That sure was quick

The Celtics and Mavericks tied an NBA record for the shortest conference finals pair in history

Neither conference finals series was close in the NBA, and Game 5 of Mavericks-Timebrwolves was basically over by halftime, when we started recording the latest basketball episode of the Casual Diehard podcast…

This is the fourth time that the NBA’s semifinal round has lasted only nine games. There’s never been a double sweep.

The previous blink-and-you-missed them conference finals?

• 1974: Bucks swept Bulls, Celtics beat Knicks

• 1986: Celtics swept Bucks, Rockets beat Lakers

• 2017: Warriors swept Spurs, Cavaliers beat Celtics

Of those three NBA Finals, only 1974 provided maximum basketball, with the Celtics going on the road to win Game 7 in Milwaukee. Boston beat Houston in six games in 1986, and Golden State had a five-game gentelman’s sweep of Cleveland in 2017.

Interesting note from the 1974 Celtics video: 50 years ago, the NBA had a $3,000 per player bonus for finishing with the best record in the league. So, while the Bucks lost the Finals, at least they had some extra cash that summer.

Stick around until the end for a second Bradlee’s commercial featuring John Havlicek solo-dribbling through a department store.