https://youtube.com/watch?v=ysRwM9oqgiY
The Boston Celtics have won two straight games in their playoff matchup with the New York Knicks, but still trail the series 3-2. That's not stopping ESPN from invoking comparisons to the Yankees-Red Sox ALCS in 2004, when the Red Sox rallied back from a 3-0 deficit to win the series and later, the World Series.
On Thursday's SportsCenter, ESPN dragged in MLB analyst Curt Schilling to break down the series. Now, put aside the obvious ridiculousness of a baseball analyst talking about a basketball series. Comparing the two series is really only justified for two reasons: the cities involved, and the fact that the Knicks led the series 3-0 just like the Yankees did eight and a half years ago.
The 2004 Yankees and Red Sox had the two best records in the American League. The 2012-13 Knicks were the second best team in the East, miles behind the Heat, and the Celtics finished one game above .500, sleepwalking their way into the playoffs. The Celtics' 14 point loss in game three was also not anywhere near as ugly as the Red Sox' 11 run loss in game three of the ALCS. And remember: this is the first round of the playoffs. If the Celtics end up winning the series, they still need to win *three* more series to end up as champions. The '04 Red Sox just needed to win one more series, and they had to do it against a Cardinals team that was similarly dragged to a seven game series by the Astros.
If the Bruins end up playing the Rangers in the next round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, I wouldn't be shocked if ESPN dragged in Schilling to analyze the series once again. Hopefully it doesn't come to that, though.
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