Open Thread: Big Games Coming On Memorial Day

Well, I was hoping for a couple of different results last night simply so I could put out an open thread about the NBA and NHL Finals. Instead, we have a couple of series that, despite one team getting off to a 3-0 series lead, are still going on. So instead, let’s talk about what is one of the hardest things to do in sports, come back from down 0-3.

NBA Eastern Conference Finals

Miami stole the first two games in Boston and then won game 3 at home. Boston avoided elimination on the road in game 4 and finally one at home to make it 3-2. Then Saturday night gave us an all-time great ending to an NBA game. Miami, who was down for the majority of the game and trailed by ten with five minutes to go, chipped away at the lead behind big minutes from their star, Jimmy Butler. And with three seconds left, down by two, Jimmy got fouled shooting from behind the arc. As calm as possible, he made all three to put the Heat up one. Boston called timeout to get to throw in from the frontcourt. Derrick White threw it in to Marcus Smart who turned and put up a three of his own. The ball rolled halfway around the rim and popped out. But Derrick White, in one of the most clutch efforts ever, had run around the whole play and got to the rebound before any of the Heat players could. Catching it in the air, he put it back up for the winning basket. Upon official review, we saw that the ball left his fingertips with 0.2 remaining. So by the smallest of margins, Boston forced a game 7, avoiding elimination for a third straight game.

Now we know that no team has ever come back from 0-3 before in the NBA. Three previous teams have come back to force game 7, but all lost the last game. Those three teams, however, all had to play game 7 on the road. On the contrary, this Boston Celtics team will have the luxury of attempting to be the first to complete the comeback while playing on their home court. Game 7 will be at 8:30 PM Eastern on Monday night.

NHL Western Conference Finals

Something very unusual happened this year in the NHL and NBA conference finals rounds. Between the four semifinals series across both sports, all four started off with one team getting up 3 games to none. Two of those series, one in the NHL and one in the NBA, would end up being sweeps. As mentioned above, the NBA has its other semifinal going to a game 7. And in the NHL, the Dallas Stars are trying to replicate the Celtics attempt at a comeback, now having won two games to get back in their series against the Vegas Golden Knights and having game 6 Monday night at home. Three of the five games thus far have gone to overtime, so this series, too, has had its share of the dramatic. Game 6 will face-off Monday night at 8 PM Eastern. If Dallas can pull off two more victories, they would become the fifth team in NHL history to pull off the feat of coming back from down 0-3.

The French Open

Tennis’ second Grand Slam event of the year gets underway today from Paris. The French Open has been about as close to a sure thing as it gets on the men’s side for nearly the past two decades, as Rafael Nadal has won 14 of the past 18 titles. However, due to injury, Nadal is not competing this year, so the men’s title is up for grabs. This leaves a great opportunity for Novak Djokovic to finally surpass Nadal as the all-time Grand-Slam leader if he can capture his 23rd Major and 3rd French Open. Aside from Novak, two of the best young stars in the game have a great chance to earn their second career Majors, as Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev are the top two seeds on the men’s side, and both have been playing great tennis of late.

On the women’s side, Iga Swiatek comes in as the #1 seed and has won this tournament in two of the last three years. A pair of Americans, Jessica Pegula (#3) and Coco Gauff (#5) seem poised to make a serious run in this year’s tournament, the latter having made it to last year’s final. Of course, unlike the men’s side, the women’s Grand Slams have a tendency to see an unlikely player get hot and win the whole thing. Personally, I would not bet against someone outside the top ten being crowned champion.

That’s it for now. Let’s hear your predictions in the comments. And enjoy your Memorial Day.