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Warriors<\/a>, Sharks<\/a> have best odds to stop ‘Boston Slam,’ and here’s why originally appeared on nbcsportsbayarea.com<\/a><\/p>\n The Red Sox<\/a> won the World Series title in October, and the Patriots claimed another Super Bowl championship in February. If Boston sports fans had their way – and they often do these days – they’ll roll out the duck boats for the Celtics<\/a> and the Bruins in June.<\/p>\n They’re calling it the Boston Slam<\/a>, since Boston would own all four major professional sports titles at once.<\/p>\n And only the Bay Area likely can stop it.<\/p>\n Boston has been on an incredible run since 2001, winning six Super Bowls, four World Series, one Stanley Cup and one NBA championship. Such dominance breeds contempt, although you’ll find none here. I lived in Boston for five years and loved every minute of it. Well, maybe I could’ve have gone without all the snow.<\/p>\n Dominance also breeds arrogance, and that too is on display in some corners of Boston. Winning championships went from a dream to a birthright in only one generation, and as haters began to, well, hate, Bostonians adopted this mantra: “Hate Us ‘Cause\u00a0You Ain’t Us.” The fighting revolutionary spirit is\u00a0alive and well in New England.<\/p>\n While we don’t hate many folks in Northern California – we’re way too laid back for that – we do know something about winning titles, particularly with the Warriors. And that’s where the prospect of stopping this\u00a0Boston Slam attempt begins.<\/p>\n The Warriors, who are one\u00a0blown 3-1 NBA Finals lead<\/a>\u00a0away from chasing a fourth consecutive Larry O’Brien Trophy, could be considered the Patriots of the Association. Perennial champs accused of gaming the system. The game circled on every opponent’s calendar. The No. 1 topic on the morning sports scream-fests.<\/p>\n A Warriors-Celtics NBA Finals has been forecast for a few years, and while it could happen now, there are notable obstacles. First, the Warriors need to take care of business in their first-round playoff series after the Clippers forced a Game 6<\/a> by virtue of a 129-121 win Wednesday night. Then, the Rockets, who will challenge the Warriors in the next playoff round if the defending champs indeed advance, definitely will not be an easy out.\u00a0They had Golden State on the ropes last season<\/a> but couldn’t deliver the knockout blow.<\/p>\n The Celtics, meanwhile, finished fourth in the Eastern Conference this season, and must beat the Milwaukee Bucks, then either the Toronto Raptors or the Philadelphia 76ers, to even make the Finals. All three of those teams had better regular-season records than Boston, but the Celtics often show flashes of greatness and might have unmatched top-tier depth, with Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum<\/a>, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford.<\/p>\n That lineup is fully capable of reaching the Finals and giving the Warriors all they can handle, as was the case in their two regular-season meetings. The 33-point loss last month at Oracle Arena<\/a>\u00a0was particularly brutal for the Dubs, but the playoffs typically are their time. They know what it takes to win, no matter the foe, their recent wobbles against the Clippers notwithstanding. The Celtics certainly won’t scare the Warriors\u00a0when championship glory is on the line.<\/p>\n On the ice, the Bruins’ path to the Cup Final seems clear, with top Eastern Conference contenders such as the Lightning, Capitals and Penguins all falling in the first round. Possibly meeting the Bruins at the end are the Sharks, who similarly don’t have to worry about top contenders in the West, with the Flames, Predators and Jets already out, meaning San Jose could be the West’s best left standing.<\/p>\n A Sharks-Bruins Cup Final would be full of firepower (San Jose rolls out four 30-goal scorers, and Boston boasts three) and shaky goaltending (Boston fans feel the same way about Tuukka Rask as San Jose backers do Martin Jones).<\/p>\n And if you thought Ryan Reaves was annoying, you haven’t seen <\/a>Brad Marchand<\/a>, who led the Bruins in regular-season scoring (100 points) and penalty minutes (98), highlighting his balance of skill and ability to irritate his opponents. His run-ins with equally hot-tempered Evander Kane could be legendary.<\/p>\n The Sharks, riding high from their Game 7 miracle against Vegas<\/a>, do possess the veteran savvy and attitude to challenge an Original Six power in their barn. Joe Thornton, the former Bruin, can tell his Sharks teammates all about that, as could Erik Karlsson, who faced Boston in the 2017 playoffs<\/a> with the Ottawa Senators. The task isn’t easy, but it’s doable.<\/p>\n