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The Boston Celtics still feel The Sting Of Death

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     For the most historic franchise in sports history from this writers perspective, has any other team ever lost two transcendent players in a span of seven years? Give me another franchise who had such success and yet lost what could have been two players who could have been basketball Hall of Famers?             In modern sports generally, your transcendent players go in a few directions. They tend to stay with the team that drafted them, typically they win and make an incredible impact on that franchise and city. Sometimes they force a trade, or they choose to leave in free agency. Yet for the Celtics, they lost Len Bias in 86 due to a cocaine overdose. Fast forward to 93 and they lost Reggie Lewis to a heart condition/ usage of cocaine.          These two impactful moments in a franchises history lead to some very dark days of basketball in Boston and eventually led to the hiring of Slick-Rick-the-rat Pitino. Who chose to stick the great Red Auerbach into the cellar of the fr
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Marcus Smart needs to play his full career in Boston

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 Over the past 60 years, the Celtics two greatest players, Bill Russell and Larry Bird , never played for another team during their careers on the hardwood. And Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, The Jones Boys, Tom Heinsohn never played elsewhere. Okay, Cooz did a brief comeback as a player at the age of 41 when he coached The Cincinnati Royals, but I'm not counting it. Hell, you get the idea! First, let me get something straight! My moniker, The Wolverine , for Marcus has ZERO to do with the film series - and everything to do with one of the most ferocious critters to roam the woods (per Wikipedia):  It (wolverine) is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. [2]  The wolverine has a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size, with the documented ability to kill prey many times larger than itself. Sound about right? "Muscular carnivore". ""Ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size." That's our guy. Smart admits to having a
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Len Bias: What he could have done in Green.

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      With the second overall pick in the 1986 draft the Boston Celtics select All American Len Bias out of Maryland! Say that again. The NBA champion Boston Celtics with Red Auerbach at the helm get Len Bias to go with the Big 3, Danny and DJ!!! Back to back champions is what fans saw coming their way.  Fans also saw the next great Celtic who would not only win rings with the Big 3, but probably challenge Jordan and the Bulls in the East.        Len Bias was a true talent He had amazing leaping ability and   his physical stature was a force. He was incredibly dynamic and was compared to Michael Jordan. With what basketball fans were able to witness watching MJ, if Len came even close to that the Celtics would have won several more titles. In 87 when the Celtics dealt with injuries, imagine Bias on that team and what he could have done. Yes Banner 17 would come in those 87 Finals over the Lakers.       "What if " is a question plenty of Celtics fans wonder about. Who says
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Some candid analysis on Celtics sophomore, Payton Pritchard

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  Sophomore Celtics guard, Payton Pritchard , may not be seeing many more minutes than last season (19.2 MPG) due to the signing of Dennis Schroder . But he showed poise and promise in his rookie season, and fans can expect an even better performance in 2021-22. Here are some tidbits from past and present NBA scouts via CelticsBlog  on Pritchard's future: “My immediate thought is his range is great. He’s got that (Stephen) Curry, (Damian) Lillard range." “The next thing I look at is his off-the-dribble game. He needs to develop a good pullup jumper. Guys his size have to have that."  "...can be a playmaker, or is he really a small two? I think Boston thinks he’s the second right now, because they signed (Dennis) Schroder in the backcourt with him." "But I think (Payton) Pritchard is already a better ballhandler than Seth Curry is. And he showed signs as a passer." “I don’t want to be the guy making the cheap, easy “white guy” comp here, but he was qu
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Kevin McHale to Kevin Garnett on up-and-under move: "Your "up" sucks"!

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  Kevin McHale's signature up-and-under move only made #10 on NBA TV's Signature Moves rankings. Kevin thought he should be at #7 and even suggested if he was at #11, he wouldn't have to be on the show. Number-10 is about right for the move. It was so damn simple, and we know that any shot not a dunk or 3-pointer will never be highly-rated in today's League. McHale said he was only 5'10" tall at the start of his sophomore year in high school, and developed the up-and-under to score on bigger opponents. Then when he grew much taller (6'10" eventually), his main move was a jump hook , but against the "leapers", he would go to the up-fake and then the underhanded lay in (per McHale): "I liked shooting over two or three guys because it made Danny (Ainge) mad. Danny used to say, 'You got three guys on you', and I would say, 'Ya, but I scored.' " Back when Kevin Garnett asked to be taught the up-and-under move, McHale t
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The 1996 UMass team should have won it all.

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       This site that I'm lucky to write for is usually all about the beloved Boston Celtics, with a few pieces about other special players and teams. If you grew up in the 90s, UMass Basketball was at its peak . The greatest team they put together was the 96 Final Four team . The NCAA may have"taken it away" but this writer has the VHS tapes and memories to prove it! This team should have won it all!      Let's look at their coach, to each his own with opinions about him. For this writer he brought so much success, enjoyment, and memories to UMass hoops. He made UMass a power house! They had some of the most hard working and exciting teams in the 90s! John Cali[ari was a hard worker himself, which was evident in his teams!       Now we dive into the starting five. Marcus Camby could do it all on the floor. He could post you up, knock down midrange shots, and when need be go get that Alley OOP and bring the hurt to the rim! Defensively he could block any shot and u
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What to expect from "The Spaniard" , team play and surviving (thriving in?) the 2021-22 season

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  The Boston Celtics have added a Spaniard by the name of Juancho Hernangomez to the roster. What can fans expect from Beantown's version of "The Spaniard" ? I have little idea, and neither does anyone else. The 6'9" forward has been playing professional basketball since the age of 17 , and now at 25 years of age, he will be part of a team that is looking to survive, and hopefully thrive in, the 2021-22 season. Since the Celtics now have acquired "The Spaniard", I thought it appropriate to remind players & fans: "Whatever comes out of these gates ..., if we stay together, we survive." Team play works. Gladiator Move Clip - Work Together https://t.co/ilo4yMgyGY via @YouTube — Tom Lane (@CelticsSentinel) September 14, 2021 Love the movie, Gladiator   Hate the ending. But here's hoping the coming season ends well for The Green. Getting back to Juan, his best season occurred in 2019-20 with Minnesota , and the first hint with his seems t
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