Celtics vs. Wizards: John Wall or Isaiah Thomas will become a legend in Game 7
A legend will be made in Game 7 between the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards; will it be John Wall or Isaiah Thomas?
Monday night at TD Garden the legend of John Wall or Isaiah Thomas will reach new heights.
As the two NBA All-Star guards have dueled against each other through six games, which has included historic performances, it must come to a halt. Once the game is over late Monday night, either John Wall becomes a Wizards legend by leading the franchise to its first Game 7 win since 1979, or Boston’s unlikely and heavy-hearted star, Isaiah Thomas, will lead the under-respected Celtics to matchup with the behemoths of Cleveland led by LeBron James.
More history could be made on Monday and it’s only fitting it happens in the city of Boston. For the Boston Celtics, a win to start the weekday propels them to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 2012, and the first with home-court advantage since the last time they won a championship in 2008.
Boston Celtics
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This iteration of the Celtics has overachieved to a certain extent, but the arrival and great production of Al Horford has made this magical run expected to some. To others, this team two seasons ago wasn’t supposed to make the playoffs, but yet they did. A couple of years later, a team with a litany of castaways is on the cusp of showing the entire NBA community #itsnotluck.
Boston has already had a successful season. By surprisingly being the No. 1 seed in the East, coming back from an 0-2 deficit against the Chicago Bulls, competing with the Wizards tough, (where, on paper, one would think Washington has the advantage), and of course, holding the Nets pick, which is guaranteed to be in the Top-4 come Tuesday night’s lottery.
Come to think of it, imagine the city of Boston going haywire if the Celtics defeat Washington on Monday, win the lottery Tuesday and beat the Cavs in Game 1 on Wednesday. For a city that doesn’t like Washington, dislikes LeBron and has never won an NBA Draft Lottery before, there would be so much jubilation.
Oh yeah, that hypothetical scenario could come true a week after their beloved Tom Brady was named the cover athlete of “Madden NFL 18.”
Besides the hypothetical scenarios, a win tomorrow night could become a pitching tool to free agents for Danny Ainge to use come July 1st. By then, Ainge will either have drafted a top player or traded it away for an established star.
If Ainge and company begin talking about the team’s run to the Conference Finals, a top draft pick or star acquired via trade and also being the No. 1 seed, what’s not to like? Star free agents, such as Gordon Hayward and Blake Griffin, who are the most likely big names to make the move to Boston, will have no choice but to listen.
This improbable run will also put Boston’s star, Isaiah Thomas, in the conversation with some of the greats before him. Not in the sense of “he’s going to get his jersey retired,” but more towards “what a season he had.”
Thomas averaged the second-most points throughout the course of a regular season by a Celtic at 28.9, and a very deep run against the Cavaliers will make just make him, Ainge and the organization look good as a whole. Also, it would be remiss not to mention Thomas’ play despite what’s going in his personal life off the court.
Washington Wizards
John Wall has had his ups and downs with the team throughout the years, but this season as a whole has produced the best version of him ever. He’s always averaged gaudy numbers, but this year it came with a career-high in wins (49). A career-season all across the board, and he’s one win away from immortality of sorts.
Monday night at TD Garden the legend of John Wall or Isaiah Thomas will reach new heights
A win and Wall accomplishes a feat many stars before him such as Gilbert Arenas, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard and many more couldn’t do.
To make matters even greater, a Wizards win on Monday would be the city’s first Conference Finals appearance among the four major sports since 1998.
To put that in perspective, check this out: Markelle Fultz, a likely top pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, was born in late May of 1998. To make some people feel a little bit older, Michael Porter Jr., coached by Brandon Roy in high school and the likely No. 1 pick in 2018, wasn’t even born yet. His arrival to earth was late June of ’98.
Wall has begun filling out his Wizards legend application, and leading his team somewhere the city hasn’t seen since he was seven will make him even more beloved in the city. For Thomas, his anomaly season would continue as maybe the most dominant scoring point guard the franchise has ever seen.
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Monday night will be historic for both franchises, and is when the legend of either star guard will reach new heights. Until then, it’s a waiting game.