Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

      What can we say about JB... He was absolutely spectacular last night. He was hitting shots from the midrange, from deep and getting to the cup. Plus he was defending the Clippers best player. Tell me that's not an MVP?! The Cs traded away most of their core players and yet JB has willed this team to a top 3 seed in the East. The heavily favored Knicks are underperforming and yet we hear more about Brunson than we do JB.       What's crazy is Pritch, DWhite. Garza, Walsh, and Simons all scored in double figures. Plus a few guys with 8, who were so close to double figures. Such balance yet JBs performance set the night on fire. What's not to love about this team, they were long labeled dead after all those trades. Yet Brad brought in guys who are showing that they can play this game. This team is shaping up into a contender in the East. Actually they are a legit damn contender in the East. They have proven they can beat the Pistons and the Knicks....

 Derrick White's recent block party versus the Utah Jazz brought back memories of Dennis Johnson - and not only because the two players are tied for most blocks by a non-center (7 blocks) . Both players hover(ed) around 6'4" - play(ed) both PG and SG - and excel(led) at both ends of the court. Below are stats for White this season and DJ from his final Championship season with Boston (1986): White: 18.3 PPG - 4.3 RPG - 5.2 APG - 1.4 SPG - 1.5 BPG - .398 FG - .344 3s - .875 FT Johnson: 15.6 PPG - 3.4 RPG - 5.8 APG - 1.4 SPG - 0.4 BPG - .455 FG - .143 3s - .818 FT I personally hold the late Dennis Johnson in high esteem and have been delighted to see Derrick White step in so well in the absence of Jayson Tatum . And another thing I like about the comparison is that neither player showboats out on the court. They are known for making winning plays without the celibratory flashes seen too often in the NBA.

      Happy New Year Cs fans!       Cs are flat right now and need to get going. They must be hungover from last night? PP scores and I'm off the ledge... PP scores again and he might go off. Another shot for PP! He's on a heater folks. This Kings team came to play tonight. Cs really need to get some stops, and they better start playing with more effort. If they don't this could end up being a loss. I can't believe I'm going to say this but my favorite red is doing tonight's game. The great Bill Kennedy!      Cs are a tad turnover prone lately and that is going to cost them as it did in Portland. Luka Garza and Simons hit back to back threes! We are all tied up folks! Cs fans are rocking it out here in Sacramento. You have to love how Celtics fans travel. Cs are playing zone and I think it's a great strategy. Brad Stevens has done a great job overall finding guys who fit Celtic basketball. Especially with who he picked up this season. Th...

      Cs played a decent first half but their defense was a few steps slow. We saw Garza and Queta both play rather well. I like how versatile our bigs are. Each guy offers a different feel to the game. Garza has that bull in a China shop feel but can shoot from deep and get inside. He's also not afraid to mix it up on the glass or defensively. Queta is clearly a rebounding savant and loves blocking shots. His foot work and offensive skills have grown immensely. It's almost like he's dribbling a soccer ball with how he moves his feet.       Hugo continues to impress on both ends of the floor. Knowing that he's only 19 is absolutely unreal with how his game is. Derrick White struggled in that first have but he picked it up in the second half. Unfortunately for JB his 30 pieces in a row ends... Yet pretty impressive to think he tied Larry Joe Bird. Pritch had a decent game and has become more solid each and every night. Simons off the bench has proven to...

 Granted, the Celtics Hugo Gonzalez is not positioned high in the Rookie of the Year rankings , but he is looking like a steal as the 28th-overall pick in this year's draft. And he is only logging 14.8 minuted per game thus far. The kid has shown that he is savvy, skilled, patient and fiery - on both offense and defense. Great job by Bras Stevens grabbing "The Spaniard" towards the end of the first round. Here is another qualified opinion of Hugo Gonzalez ( per NY Times Sam Vencenie ): "The last player I want to highlight briefly is Hugo Gonzalez, whose infectious energy has helped the Boston Celtics off the bench in a big way. Few players bring the motor and hustle that Gonzalez does every time he takes the court. He’s a live wire of loose ball dives and activity, using his nose for the ball to make an impact. The Celtics are beating their opponents by a preposterous 20.1 points per 100 possessions in the 354 minutes that he’s played, undeniably a noisy stat influ...

 Hugo Gonzalez is quietly making an impression on his coach, Joe Mazzulla. In last night's loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, he was on the court for 30-plus minutes and led his team in plus/minus with a +3. The rookie contributed 13 points, six boards, three assists and two steals. "The Spaniard" is in fourth place in plus/minus this season ( per NBA.com's John Schuhmann ): "The Celtics have still outscored their opponents by 17.2 points per 100 possessions with González on the floor. That’s  the fourth-best on-court mark   among 332 players who’ve averaged at least 10 minutes in 15 games or more. (He’s the only player in the top seven who’s not on the Thunder.)" The kid is not particularly flashy but he is relentless on defense and opportunistic on offense. Coming into the League, Hugo was known for his defense, but his offense is better than advertised. He finds ways to score simply by being in the right place at the right time. As I recently wrote , Gon...