BOSTON — The Celtics are only one win shy from putting the bow on prime of their elite 2023-24 marketing campaign as NBA champions, which brings again recollections for Crimson Sox skipper Alex Cora.
Six years in the past, debuting on the helm in Boston, Cora managed a Crimson Sox staff that completed the common season with an MLB-best 108 wins. That additionally set a franchise report and concurrently established the massive sneakers to fill for a membership that — on the time — hadn’t received a World Sequence in 5 years.
Wanting again at Boston’s 11-3 postseason run earlier than mobbing the mound at Dodger Stadium in celebration of the group’s ninth championship, Cora sees a similarity with this version of the Celtics.
“They’re very constant in what they do and we felt the identical means (in 2018),” Cora mentioned earlier than Sunday’s matchup in opposition to the Yankees. “The expectations had been to win the World Sequence; identical as these guys. The expectation is to win the entire thing. If not, it was a nasty yr.”
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When evaluating the 2018 Crimson Sox to the 2023-24 Celtics, who additionally completed with an NBA-best 64 wins within the common season, the similarities prolong past data. The entrance workplace introduced in J.D. Martinez and eventual World Sequence heroes Nathan Eovaldi and Steve Pearce midseason, giving the membership a mixture of stardom and depth. As for the Celtics, Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Vacation had been launched within the offseason, supplementing the Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown tandem in a large number of the way.
The Celtics haven’t misplaced greater than twice consecutively, and that’s continued all through the playoffs. Only a few occasions have they been outplayed past being aggressive, and most significantly, the staff’s selfless playstyle has been contagious and efficient.
Not are the eyes directed solely on Tatum and Brown as a result of the All-Star duo isn’t the start and finish of the place the Celtics have arrived.
“You bought the star gamers, proper? However then the position gamers are actually good,” Cora mentioned. “Individuals suppose that we had eight guys enjoying and that was it, proper? We had a platoon behind the plate, a platoon at first, a platoon at second, at third. Then we had the three outfielders.
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“You encompass the superstars with good, strong position gamers, good issues are gonna occur.”
Cora, who’s been attentive to the Celtics and their run to the NBA Finals in opposition to the Mavericks, burdened the significance of depth. Like guard Derrick White and longtime veteran Al Horford, the Crimson Sox, too, had their unsung hero moments in 2018. Utility participant Brock Holt hit for the cycle in Boston’s trampling 16-1 Sport 3 win within the American League Division Sequence.
After all, it’ll solely matter if, just like the Crimson Sox that yr, a Larry O’Brien Trophy is hoisted throughout Boston’s first duck boat parade in 5 years.
