Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 I wrote recently on the low combined number of assists (4) by the Jay Team in the Game-2 loss to Miami - in addition to the need for improved focus on the offensive glass by the entire Celtics team. Well, in Boston's convincing 104-84 win over the Heat last night in Game-3, there is little doubt that improvement in both categories helped get the win . Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for nine assists (6 for Tatum, 3 for Brown) , and 10 of the Celtics 43 rebounds were off the offensive glass .  One of Jayson's assists stood ou t for me. At the 6:58 mark of the second quarter, Tatum whipped a pass to a cutting Sam Hauser under the hoop for the score. It brought back memories of Dennis Johnson repeatedly making the same pass to a cutting Larry Bird under the hoop. Derrick White led the way with three offensive boards . That guy never takes a play off. Al Horford, Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard followed with two offensive rebounds each . Opponents never seem to no

  C's must bring everything to today's game. If they don't I'll be very disappointed. It starts on defense and then offense will follow. Time to man up! 1Q ☘️  KP opens up with the three, that's a good sign. Especially with how he played last game. Jrue to KP for the jam! KP for another three! Great players step up after bad games and that what KP is showing. C's must push the pace and make the Heat work on both ends. Run em into the ground! So far the Heat aren't playing above themselves, C's need to continue to contest every shot. No national broadcast for me as I enjoy Mike Gorman right now. Enjoy the greats while you still have them! JB with the loud follow up JAM! The offense has been slow up to this point. Gotta get settled and let everything flow. They need get Tatum going and allow him to facilitate. PP for the pure three! Sam needs to have a quality game tonight. C's with the lead but it should be more.  2Q 🍀🍀 I need a big C's run here

 The credit is somewhat dubious, but the origin of the alley-oop play probably started at the University of San Francisco with K C Jones lobbing the pass to Bill Russell for the slam (per Wikipedia): In the 1950s, some players began grabbing balls in mid-air and then  dunking .  K. C. Jones  and  Bill Russell  teamed up to perform the alley-oop several times while at the  University of San Francisco  in the mid-1950s. During their time with the Dons, Russell and Jones led the team to a then-record 55-game win streak  (including an undefeated 29–0 record during the  1955–56 season ) and helped pioneer a play that later became known as the  alley-oop . It makes sense. K C was an accomplished playmaker, and Russ was a leaper and amazingly athletic. Their USF teams were so powerful that it allowed experimentation without risking losses. It is notable that in the photo, K C is relegated to the back row - which brings me to the Basketball Hall of Fame ignoring this accomplished gentleman

Guest article by "The Sports Machine with Slim"  HEY CELTICS FANS! All of you. Yes even the ones who come on here just to complain even when we win. I need all of your eyes here please. We all want the Celtics to win banner 18. We may argue about how to get there and whether or not Jayson Tatum can get it done in a close game. We might not agree on Mazzulla being a championship level coach. And we might actually not even really like one another in real life. But we have a common goal. Let's come together for the next two months. Please. Let's join as one to lift this incredible regular season team to new playoff highs. Honestly, I'm not sure this group of players can do it without us. Here are the facts: The Celtics were 6-3 on the road in the playoffs last year. They were 5-6 at home in those same playoffs. Now this year they are 1-1 at home against an 8 seed that is without their best player. These Celtics are immature and they need our help. This ain't the

 The reasons behind the Celtics unexpected loss to the Miami Heat in Game-2 have all been discussed. Stifling Miami defense and dead-eye accuracy from the hinterlands  and Porzingis having trouble receiving passes and getting open, etc. But how about only three assists from Jayson Tatum and a meager one assist from Jaylen Brown . Hell, Miami's Tyler Herro had 14 assists all by himself in the win - and s till managed a team-high 24 points - while hitting 7-of-13 from the field and 6-of-11 on threes. Let's go back to the 1986 Celtics post-season . Larry Bird, from the forward position, averaged 8.2 assists-per-game. Even Kevin McHale, alias "The Black Hole", averaged 2.7 APG.   This is hardly an indictment against The Jay Team. The point is simply that they have seasoned scorers on the floor with them, and as good as Jaylen and Jayson are, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and Al Horford need more looks - even in clutch time. Miami Coach, Eric Spoelstra , may be trying to

  Tonight is the night for the chance to go up 2-0. My piece on tonight's game is going to be different. I'll give you my thoughts right now pregame and what I'm able to watch later tonight. I will be late to the watch party. Personally I think a lot of what the Celtics did Sunday was good, but not great. They had some lulls on D and even on O. I expect tonight to be a much more efficient effort on both ends. In regards to Martins blatant dirty hit on Tatum, I expected it. Miami is notorious for playing and being a dirty organization. What I'm most proud about is Tatum getting up going to the line and showing no interest in their cheap tactics. I am also very proud of JB basically saying I'll do what I have to for my brother. This group values each other and the mission for Banner 18. In all reality I expect the Heat to be even dirtier in both ends tonight, but the C's will counter with haymakers on the floor. The C's will play even more inspired D and bette