Jason Cooke
Connector Editor
It may very well be the best time of the year in New England.
Sorry, Patriots fans, perhaps except for you.
Professional sports are in full swing, with the Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins and Fleet all underway in important times of their respective seasons.
Just look at last Sunday’s slate, which consisted of the Celtics opening the playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers (1 p.m.), the Red Sox hosting the Detroit Tigers (4:35 p.m.) and the Bruins kicking off their postseason in Buffalo with the Sabres (7:30 p.m.).
We can expect the docket to look like that for the next few weeks, especially given deep postseason runs anticipated for both the Celtics and the Bruins. The Fleet, playing its home games at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, will also begin postseason play shortly.
Don’t forget about Marathon Monday, either. The buzz around Boston as a sports city is at its peak. And sure, I guess Patriots fans do have the NFL Draft to look forward to when the first round gets underway on Thursday.
It’s certainly an exciting time, and here are the three things to watch over the next few weeks.
1. Can Red Sox gain traction?
I know, the Red Sox will be put on the back burner for the majority of Boston sports fans for the foreseeable future, and rightfully so. As of Sunday morning, the Red Sox are 8-12 and are struggling to find any sort of identity amid a discouraging start.
Pitching and defense. Does that sound familiar? It’s the tune echoed by Red Sox brass when it failed to retain Alex Bregman and whiffed on Pete Alonso and a myriad of other targets in free agency. How is that going so far?
The Red Sox rank 21st in Major League Baseball in team ERA (4.26) and have committed the sixth-most errors in the league (14).
It’s April, but not a hot start for the defense-first Red Sox.
2. The Celtics are title contenders
Many thought it would be a gap year.
But title pursuit is in full swing on Causeway Street.
The Celtics opened up the playoffs with the 76ers on Sunday afternoon, but the results were not known as of press time. But anything short of a Celtics win in five games would come as a shock.
The Celtics netted 56 wins after an impressive takeover from Jaylen Brown and a supporting cast of previously unheralded depth pieces. Brown canned 28.7 points per game this season and was a legitimate MVP candidate.
And with Jayson Tatum back into the mix — the star has averaged an impressive 21.8 points per game since returning from an Achilles injury — the Celtics look to be the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.
3. Bruins can make a run
They didn’t exactly enter the playoffs with a chock full of momentum, but the Bruins could make some noise in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Sabres, Boston’s first-round opponent, are in the playoffs for the first time since 2011. But don’t be fooled by Buffalo’s history of bleakness.
The Sabres will be a tough out. The good news for the Bruins is they fared very well against Buffalo this year (3-1-0) and will look to utilize their physicality and goaltending to keep them afloat into the second round. Prediction: Bruins in six.
