in activities alongside non-disabled peers.
“Sue helped us do something new and more powerful,” Hoyt said, adding that “she was the type of person who made you want to be a better person yourself, just by spending time with her.”
A service has been held for Ms. Hurley, who in addition to her two sons, mother, and former husband leaves three sisters, Lisa First of Alvin, Texas, Mary of Norfolk, and Cheryl Cuoco of Wrentham; her fiancé, Barry Foland of Owings Mills, Md.; and three stepchildren, Elle, Luke, and Chloe McGillivray, all of North Andover.
In August, Ms. Hurley spoke at the opening of Gronk Playground on the Charles River Esplanade, which was funded by her friend Rob Gronkowski, the former star New England Patriots tight end.
Gronkowski was overcome with emotion more than once, speaking a few feet away from where she sat next to Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
When it was her turn to speak, Ms. Hurley thanked Gronkowski for his philanthropy and floated an idea: “Can we just make it official and sign him for a day so he can retire a Patriot?”
Several days after she died, Kraft and Gronkowski announced they would honor her wish.
On Instagram, Gronkowski wrote that “her strength and resilience were truly inspirational,” and added that “without Susan, there would be no Gronk Playground.”
In a CBS Boston interview posted on YouTube in 2023, a year after she was diagnosed, Ms. Hurley was back to her energetic pace, managing 500 runners and pushing that year’s fund-raising past the $4 million mark.
The cancer diagnosis had come as a shock, she said. A doctor broke the news a day after she had completed a 17-mile training run. In that interview, she was grateful for a reprieve treatment had brought.
“It is a miracle. I believe it’s God’s hand,” she said. “I really, truly, truly believe that there is a plan for me and I’m not ready to leave this planet and leave this earth. There’s work for me to do here.”
Bryan Marquard can be reached at bryan.marquard@globe.com.
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