Skip to main content

Brad Stevens admits he doesn't yet have a strong, old-school center

When Brad Stevens admitted that he "doesn't have a lot of guys with that old-school center strength" after his Celtics got bullied by Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76'ers, he may have been saying that he doesn't have ANY. Stevens did say his center pairing of Enes Kanter and Daniel Theis had a good offensive outing versus Philly, but he failed to throw out any accolades on the duo's defensive coverage of Embiid.


Well, Brad may actually have one strong, relentless old-school center on his roster, but he is only 6'3" - and that, of course, would be guard Marcus Smart. Who were some of the old-school centers? I will throw out the names of Willis Reed, Wes Unseld and Dave Cowens. Reed was the tallest of the tough trio at 6'9.5". Cowens came in at 6'8.5", and Unseld was an undersized center at 6'7".

They took on 7'2" Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and 7'1", 275-pound Wilt Chamberlain. Reed, Unseld and Cowens were physically strong, but it was their refusal to be bullied under the basket that made them so effective. It appears that Stevens does not put Theis and Kanter into their company as far as strength and determination.


Make no mistake, Daniel has been an anchor in Boston's defense all season, as has Marcus Smart. But at 6'8" and a seemingly-generous listing at 243 pounds, he simply can't - or won't - take on the behemoths like Embiid or Giannis Antetokounmpo. Ditto for Kanter. Marcus Smart? He is deceptively powerful - has a low center of gravity - and refuses to be bullied anywhere on the court. Marcus has had some great outings guarding the bigs of the League, and had he been able to play against the 76'ers (eye infection), Boston may have come away with a win.

With Philadelphia and Milwaukee blocking the Celtics run to the Finals, in the end, Marcus Smart may provide the answer to Boston getting by their two Eastern rivals. The Celtics may not be able to match the size, strength and determination of The Greek Freak and Philly's Embiid, but they can't allow them to "make BBQ Chickin" out of Boston's centers either. I await Smart's healthy return and the next matchup with Philly and Milwaukee.

Follow Tom at @CelticsSentinel, @CausewayStreet and Facebook




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Elm Street Nightmare

 A true-and-suspenseful horror tale of haunting, homicides and the hunt for triple-murderer, Daniel Laplante - as told by the cops that were there By Lt. Thomas Lane (Ret.)  Daniel Laplante - cold, calm, clever, calculating- Photo: YouTube   Elm Street  surfaces on six (6) occasions in the Laplante saga: 1.) He  resided on Elm Street  in Townsend, Massachusetts  2.) He  kidnapped a woman  at gunpoint on  Elm Street, Pepperell , Massachusetts 3.) That kidnapped woman fled to the Gillogly residence on Elm Street after escaping from the armed fugitive, Laplante. 4.) He was arrested and transported to Massachusetts State Police Barracks on Elm Street in Concord . 5.) He was  tried, convicted   and sentenced for the murders at  Superior Court , corner of  Elm Stree t and Gorham Street, Lowell, Massachusetts. 6.) The author, Thomas Lane, lived on Elm Steet, Pepperell, Massachusetts while a police Sgt./Lt. for the town police force. When evil and cleverness reside in the same mind, the st

In defense of Marcus Smart

 Let me make it clear first of all that I am totally against making a threat of any kind that even hints at harming, or certainly killing, another human being. Marcus Smart was wrong in doing so in the Celtics loss to the tanking Oklahoma City Thunder , and he deserved the one-game suspension. But to be honest, part of me loved that it occurred. . This type of thing can happen when a player gets to a point "beyond frustration" and is having a bad game. Marcus and his teammates have been under-performing generally - were in the process of losing to a pathetic-and-tanking Thunder team - and Smart was having a bad game . And he let loose verbally at the closest target - an NBA official. Wilt Chamberlain did a similar act versus referee, Earl Strom when Wilt was having his usual tortuous time at the free throw line (per Chicago Tribune's Sam Smith): ''He was in one of those 1-for-13s,'' recalls referee Earl Strom. ''Nothing was getting close. S

Did the Celtics Kevin McHale really have a wingspan of 8-feet?

According to many sources, the Celtics Kevin McHale did indeed have an estimated wingspan of 8-feet. One of those sources is Wikipedia, as seen below: Kevin McHale American basketball player DescriptionKevin Edward McHale is an American retired basketball player who played his entire professional career for the Boston Celtics. He is a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, and is regarded as one of the best power forwards of all time. He was named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. Wikipedia Born: December 19, 1957 (age 61 years), Hibbing, MN Wingspan: 8′ 0″ Height: 6′ 10″ Spouse: Lynn McHale (m. 1982) NBA draft: 1980, Boston Celtics (Round: 1 / Pick: 3) Hall of fame induction: 1999 Number: 32 (Boston Celtics / Power forward, Center) Kevin was listed at 6'10" tall when he was drafted with the 3rd pick in the 1980 draft. Red Auerbach, in yet another heist, brought in both McHale and center Robert Parish (via trade) prior to the Celtics' 1980-81 Champion