Charles Barkley's swipe at Bruins fans portends painful spring in Boston

BOSTON -- It wasn't all that long ago that all sports fans in the Boston area were busy clearing the calendars to gear up for two long postseason runs for the Bruins and the Celtics. Talk of a double-parade summer began to spread throughout the region.

The early-May update, though, is this: The outlook is not so good!

The Bruins were, of course, eliminated in seven games in the opening round of the playoffs, dashing their Stanley Cup dreams before they could fully formulate. After setting an NHL record for most regular-season wins, nobody saw such a short playoff run coming.

And now the Celtics are at risk of crashing and burning far too early in their run at an NBA title, after dropping Game 5 against Philly in an embarrassing showing at the TD Garden.

Spirits are, as one can imagine, quite low.

Charles Barkley didn't help matters, either.

Ever the jokester, Sir Charles opened the halftime show on TNT on Tuesday night by taking a playful shot at the plight of Boston sports fans.

"In fairness," Barkley said when the C's trailed 58-49, "if the Celtics lose this series, they still got the Bruins. ... Oh, sorry, bad example."

Charles was, obviously, bantering. But the reality behind that joke is becoming a serious matter for Boston sports fans.

After Tuesday night's loss, the Bruins and Celtics are now a combined 4-6 at TD Garden this postseason.

The Celtics have lost three of their last four home games. That included a game against Atlanta, with a chance to close out that series in five games, with Dejounte Murray out for the game due to suspension. It also included Game 1 of this series against the 76ers, when league MVP Joel Embiid was out due to injury.

As a result, the Celtics will need to endure both an insanely charged crowd at the Wells Fargo Center and a confident, buzzing Sixers team on Thursday night in Game 6, just to earn the chance to play in a winner-take-all Game 7 on Sunday.

If that game is to take place -- a big if at this point, mind you -- it will be in Boston. That should be an advantage for the Celtics, but, well, you know. Things haven't worked out very well for the home team this spring on Causeway Street.

Of course, all hope is not lost. The Celtics could win Thursday, and then again on Sunday, and the run to the Finals could still happen. It could.

But just as easily -- and perhaps more likely -- it could all come to a crashing halt, either on Thursday or Sunday, putting a heart-wrenching cap on a potential spring of massive, massive disappointment and underachievement from the local teams.