They get about 30 seconds a night on TV news if they’re lucky.
Here it is, a week before Christmas and the Bruins and Celtics are still fighting for what’s left on the table once the Patriots get done feasting.
Nothing against the Patriots. They’ve given us a gift of a season, regardless of what happened last Sunday against the Buffalo Bills. And if they lose to Baltimore this Sunday night, that would still make them 11-4.
Considering most of us figured they might be 4-11 at this point (raise your hands, all of you; I’ll go first), that’s darn good. We shouldn’t complain. Let THEM worry about it all. We should just enjoy it.
But for all that, it’s not fair to sleep on either the Bruins or the Celtics. As Christmas beckons, both teams have acquitted themselves far better than anyone had a right to hope. Especially the Spoked B’s.
I must admit: I love piling on the Bruins’ front office. General Manager Don Sweeney has made some terrible deals — in my estimation — that keep getting in the way of sustained success.
Allowing Brad Marchand to leave is one . . .
And what a thrill it was to see “Marchy” hoist the Stanley Cup last June . . . NOT.
To be fair, Sweeney has the same problem as Red Sox GM Craig Breslow: His owner’s wallet releases moths whenever he opens it. Breslow and Sweeney race to the bargain basement rack every day.
When this season began, I seriously entertained thoughts that the Bruins might go 0-82. One reason is they seemed to put themselves into a situation where they’d need every one of those 33 goals Morgan Geekie (GREAT name) scored last year — and then some.
And I wasn’t sure he was up to it. Second, Marco Sturm seemed OK when he was introduced to the team as the new head coach, and that just about summed him up always. He wasn’t horrible. He wasn’t great. Just OK.
The problem is that I thought the Bruins, who mailed it in last season, basically, needed a real fire-breather back there. A Pat Burns-Mike Keenen type. Sturm seemed to be a dreaded “players’ coach,” not to mention something you’d find on clearance.
Well, I guess I was wrong twice. Sturm has been better than OK. He can get passionate. He can find the verb. He has the Bruins at 40 points in a crowded Atlantic Division.
As for Geekie, he already has 24 goals and seems poised to eclipse last year’s total. The Bruins needed that second scorer after David Pastrnak, especially when “Pasta” got hurt.
Sturm navigated the Bruins around two pretty tough injuries: Charlie McAvoy and Pastrnak. That’s encouraging.
Let’s turn our attention to the Celtics.
I had better expectations for them — such as an outside shot to make the NBA playoffs. However, a lot of things had to go right. One of them was Jaylen Brown. Check that box. Brown, with the spotlight all to himself, has been wonderful. So much so that when Jayson Tatum comes back from his Achilles injury, that should be some tandem.
But this isn’t a one-man team. GM Brad Stevens, who has made as many good moves as Sweeney bad ones, picked up a guy named Derrick White a few years back, and all he’s done is outplay just about every guard he’s faced. By now, it’s obvious that landing White has been a steal of Red Auerbachian proportions.
Payton Pritchard is also a certified bombardier.
The Celtics aren’t perfect. They could use more size. Well, who couldn’t?
But for all they got out of Kristaps Porzingis last year, they’re breaking even. (Did you see Porzingis, now playing for Atlanta, is out for two weeks?)
They’re also not spectacular at closing out games — a problem the Patriots seem to have, too. I don’t know how you develop the mental attitude that you don’t let up on the gas, but both teams better find it.
Neither the B’s or C’s are built to win a title. Actually, I’m not betting on the Patriots either. But considering that I figured on it being a very quiet (or to put it another way: long) winter, it appears as if we might see some spring hockey and hoops that matter.
