Boston, MA
NBA Finals first look: What to watch in Warriors vs. Celtics
After three rounds of upsets, thrillers, blowouts and all the pieces in between, the NBA Finals are right here — and it is a sequence that may pin some acquainted faces in opposition to a gaggle with zero expertise on the league’s greatest stage.
The Golden State Warriors, led by three-time champions Stephen Curry, Draymond Inexperienced and Klay Thompson, are making their sixth Finals look up to now eight seasons. The Boston Celtics, in the meantime, are right here for the primary time since 2010.
Regardless of the offensive strengths of every group, this sequence might be a defensive clinic on each side. That is the primary Finals to characteristic the highest two groups in defensive effectivity since 1996, when the Chicago Bulls defeated the Seattle SuperSonics.
Can Jayson Tatum proceed knocking off future Corridor of Famers within the playoffs? Will Curry lastly seize that elusive NBA Finals MVP award? What are the largest X elements for every group?
Our NBA insiders are breaking down the keys to what must be an exhilarating sequence.
Observe: Collection odds offered by ESPN’s Basketball Energy Index (BPI) and Caesars Sportsbook.
Collection odds and stats:
How they bought right here:
For the primary time since 2019 and the sixth time up to now eight seasons, the Warriors are again within the NBA Finals.
However in contrast to their dynastic run that spanned from 2014 to 2019, this journey to the Finals wasn’t a given. Simply two years in the past, the Warriors had the worst report within the NBA. Final 12 months, they missed the playoffs after shedding each play-in video games.
Klay Thompson missed the primary half of this season as he recovered from consecutive ACL and Achilles tendon accidents; he made his debut in January after a 941-day layoff. However on the day he returned, Draymond Inexperienced went down with a again damage. Inexperienced returned two months later, however only one recreation afterward, Stephen Curry strained a foot and missed the final month of the common season.
The emergence of Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney allowed the Warriors to stay within the prime three within the Western Convention. Within the playoffs, they had been key contributors in getting the Warriors again to the NBA’s grandest stage.
X issue: The well being of Gary Payton II
The Warriors have barely performed with a completely wholesome roster. Andre Iguodala has missed the whole thing of the postseason thus far. Otto Porter Jr. missed three video games. Gary Payton II has been out since early within the second spherical. However these gamers might be reintegrated into group observe this week, and every may very well be an necessary addition to the Warriors’ title hopes.
Particularly Payton.
He emerged this season as a lockdown defender. Early on, he discovered himself rotational minutes by defending opponents’ finest gamers, whether or not it was a wing participant or an enormous; he even tallied a number of blocks on the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic within the common season and playoffs. The best way Payton has improved his offense has garnered him extra minutes from Steve Kerr.
Payton’s efficiency earned him a beginning spot within the Western Convention semifinals earlier than his elbow was fractured on a controversial play with the Memphis Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks.
Payton’s protection might be essential for the Warriors within the Finals. Whereas Golden State is understood for its offense, the Warriors repeatedly preach how their protection kick-starts their scoring. Payton’s presence contained in the paint additionally provides the Warriors extra choices when trying to go small.
Earlier than his damage, Payton was averaging 6.1 factors on 72.7% discipline objective capturing, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 15.9 minutes per recreation through the playoffs.
1:01
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr discusses his group’s expertise forward of the NBA Finals.
Largest weak spot: Turnover troubles
Heading into the convention finals, Kerr joked that he wasn’t mentioning turnovers to his group as a result of it has been its problem for the previous eight years. He does not have to inform his gamers anymore that they should hold these down.
As soon as once more, turnovers have been the Achilles’ heel for the Warriors this postseason. Golden State is averaging 14.8 turnovers per recreation within the playoffs (fifth worst of the 16 postseason groups) for 15.9 factors. That does not sound too unhealthy at face worth, however if you break down the Warriors’ wins and losses thus far, it’s miles extra telling.
Within the Warriors’ 4 losses within the playoffs, they’re averaging 16.3 turnovers for 20.8 factors — the third-most turnovers for the fifth-most factors allowed within the postseason. In wins, they lower that quantity to 14.2 turnovers for 14.3 factors (prime 10 in each classes).
The Warriors know that with their type of play — fast-paced with a lot of ball motion — turnovers are certain to occur. Those they’re targeted on reducing down are those that come off sloppy or lazy passes.
If the Warriors lower down on their turnovers, they are going to be far harder to beat. And if they’re overwhelmed, it will not be as a result of they gave the ball to their opponent.
— Kendra Andrews
Collection odds and stats:
How they bought right here:
In maybe probably the most extremely anticipated first-round matchup, the second-seeded Celtics confronted the seventh-seeded Brooklyn Nets. Probably, the sequence had the chance to go seven video games, with Boston’s dynamic duo of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum going in opposition to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. As a substitute, Boston made fast work of the Nets in a sweep.
Boston adopted that up with seven-game thrillers within the convention semifinals and convention finals. After falling behind 3-2 of their sequence in opposition to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Celtics answered with back-to-back double-digit victories to move into the convention finals with momentum.
In opposition to the top-seeded Miami Warmth, the Celtics fell behind 2-1, however surged again to take a 3-2 lead into Sport 6. Miami defeated the Celtics behind an epic efficiency by Jimmy Butler to ship it to a Sport 7 on South Seashore.
There, the Celtics delivered the ultimate blow, advancing to their twenty second NBA Finals in franchise historical past looking for their NBA-record 18th title.
X issue: Lastly, some relaxation
The largest key for the Celtics heading into the NBA Finals is likely to be their three days off between Sport 7 in opposition to the Warmth and Sport 1 of the Finals.
Boston has endured grueling back-to-back sequence in opposition to the Bucks and Warmth, taking part in each different day since Could 7, after getting three days off following Sport 2 in opposition to Milwaukee.
Marcus Good has handled a quad damage and a sprained ankle within the playoffs. Robert Williams III missed time in April with proper meniscus surgical procedure and has skilled knee soreness because of a bone bruise suffered after a collision with Giannis Antetokounmpo in Sport 3 vs. the Bucks.
Tatum has averaged over 41 minutes per recreation over the previous two sequence. Brown and Al Horford are each over 38 per recreation. All three logged at the least 44 minutes in Sport 7 in opposition to the Warmth.
Merely put, the Celtics may use a couple of days off.
Golden State, in the meantime, hasn’t needed to play in a Sport 7 this postseason and dispatched the Dallas Mavericks in 5 video games. The Warriors will find yourself with every week off between video games as soon as the Finals begin Thursday evening.
0:27
Jayson Tatum is called the inaugural Larry Chook Jap Convention finals MVP.
Largest weak spot: Are the lights too brilliant?
Boston’s collective postseason inexperience revealed itself down the stretch in a number of video games over the previous two rounds.
After going 4-0 in video games that included clutch time (outlined by the NBA as a span within the remaining 5 minutes or extra time wherein the lead is inside 5 factors) in opposition to the Brooklyn Nets, Boston went 2-4 in such video games in opposition to the Bucks and Warmth. A type of video games was Sunday’s Sport 7, wherein a missed Jimmy Butler 3-pointer may have resulted in a historic collapse.
The Celtics have thrived this postseason when they’re able to soar out to large leads and smother opponents with their league-leading protection.
This Celtics roster enters the Finals with zero video games of Finals expertise, whereas Golden State has 123. Based on ESPN Stats & Data analysis, that is simply the third Finals in NBA historical past wherein one group has had 100-plus video games of expertise whereas the opposite group had zero, and the primary time since 1997 (Bulls 134, Utah Jazz 0).
Nonetheless, inexperience did not cease Boston from turning an under-.500 midseason report right into a Finals berth, turning into the primary group to do it for the reason that 1980-81 Rockets, per ESPN Stats and Data. It did not deter the Celtics from romping via the primary spherical or battling again in opposition to the Bucks or profitable a highway Sport 7 within the Jap Convention finals.
However these are the Warriors, who’re very a lot wanting like the Warriors. If the Celtics need title No. 18, they’re going to have to ensure their lack of Finals expertise does not turn out to be an element on the largest stage.
— Andrew Lopez
Collection key: How Golden State handles a switch-heavy protection
Golden State managed to succeed in the NBA Finals with out dealing with a group that likes to modify on protection. Not one of the Warriors’ three West opponents (Denver, Memphis or Dallas) had been within the prime half of the league in frequency of switching on-ball screens through the common season, per Second Spectrum monitoring. And whereas the Mavericks, specifically, began switching extra over the course of their sequence in opposition to the Warriors, Golden State nonetheless ranks ninth among the many 16 playoff groups in how usually opponents have switched in opposition to them (31.5% of the time) through the playoffs, based on Second Spectrum.
That is about to vary in an enormous approach. No different group switched extra incessantly than the Celtics through the common season, they usually rank second in frequency (44%) thus far through the playoffs.
In concept, switching most screens can take the Warriors out of the free-flowing offense they like to play. Consider how the Houston Rockets grounded Golden State’s offense down at instances within the 2018 convention finals, holding them under 95 factors in back-to-back wins in Video games 4 and 5. The Warriors had a mixed 32 assists in these video games, a slight uptick over what they averaged per recreation the earlier spherical in opposition to the New Orleans Pelicans (30.8).
Not like again in 2018, Golden State not has a singular isolation participant like Kevin Durant to hunt mismatches in opposition to a switch-heavy protection. Nonetheless, the Warriors have additionally confronted switches usually sufficient within the postseason to have developed a strong menu of choices in opposition to them, beginning with Curry’s skill to maneuver with out the ball and Inexperienced’s ability choosing aside defensive errors.
These traits had been on full show throughout Golden State’s closeout win over Dallas, which switched 63% of the Warriors’ on-ball screens in Sport 5 per Second Spectrum — probably the most of any Warriors playoff recreation. That did not stop them from handing out 36 assists, the second most in a recreation throughout these playoffs. Curry and Inexperienced had 9 apiece.
On the identical time, Golden State completed that in opposition to a group that hardly ever converted the course of the common season and playoffs. Now, the Warriors will face a well-drilled switching assault that does so from a place of power relatively than weak spot. How nicely they deal with switches will go a good distance towards figuring out the result of the Finals.
— Kevin Pelton
Summertime and the living is, well, complex, and dark, and also bright and joyous. So why not spin two new LPs to match the many moods of the season?
“Good Together,” Lake Street Dive
Yacht rock is made by earnest artists who can do sophisticated, jazzy rock but would rather make sunny, summery, buoyant pop in the vein of Motown, the Brill Building, and the pre-1966 Beatles. Lake Street Dive isn’t yacht rock, but the band plays with those same elements: sincere songwriting made by musicians with jazz chops and a delicious pop bounce.
The difference — and you can hear this all over new album “Good Together” — is that Lake Street Dive aren’t falsely sunny. The quintet’s sunshine is earned by climbing over pain, chaos, and our maddening modern moment.
The ex-Boston band hasn’t lost a step since lineup shuffles brought singer-songwriter-keyboardist Akie Bermiss in 2017 and guitarist James Cornelison into the fold. In many ways, the group is tighter: see a title track that could be the Jackson 5 at its “I Want You Back” best. Actually, the whole first side bumps with soulful, funky, stomping Top 40, even when the lyrics are more introspective than triumphant.
The flip side bumps too, but Lake Street Dive shows its depth as it slows down. In “Seats at the Bar,” the band has written the world’s first great love song about skipping sitting at a two top. “Twenty Five” presents a lost relationship not as tragedy but as happy memory.
The album closes with its one grand song, maybe just to prove this band can do it all: “Set Sail (Prometheus & Eros)” is an epic duet like something that could end an arty blockbuster musical, or end any dark and bright summer.
“Born in the USA,” Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen crashed the summer of ’84 40 years ago with an album that split the difference between America’s deep anxieties and its simple pleasures. Like Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life” and Bob Marley’s “Exodus” before it, “Born in the USA” runs through a staggering range of electric emotions and big ideas that, when totaled, document a time and place.
The recently reissued LP is bookended by the chronically misunderstood title track about Vietnam vets abandoned by their country and “My Hometown,” about a town with a legacy of racial violence and a future of dying economic prospects. Between the anger and gloom, Springsteen presents narrators burning for love — one desperate to reclaim a relationship that ain’t coming back (“Downbound Train”), another looking for a respite from pain through sexual salvation (“I’m on Fire”).
But along with disappointment and desperation, these small-town (and so often, small-time) men often come with gleeful-if-misplaced optimism. In the goofy, hooky, endless fun of “Darlington County,” there’s “me and Wayne on the Fourth of July” looking to use $200 and promises that their dad owns the World Trade Center to score dates. No song has lyrics that scream middle-aged angst with music that shouts louder that life is a blast like “Glory Days.” And “Dancing in the Dark” is such a perfect pop song it put a 35-year-old into the charts next to 20-somethings like Madonna and Prince.
“Born in the USA” is the sound of the summer for those who can dance even as they admit their lives and their country is a mess.
Boston, MA
‘The Fourth of July in Boston is the best place to be’: Massachusetts NASA astronaut calls the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular from space
Needham native Suni Williams should have been home from the International Space Station by now, but despite still being in orbit, the NASA astronaut made an early call to the Esplanade for the Fourth.
“Hi, everybody! I’m so happy to be here,” Williams said in a call with Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart. “The Fourth of July in Boston is the best place to be. It’s where it all started.”
The call came in around 12:45 p.m., less than an hour after gates opened for the 50th Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular.
Thousands of people from near and far – decked out in America’s colors – trickled in throughout the day, packing the oval in front of the Hatch Shell and banks of the Charles River hours before the patriotic concert and display.
Williams called Lockhart alongside her five crewmates – all Americans – on the ISS. And even above the atmosphere, the Fourth of July provided a special meaning for the astronauts.
“We are having a lot of fun, being able to sleep in a little because it’s a holiday. We’re all Americans so …,” Williams said before the crew sang America the Beautiful.
Williams and crewmate Butch Wilmore on Tuesday climbed into Starliner at the ISS and worked with flight controllers and engineers during a power-up of the spacecraft, according to Boeing.
This week marks the fourth that Wiliams and Wilmore have been in orbit. The pair took off on a test drive of Boeing’s new capsule on June 5, and at the time, they expected to head home from the ISS in a week or so.
But equipment problems and helium leaks popped up on their way there, calling off three potential landing dates and putting their return flight on hold.
“I want to make it very clear that Butch and Suni are not stranded in space,” NASA’s commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said last week.
Williams and Wilmore can stay docked at the ISS through the end of July, while Boeing continues to test the Starliner.
Despite what could be an uneasy situation, Williams and her crewmates were in good spirits Thursday, with the Needham native looking forward to finding out whether she could see the fireworks from space.
“This is my first Fourth of July up in space so I am excited to stay up a little bit later, take a nap … and try to see them.”
A crewmate added: “Everything looks like fireworks when you’re up here.”
Lockhart, speaking with reporters, called conducting the Boston Pops on the Fourth a “great responsibility and a great honor.” This is his 29th year leading the show.
While Lockhart said he’s looked to “keep traditions alive” such as Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, the concert sees slight alterations each year.
“Somehow we try to make it reflective of America,” he said, “which is difficult this year because America is in a very strange place. … But we are trying to keep it light and hopeful and seek commonalities which is what this day is all about.”
Lou Spelios showed up at 3 a.m., nine hours before gates opened at noon – a tradition for the Back Bay resident. After reading about and watching the annual celebration on television since his childhood, he learned showing up before the crack of dawn is required to get a close seat.
“I love this concert,” Spelios told the Herald. “I love what it stands for – choice and our ability to function independently. That’s what we celebrate, just being able to control our own destiny.”
After wet and wild weather interrupted the festivities for several hours before the skies cleared last year, Thursday featured similar muggy conditions with oppressive humidity.
Camilla Erices, a native of Chile, and her boyfriend Adam Provost, of Springfield, came out for their first Fourth at the Esplanade.
“It’s been awesome,” Erices, of Haverhill, said of living in America and celebrating the nation’s 248th birthday in Boston. “I’ve been having a great experience. I’ve been living here for the past three years, but honestly, I have nothing bad to say.”
Provost said he has been trying to visit “all of the nation’s original hotspots” for the holiday including Washington, D.C., New York City, and Philadelphia. Being in Boston, he said he felt like he was “reliving history.”
“I just feel proud,” Provost said of being an American. “I feel safe, I go home and feel safe each night, and I know a lot of people don’t get that, and I am glad I do.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report
The Boston Bruins will kick off their 2024-25 season on September 22nd with an exciting slate of seven preseason matchups against four different teams. The first of which will occur vs. one of the best teams in the NHL last season, the New York Rangers, at 5 PM on September 22nd.
While the Rangers may not bring their top players to this matchup, and there is a good chance the Bruins won’t either, the game could be a way for fans to see some of the more fringe players in action. That said, the Bruins and Rangers will meet again on September 26th in New York with a 7 PM start time, and there is a good chance that this game could feature a better preview of what to expect in a regular season that should see both teams as among the most competitive in the Eastern Conference.
On September 24th and October 5th at 7 PM and 5 PM, respectively, the Bruins will face the Washington Capitals, with the game on the 24th occurring at home and the preseason finale on the road. We know the Capitals were that “just happy to be there” playoff team last year, but that shouldn’t be the case in 2024-25. For one of these two games, expect the Bruins to play those “new-look” Capitals best squads.
The Bruins tour against the Metropolitan Division will continue in back-to-back preseason matchups against the Philadelphia Flyers on September 28th on the road and October 1st at home, with both games taking place at 7 PM. Philadelphia nearly became that final playoff team last year, and this season, we don’t know what to expect from them, but the Bruins will likely get a good idea in one of these two matchups.
Boston will also play the Los Angeles Kings at 7 PM on October 3rd at a neutral site, and LA is a team looking to find more consistency in 2024-25. The Kings did finish third in the Pacific last season, but it didn’t come without a coaching change and some major highs and lows last season.
Overall, we’re mainly seeing the Bruins get a small tour of the Metropolitan Division, featuring a powerhouse team in the Rangers, an organization that made a lot of moves in the offseason in the Washington Capitals, and a potential up-and-coming organization like the Flyers.
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