Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 The exuberance among Celtics fans for their beloved Derrick White to make the All-Star team is no hype. Both his production and the excitement is real . He has played in 44-of-48 games thus far, starting all of them. His stats are below: 15.8 PPG - 4.0 RPG - 4.7 APG - 1.0 SPG - 1.2 BPG - 1.6 TOPG - .458 FG - .400 3s - .895 FT Derrick is having the best season of his career, and his team is atop the League Rankings. Fans know he won't hype himself, so they are cheering for him . Her deserves the praise. Derrick White is an elite basketball player. All star caliber. — New Mike (@MichaelKhater) January 31, 2024 Humble, Modest. High-energy on the court. Quiet demeanor on-and-off it . That is what devout Celtics fans see in White. Derrick White is no showman. No taunting, theatrics after making a spectacular play. I love this guy! https://t.co/Uiaz1BmeW7 — Tom Lane (@CelticsSentinel) January 31, 2024 So that's it. Derrick White is truly deserving of an All-Star berth. That is all...

C's welcome a Pacers team that has been an annoyance all season long. Personally I'd love to see the C's smack em around tonight. There's an arrogance to these Pacers that rubs me the wrong way. IST runner ups what a freaking joke!  1Q 🏀 KP is back! He looks good and healthy and scores the first deuce of the game. JT posting up early is a great sign, he should do it all game. Pacers have no one who can stop him on D. JB gets inside with ease, this Pacers defense has no post presence. C's should and better dominate the paint tonight. Love seeing Jrue take on the challenge of guarding overrated Siakim. C's ball movement has been as sweet as mamas apple pie tonight. Man oh man could my mama bake an apple pie. The Celtics must continue to attack the paint, the Pacers have no answers down low. Myles Turner is not a rim protector, for a big he's delicate and soft. DWhite is that man as he drives gets hit and scores. No call but he keeps balling! The way he came t...

  "That's a high-percentage shot!" --- Bill Russell -as-commentator Old-timers may recall NBA Analyst Bill Russell would often repeat that sentence when Wilt Chamberlain would jam another shot through the hoop. It got old. That's my point. Wilt's 100-point explosion in March of 1962 when Chamberlain's Warriors took down the New York Knicks may never be eclipsed. Here's why. "The Stilt", at 7'1" and 280 pounds, was a mismatch for any opposing center . Almost all of his scores came on dunks and close-in finger-rolls . The Knicks centers he faced in that contest were the immortal rookie Cleveland Buckner and the rather-average Darrall Imhoff. Buckner actually had a good offensive game in that outing with 33 points and eight boards, but Wilt had a field day against the 6'9', 210-lb. rookie . Buckner was out of the NBA after two seasons . Sophomore I mhoff, at 6'10" and 220 pounds did no better against Goliath, fouling...

C's welcome in the Pelicans as they look to start winning games again. We have no KP but big Al is here to fill in.  1Q ☘️ Al opens up our scoring with a trey! Early on we see Jrue ready to guard Zion Williamson... I'm intrigued, how about our readers?! C's swarm Zion as he gets into the post, great job by DWhite and Al. That's the kind of D you want to see from the team. C's haven't shot too many threes early on. It seems that they are attacking the post. C's shooting isn't very impressive early on. Guys need to amp it up on D and I guarantee the shots on offense will fall. Put the work in and good things will happen. This team is getting rolled early on, just like they did vs the Clippers. Unacceptable especially being at the Garden. Very disappointed in tonight's start, time to become the Celtics team we know. Way too many threes yet again for this team. C's trail... 2Q 🍀🍀 PP brings it every night he's on the court. You have to love this...

  "Hail fellow well met"  is an  English   idiom  used when referring to a person whose behavior is hearty, friendly, and congenial, in the affirmative sense. It took an excellent CelticsBlog article by Dan Kelley  to once again remind me why the hell K C Jones has not been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach. Read Dan's article for many specifics. Both former Celtics coaches, Bill Fitch and Rick Pitino , are in the Hall as coaches. Why isn't K C there? I was never a fan of Fitch and still despise Pitino. Rick came close to ruining a treasured sports franchise (Celtics) and I didn't care for Bill - even though Larry Bird still showers praise on him. I first learned of Fitch's harsh treatment of his (then) assistant, K C Jones after reading Jones' book, Rebound . Fitch's abuse of K C was well-known ( per latimes.com's Thomas Bonk ): "Fitch had little use for K.C. Jones, who was one of his assistant coaches, but who succeeded...

 Maybe not! Not if you compare win-loss records with-and-without Porzingis. Boston has virtually identical records with Porzingis in action (.758, 25-8) as without him (.769, 10-3 ). The difference is minimal. Last night's horrid loss to the Clippers may cause Celtics fans to lean towards blaming the trouncing on not having Kristaps on the floor. But maybe the Guys in Green were just plain flat and needed a few more offensive boards and second-chance points  in the first half ( per NBA.com's Kyle Hightower ): "The Celtics started flat, tying a season low for points in the first quarter (21). They also went the entire first half without registering a second-chance point." This was a contest where Porzingis' presence may have made a difference . Boston started the game sluggishly - and never recovered. A few early offensive boards, second-chance points by the big guy - aided by a block or two - may have made the difference. This morning, we hear various reasons fo...

C's look to start a new home winning streak, at they welcome the red hot Clippers.    1st Q 🏀 JT should be able to dominate whoever guards him tonight. The way Harden flops and draws fouls is gross. This Clippers team flops quite a bit. C's better attack them! Tatum has been very efficient attacking the cup tonight. C's offense is very cold so far, I'm getting worried. C's will have to abandon the three because they aren't falling tonight. Get to the cup and win by dominating in the paint. Kornet is doing it on both ends tonight! Blocking shots and dunking the rock! Not loving what I'm seeing tonight as the C's trail after one.  2nd Q 🏀🏀 C's need to bring the energy in the second. When the C's move the ball good things happen. Tonight is giving me bad vibes, given how poorly the shooting is. I was hoping for a better game and so far it sucks. The craptastic start is continuing as the C's deficit grows. You wait all day to watch this team a...

 I hate sad endings to movies! That kind of finish to a film often prompts me to not watch it a second time. Now to the horror show that happened when the Boston Celtics took on the Miami Heat in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals . After going down 0-3 while owning home court, there was a part of me that wished The Green would also lose Game-4 - and the series - just to end the pain. Upon learning that Owner, Wic Grousbeck , chewed out his team following Game-3 - and Boston taking the next three games to even the series - all I could think of was - "They had it all the time. But where the Hell was it!" Wic was right. His boys lacked testosterone. Thursday's 143-110 trouncing of the Terry Rozier-strengthened Heat did little to convince me that the present version of The Green can take it all in the post-season, but admittedly, this crew has looked nearly-omnipotent quite often - with occasional lapses along the way. So I am back watching my team , and writing about the...

C's are in Miami to face the Heat, a team I can't stand. I have no love what so ever for this organization. I just saw Haslem, who had some awful comments about Bill Russell and the C's. I really hope our guys remember that and light them up! Wire to wire I want them run right off the damn floor. Every time I hear heat culture I want to puke... 1Q ☘️ DWhite just drove right by not so Scary Terry and scores a deuce. I hear a good amount of Celtic fans in the crowd. C's with some very good ball movement. DWhite with an epic offensive board. KP should dominate the post tonight. Love the C's in transition finding White for three. When they push the rock that way, they can't be stopped. The C's need to attack attack attack! Heats fans are not real basketball fans. Heat culture is a Disney like gimmick that you can cash for mickey mouse money. JB off the rebound gets to the top of the key and drains a three! KP is having himself a quarter tonight! C's are havi...

 We know Doc Rivers is a good coach, but why does he keep going joining Celtics Eastern rivals? First it was three seasons coaching the Philadelphia 76'ers - until they fired him following a Game-7 loss to Boston in the conference semi-finals.  Now it appears he has become the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks following the controversial firing of Adrian Griffin . So what's going on here. It seems obvious that Milwaukee wanted a seasoned, veteran coach to get them back to Championship caliber, but does Doc look to lead an Eastern Conference team to take out the top contender for the 2023-24 Title - the Boston Celtics?  Our guess is that it is both. When Rivers chose to leave Boston for the LA Clippers, it was clear h e did not want to coach a team on the rebuild. Well, that rebuild happened nicely without him , and there was no second Championship in Clipper-Land or the City of Brotherly Love. He wants a second Title , beyond the one with Boston in 2008. Will that h...

 Five (5) ex-Celtics players are not having a great week. It starts with the Big One! Adrian Griffin: The Milwaukee Bucks just fired Adrian Griffin . Griffin was hired as Head Coach by the Bucks this past summer, and despite the team's 30-13 record (2nd in East) , management apparently wants a veteran presence on the bench, and former Celtics Coach, Doc Rivers , may be that guy to take over. Rob Williams: Williams III was sent packing to Portland this past summer and was quickly out of action for the remainder with another injury. Rob's injury history does not bode well for a long, productive NBA career. And he may be on the trading block once again. Malcolm Brogdon: Brogdon was also traded by Boston to the Trailblazers this summer, He is having a fairly-productive season thus far - when he plays. But he has already missed nine of Portland's 43 games due to recurring injuries. And his team sits only behind the Spurs in the West with a 12-31 record. Marcus Smart: Since ...

 We knew it was coming. The Charlotte Hornets have started their rebuild, and former-Celtic, Terry Rozier, is reportedly heading to the Miami Heat for Kyle Lowry and a 2027 first-round pick . The Hornets rank 13th in the Eastern Conference standings - with a 10-31 record - and are going nowhere. Terry should strengthen the 24-19 Heat (6th in East) as Charlotte transitions into tanking mode. The Charlotte Hornets are trading Terry Rozier to the Miami Heat for a 2027 first-round pick and Kyle Lowry, sources tell ESPN. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 23, 2024 Rozier, who will be 30 years old in March, can play both guard positions, and we can expect him to play his best against the first team that traded him, the Boston Celtics - especially if the two teams meet in the post-season. 

 The good news? The Boston Celtics are back in the Number-1 spot in NBA.com's Power Rankings . The bad news? The Green reverted to bad clutch offense in their loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday ( per NBA.com's John Schuhmann ) "The Celtics scored just four points on nine clutch possessions in their loss to the Nuggets on Friday, shooting 2-for-6 on clutch 2-pointers,  0-for-4 on clutch 3s , and 0-for-2 on clutch free throws. That could elicit some flashbacks to bad clutch offense of the past, but they still rank fifth in clutch offense (124 points scored per 100 possessions) this season, and (even with the loss to Denver) they’ve been super efficient — 135 points on 102 possessions (132 per 100) — with the score within five in the last five against teams that currently have winning records." Read that again -"2-for-6 on clutch 2-pointers,  0-for-4 on clutch 3s , and 0-for-2 on clutch free throws."  Imagine Friday's contest was a Finals matchup - m...

The Celtics look to start a win streak by beating the Mavs. It would be nice to see the Jays get going tonight, the last two games they haven't been themselves. One things for certain is Luka tends to show off and up vs the C's. Will we get to see Jrue guard Luka?! I'd love to see that personally.  1st Q 🏀 C's are going to have to be ready to score, both Luka and Kyrie can put up points. C's are extremely sluggish at the start. The Mavs have had several days off, while the C's are on a back to back. Very cold shooting by the C's so far, gotta get warmed up! The C's should attack the paint, the Mavs have no true inside presence. JB takes my advice and gets into the paint. Mavs can't defend to save their lives. Tatums jumper looked flat to start. We need him to shake these poor shooting woes. Cs can't hit a shot to save their lives tonight. This feels like a third quarter as opposed to the first. JT has come alive and is doing his thing out there!...

 Celtics Coach, Joe Mazzulla, has been stressing the importance of hitting the offensive glass for second-chance points . It worked in last night's 116-106 win over Ime Udoka's Rockets ( per NBA.com ): The Celtics outrebounded the Rockets 56-49 and had 17 offensive rebounds, helping them outscore the Rockets 23-10 in second-chance points. “It’s something we’ve stressed this year, and it’s something we’ve gotten better at,” Mazzulla said. “On nights like this, it keeps baskets alive and gives us extra possessions.” The top rebounders versus Houston were Jaylen Brown and Derrick White with 11 each, but it was the big man tandem of Luke Kornet and Kristaps Porzingis that combined for nine of Boston's 16 offensive boards . Even with limited minutes, Neemias Queta and Kornet lead The Green in offensive rebounds  this season with 2.1 and 1.7 offensive boards per game, respectively. I am reluctant to broach the idea of second-chance hoops resulting from offensive rebounds as ...

  C's coming off a tough loss look to rebound  in Houston... 1Q 🏀 C's are looking to attack inside tonight, that should be their objective every game! W e are missing Jrue and Al, it would be nice if Sam steps up. C's D has been pretty tight, tonight. The Rockets are led by Ime Udoka. The Celtics former Coach who led them to the Finals. Ime has a very good repoire with some of the Celtics players. Good to see the Celtics leading the offensive board category. They have more size than the Rockets and need to take advantage of that. KP with a very good first quarter overall!  2Q ☘️☘️ C's aren't doing themselves any favors as the lead is shrinking. They are going to need to tighten up on D. PP out here drilling deep threes! His range is endless, love how he plays so hard. The C's have increased their lead which is what I was looking for. The Celtics D has been very good in the latter parts of the quarter here. DWhite can be velvety out there. He just slid right thr...

  NBA.com listed the Boston Celtics 20-game win streak as 1-of-10 Things we've learned halfway through the 2023-24 season (per Shaun Powell): " Celtics are clutch at home.  The  1985-86 Celtics  are considered one of the greatest teams of all time and they  went 40-1 at home . In that lone loss, they fell to an ordinary Blazers team, Larry Bird shot 6-for-29 and Boston had 26 turnovers. So anything’s possible. This year’s Celtics team is headed in the same direction in terms of home protection, having run the table so far. Jayson Tatum and pals have beaten the Bucks, Sixers and Wolves and dropped 155 on the Pacers at TD Garden. Denver’s up next ( 7:30 ET, ESPN ). If the Celtics mirror ’85-86 and maintain home-court advantage for the playoffs, how many teams are capable of beating them in a best-of-seven?" That 1985-86 Celtics crew is considered by many, including myself, to be the best NBA team of all-time. Bird, Parish, McHale, Johnson, Ainge, Walton, Sichtin...

  C's wel come the defending champs into town!  KP and Joker are trading jabs and haymakers early on. This game is fire right now! We need to see Brown and Tatum get going. Your best players must step up in big games. This should be this year's Finals matchup! DWhite is just on another level when he drives to the cup. What a game so far tonight! Loving tonight's basketball! C's have been very efficient so far tonight! We have a lot of offense tonight! Seven games like this come June is the way to go!  These Nuggets are giving everything they have tonight! The C's are up for the challenge though! C's showing that defense still matters! Forcing the Nuggets into a turnover. Luke Kornet out here banging! Gotta love that mentality! Tatum has stepped up big time in this second quarter. PP out here nailing corner threes! Love that kid! JT just BROKE the rim and gets a T. What a joke! JB with the HAMMER! I can't see anything wrong with tonight's game from a bask...

  The Athletics "Bouncies" Awards are out for this season, and the Boston Celtics are tied to two of the awards.  Kristaps Porzingis: Runner-up for "Best Acquisition". That's the good news for Celtics fans. The bad news is that he lost the top award in this category to the Clippers James Harden . But Harden has apparently found his place in LA. The Clips are on a roll. But so are the Celtics, and Kristaps Porzingis has a lot to do with that.  Grant Williams: Runner-up for "Worst Acquisition" Being runner-up for Grant in this category is actually a good thing since no player wishes to be tagged as the "WORST' anything . The Wizards Jordan Poole takes top (bottom) place in this category.  The trade for Porzingis and the deal that sent Williams packing had their share of critics, but at the mid-point of the 2023-24 season, Brad Stevens' moves are looking damn good.

 Earlier in the Celtics season, I was skeptical of Luke Kornet earning a significant role in the rotation, but that has changed. He more than held his own in the pivot against "Wonderchild Wemby" (Victor Wembanyama) in Boston's win over the Spurs.. Luke started the game and produced six points, nine boards, four assists, one steal and three blocks. Kornet is an absolute threat inside on both ends of the floor. Per-36-minutes, he averages 8.7 rebounds per game - 4.4 of which are offensive. His footwork is nimble enough to guard out to the 3-point arc, and he has good hands to catch any type of pass inside. And he a verages 2.5 blocks per-36-minutes. Changed my mind on value of Luke Kornet! Luke Kornet Highlights | Celtics vs. Spurs | 17th Jan 2024 https://t.co/GG9tSFIDfV via @YouTube — Tom Lane (@CelticsSentinel) January 18, 2024  The question for some time has been - What effective backups at the center spot can produce in the second-half of the season and the playo...

 The Celtics are a bit short handed as they welcome the Spurs and the Number One Pick!  1Q ☘️ Al I'm assuming will take on the task of guarding Wemby. Let's wish him all the luck because that's a big dude. JT opens up the scoring tonight. JB follows up with a three ball. Wemby is an interesting player to watch. He has some q uality skills and is looking really good tonight. Jrue Holiday continues his continued hot shooting from deep. Smooth as a good whiskey! Brown looks pretty good coming off that day of rest. Tonight we have no KP or DWhite, I'm sure we will see both against the Nuggets on Friday night . That should be an incredible game. The defending champions against the NBAs best home record which the C's hold . Will it be a Finals preview?! Love seeing OB get some early run, as he drives to the cup and scores. This Spurs team plays very little defense. C's need to expose them on that end. So far offensively the C's look solid. It's been a while bu...

  NBA.com has presented their projected picks for individual end-of-season awards - including MVP, Sixth-man-of-the-Year and Coach of the year. Currently the best team in the League, the Boston Celtics, only saw one vote out of 35 cast for a member of The Green. Five writers cast their votes for their choices on seven (7) categories, and Steve Aschburner picked the Celtics Jayson Tatum as the potential most Valuable Player. No other member of the Celtics was mentioned. Aschburner went with Tatum-for-MVP due to him being the best player on the best team . Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid (twice)and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander also received MVP vote s, but Embiid is not on track as of the present to play the 65 games necessary to earn the prize. The NBA.com writers mentioned four different players for 6th-Man-of-the-Year - Tim Hardaway, Jr. getting the nod with two votes . But how about Boston's Al Horford? A requirement is that a player needs to come of the bench in more games than he s...

Tj   The TIME IS NOW... This season to me feels much different than last year. It also feels more comfortable than when we made the Finals. I was watching last night, and despite a slow third quarter start they found a way to finish that quarter with a lead. The defense went into another gear and JT said screw three pointers I'm getting inside and ripping that rim. If this was any other concept of this team that may have not happened.  There have been a few unexcusable losses from my stand point but all winnable games. Except for the Bucks which was a loss from the start. This group I feel knows how to win. They also don't get anxious, I believe there is a confidence they can do anything. The addition of Jrue specifically gives me a feeling he is unflappable. He's so even keel and smooth like a great whiskey. That is going to pay dividends in the playoffs. With KP he spreads the floor in a way they haven't had in years. He's a threat on both ends of the floor. He as...

 There is often a reticence among pro sports participants to broach the subject of race - but back in 2004, Larry Bird,  as Pacers president of basketball operations, had no such restraints ( per ESPN.com ):  "Well, I think so," said (Larry) Bird, the Indiana Pacers' president of basketball operations. "You know, when I played, you had me and Kevin [McHale] and some others throughout the league. I think it's good for a fan base because, as we all know, the majority of the fans are white America. And if you just had a couple of white guys in there, you might get them a little excited. But it is a black man's game, and it will be forever. I mean, the greatest athletes in the world are African-American." Larry was sarcastically dubbed "The Great White Hope" by one or two of his new teammates upon his arrival in Boston, and he became just that . Many felt that this relatively slow, only-moderately-athletic white guy could not make a major mark ...

C's are coming off kicking the Rockets back to Houston after a dominant game. From my standpoint the Jays showed Ime what he let slip away. All five starters balled and left the Rockets with no gas. I wonder if Ime looked across the way and said man did I mess things up. Tonight the C's are visiting the new look Raptors after their in season trade. I expect a win and nothing less tonight.  Quarter #1 🏀 KP opens up the scoring with a nice three ball! KP with the D as he swats out the shot by the Raptors center. KP is bothering a lot of the Raptors shots early on. Defensively he's been a lot better than I expected. He knows how to use his length and is very effective. C's need to work on their spacing tonight. They need to attack the paint tonight, given the Raptors don't have much size out there. Jrue Holiday has been very aggressive early on tonight. C's are starting to click on offense. As DWhite finds himself for a nothing but net three. Its nice when he hits...

 JUGGERNAUT: :  a massive inexorable force, campaign, movement, or object that crushes whatever is in its path . an advertising juggernaut. The Celtics Joe Mazzulla and his troops have transformed themselves into a "juggernaut" in the clutch. They currently rank sixth in Net Rating (+20.5) under Mazzulla this season in Clutch-Time games  - whereas they ranked 26th in NR (-9.5) in the 2021-22 season under Ime Udoka . That is a point- differential of of 30.2 . So where does the difference really come from - the offense or defense? The Defensive Ratings from both seasons are virtually the same - (07.5 for 2023-24 /and 107.2 for 2021-22. The Offensive Rating difference is huge (97.7 in 2021-22 and 128.8 in 2023-24).  At least for the early portion of this season, The Green can not be talked about as "chokers in the Clutch". At the end of close games they have learned to maintain their poise and put the ball in the hoop. Credit both the players and the coachi...

 This is hard to explain, but the death of certain individuals has such a profound effect on me. The Individuals I am talking about are so special in a positive sense - they can not be replaced on this planet. Lorna Moody was such a person. "No man (or woman) is an island". "Never send to know for whom the bell, tolls. It tolls for thee".-- John Donne Lorna Moody was my friend - and my supporter . She joined me with my work in the fitness field, and she practiced what she preached. She was physically powerful, with a superb physique. But most of all, she was gentle and kind - one lovely individual. Her worst-kept secret was that she was gay. Lorna (or "Moody" as many friends called her) felt that knowledge of this might endanger her career as a physical education teacher. She may not have realized her high value as an educator would negate any thoughts of a school board taking her away from the students that adored her. Lorna J. Moody passed away at the a...

 Final score: Celtics 145, Rockets 113. Jaylen Brown pouring it on against a f ormer Celtics coach (Ime Udoka) he soundly supported , despite the latter's "misdeeds" in Beantown. . Payton Pritchard "horsing around" late in the contest. Jayson Tatum getting an ejection when the game was already in the bag.  Not only did the Boston win keep the home streak alive at 19-straight, but Udoka's previous-interim substitute, Joe Mazzulla, kept his team at the top-of-the-hill record-wise . This was not only a "must-win" for the Celtics, the blowout made it sweet. Why wouldn't Pritchard throw a lob to Oshae Brissett off the glass for the jam? Brissett was the guy that grabbed the defensive board and got the outlet pass to Payton. Nice move. Payton Pritchard throwing a garbage time off-the-backboard alley oop against Ime Udoka’s team is rich. Ime once got mad the Celtics kept feeding Pritchard late in a blowout win, suggesting they disrespected the g...

 The NBA has sent notice to its teams that "Workload Management" doesn't appear to work  (per NBA.Com's Shaun Powell): "The NBA sent data from an exhaustive study to its teams this week that showed no link between load-managed players and a decreased risk of injury. This was the result of independent research on 10 years of NBA data where leaders in sports medicine took into account the schedule, the amount of games and the regular season load that players typically carry. For years, some league officials questioned whether players who constantly rested, even in back-to-back game situations, were in no danger of being seriously hurt. This study seems to support that notion." If this "exhaustive study" holds water , Celtics Coach, Joe Mazzulla , might try reducing minutes rather than games-played. Oh, wait a minute. He just did that in Thursday's blowout loss against the Milwaukee Bucks. Al Horford sat that one out on the second game of a back...