Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

       Will the Celtics Blaze to a win? Let's hope they do! They are missing JB, Amazing Al, and Romeo where out thou Romeo. Will Ime get a win in his homecoming? Let's say Bleed Green, and we win! Celtic Pride for life!        1st Quarter        Who Steps Up In Al's Absence       Given how well Al played last night, and all season. Who will be the guy to fill that role? Will RWill be that guy? He's shown all year how valuable he is to this Celtics team. He keeps possessions alive with his effort, gets big rebounds, big blocks, and some hardcore hammer oops. Or could it be Freedom?! Now when I hear his name I think of the George Michael song!        Great First Say What?!      We saw a very well played first for this team, crisp passing, finding the open man and just making shots. Defensively they brought what they did last night into tonight's first. Giving effort and just working hard as a unit. DS was just straight balling, something about starting just gets his

     A game after enjoying a healthy full roster, we are missing Jaylen Brown . It being Star Wars night in Utah, Do or do not - there is no try. Do it tonight fellas, the force is with you!        1st Quarter        Where's the Defense?       In a very slow start, as per usual for this team, the defensive intensity was not there . The Jazz were making sweet music to start hitting threes all over. When you play upper tier teams you can't come out lazy on D . Let's see if they can remember how they win, and that's with intense hard working D.        Al Horford Is the ultimate pro        Al is the ultimate pro, and he's keeping the Celtics in the game . Whether he's making a key rebound or nailing his shots, he's always ahead of the curve. Even his screen game is spot on. His play tonight shows how truly special he is to the Celtics success. He may be 35 but he's playing like a young rook, His career is rejuvenated.  Celtics trail 38-25 , after an uninspi

      Has a player ever looked smoother coming back to a team he used to play for?! Al Horford looks as though he's ten years younger out there. He's hitting his outside shots, he's posting up, he's doing it all this season. His ability on the floor is going to be a huge reason why this team makes the playoffs.      With that said, Al is our Sentinel Citation Award Winner!   He scored 10 points, had 8 rebounds, and 5 blocks . Overall shooting was 4-for-6 from the field and 2-of-3 from downtown! He was locked in from the start showing how he wanted Philly to notice the real Al Horford on display .      Most impressive about his performance last night was how he helped shut down Joel Embid coming off a 42 point game the other night. Als value can't be quantified, he's such a special player for the Celtics. 

              A Full Celtics Roster! Everyone Is Healthy! It's Go Time!         1st Quarter        Coming Out Hot Tonight       Unlike most first quarters, tonight we saw the Celtics looking to ball! Alley oops all over the place, guys were moving the ball, and shot selection was very controlled . Celtics fan should note Al was three for three to start, a revenge game?! Robert Williams presence in this lineup brings a spark that was missing. He just does it all, and his energy is electric.        Defense Defense DEFENSE!!!      Watching the Celtics when they put effort and heart on the court, we get very good results. When they are locked in on defense, we get a glimpse of how good they can be . They still had mental lapses but they frustrated Mr. Embid, which this writer loves to see. What this writer doesn't like to see is a big man of his talent flailing and falling to the ground, man up your a big!  Celtics lead 21-20 , the lead should be more but we will take it.       2n

       Let us give you some context to start. Over his past six games these are the numbers. 15 points per game, followed by 5 RPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.2 steals and only 1.8 turnovers. In that six game stretch the Celtics are 4-2 . His shooting percentages have been 47 % from the field, 36 % from three and 82 %  from the line.      Last night he had 21 points on 7 of 16 shooting, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists . Not to mention many other plays that don't hit the stat sheet. With that said our Celtics Sentinel Citation Award goes to? The Wolverine! Marcus Smart!       We would like to give a shout out to honorable mention JRich. Dude gave it his all last night . He goes hard on every play. He had 18 points on 6 of 11 shooting along with a rebound and 2 assists. He to made plays not on the stat sheet.   

  Bleacher Report's Dan Favale has broached the Celtics Marcus Smart as a sleeper candidate for the annual NBA Defensive-Player-of-the-Year Award .  Positionless defense is normally reserved for suffocating wings and bigs with fast-twitch feet. Marcus Smart doesn't just break the mold. He shatters it. Standing 6'4", he can just about guard all five spots on the floor. The Boston Celtics have no qualms about lining him up opposite quasi-bigs. The award normally goes to the defensive-minded bigs, and the last guard to take the award was Gary Payton back in 1996.  Smart marries his interior strengths with hyperactivity and a generally monstrous workload. Only  seven players average  more deflections per game, he competes like hell for loose balls and nearly two-thirds of his possessions are spent guarding opponents with top-three usage rates on their team, according to  BBall Index . Deflections, steals, in-your-shirt defense, taking on the bigs near the hoop - and gene