Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

  Does Joe Mazzulla deserve another kick at the can. I don't know, when he was asked about shooting so many threes and missing would he change, he said no. Honestly not sure I like a Coach who is unwilling to adapt. Do I agree with my mentor Tom Lane on if he's here I believe so. Was he the right choice earlier this season... No! They didn't do him any favors either. They didn't even bother bringing in any veteran assistants to actually get in his ear. Taking the interim tag off him was also a huge mistake.  About Jaylen Brown, unfortunately he played like absolute crap Monday night. He took full responsibility which to me means a lot. Does he deserve a huge max extension?! By NBA standards he does. He's earned the right to maximize his money. Would I trade him?! I don't think you would get any value near his worth. My answer is hold on to JB, he and Tatum actually like playing with each other from my perspective. You can find pieces to accompany their talent. 

 Thye Boston Celtics are out of the 2023 post-season, outsted by the Miami Heat in seven games. Time to (re)construct the 2023-24 unit. Expect present coach Joe Mazzulla to remain in place . To the best of my knowledge, the specifics on his contract have not been made known, but it is doubtful that The Green would move on to their fourth head coach in four years. And despite Mazzulla's penchant for the 3-pointer, which according to analyst Charles Barkley (and others), was their undoing versus the Miami Heat, Joe has shown enough to warrant another shot in 2023-24. Hopefully, he can make changes to strategies that failed in the playoffs. Jaylen Brown is another matter. His skills are undeniable, but many have criticized his devotion to remaining with his present team. He had openly campaigned for the hiring of a black coach, and that happened when Ime Udoka was hired.  But Jaylen has also been open about feeling the suspension, and firing, of Udoka was an overreaction on the p

Historically speaking the Celtics are the franchise that defines the NBA. Historically they are winners, 18 true NBA Banners hang in the rafters. Countless retired numbers live in the rafters. They made their living in the 50s and 60s winning titles. Eight in a row at one point. Never seen again and never will. The 70s and 80s also brought home some more titles! The 90s and 2000s have brought only one title and lots of loss. Reggie and Len along with multiple other titles. Here we are after being down 0-3... All tied up thanks to Derrick Whites "Moment". Will that lead to not only history but also Banner 18? It has to right?! The Denver Nuggets await... Here we are seconds away from tip off. Let's go Celtics, let's see another repeat of game seven vs the Sixers. Total domination on both ends of the court. As a fan and writer I'm nervous as all heck. JT passes up the three and gets to the line. JB is cooking early! Nice timeout by Joe!  Going to need to see a Celti

 Okay Celtics fans. A deciding Game-7 in the Eastern Coinference Finals will either oust Boston from the post-season - or put them into the "Final Fray" versus the Denver Nuggets . All we hear is that The Green can make NBA history by becoming the only team to win a 7-game series after a 0-3 start . As important as that may be, this current version of the Celtics has a chance to begin a legacy that will last for a very long time. Legacy (definition): "The long-lasting impact of particular events, actions, etc. that took place in the past" Any one remember Red Auerbach? Bill Russell? Larry Bird? How about the 17 banners hanging from the rafters? You get the point. Not to belittle coming back from a 0-3 deficit and heading to the NBA Finals, but history refers to the past, but so does a legacy. The 1985-86 Celtics team just may be the best crew to ever fight for, and win, multiple Championships . But the 2022-23 Celtics squad has potential lasting stardom emblazone

 FACT: The Boston Celtics don't do well in post-season Clutch Time! The Celtics did fine in the regular season  (2022-23) when the game was close (5 point differential or less) in the final five minutes of games. The Green ranked second in win percentage (64.9%) with a 24-13 record in such contests. But Clutch Time has given Boston the jitters in the post-season with the Celtics (ranked 9th , record of 5-6, win % of 45.5%). Miami, on the other hand, did worse  than Boston in the regular season in Clutch Time games (ranked 6th, 45.7% win percentage, 32-22 record) but better in the 2023 playoffs (ranked 2nd, 66.7 win %, 6-3 record). The Celtics were almost eliminated from the post-season in Game-6 versus the Heat - when Derrick White bailed his team out on a last-second put-back. Once again, the unflappable, never-stop-moving guard saved the day - and perhaps the season - for Boston . The lessons? The Boston Celtics need to avoid Clutch Time in Game-7. Get a solid lead - don&

Well here we are at game six of the Eastern Conference Finals. Defense will set the tone and let's hope the Celtics remember that! Play as a team and absorb Miami's punches. Tonight should be a dogfight. I'd prefer the C's to go off and destroy them.  JB strikes first tonight... Going to need to see him come out strong tonight. JB hits his patented jumper and is off and running. C's need to keep the ball moving. Great D overall from the Cs! Need to keep it up! So far we are deadlocked and tied up.  JT hasn't found his rhythm yet but it's coming. There he goes to the rim and scores! JB is cooking early! Why do the refs treat Butler like he's an all time player? Clearly he's NOT! Martin is playing so far above himself it makes me sick.  Decent first quarter for the C's to this point.  Need a big quarter from JT. Marcus just made Vincent look weak and too small! Grab that AND ONE! C's need to work on their three point defense. Right now Vincent

 A combo of in-your-shirt defense and efficient 3-point shooting (41% on treys) worked to pefrfection as an energized Celtics squad rolled over the Miami Heat, 110-97 - bringing the series to 3-2 in favor of Miami. This game never seemed in doubt as The Green never took a play off, at either end of the court . The extra effort was always there, hitting the floor - grabbing offensive boards (Al Horford with 11 rebounds, 5 offensive) - and disrupting virtually everything the Heat attempted.  And then there was the offense. The Celtics shot selection was close-to-perfection. They hit 50.6% of their field goals and 41% on threes. ( per Joe Mazzulla ): “The last two games we’re getting the advantage quick,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said, “and then the two-on-ones are there, and then we’re reading the two-on-one. When we play fast but organized, that’s when we’re at our best.” For a change, the two high scorers were not named Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown . It was the starting backco

Celtic Pride goes deep, especially in my family. Hope loves her some Celtics. An epic first half for the Celtics. Their defense has been excellent tonight. The way they are moving the ball is amazing! Derrick White has been superb from beyond the arc. Jaylen Brown has come out to prove why he's All NBA! JAYSON CHRISTOPHER TATUM has been on fire. Al Horford and Marcus Smart are knocking down shots.  Celtics defense is leading to a ton of Miami turnovers . It's quite an interesting turnout when you actually play defense. Need the defense to be ready to fight in the second half. Need the ball movement to continue.  Al just abused Flopper Lowry! Can't stand Lowry. JB just BROUGHT THE HAMMER! Marcus Smart is getting a little too careless. Cs see the lead dissipate, and Joe actually uses a timeout. That's a good coaching move. The Cs need to go on a run themselves here. Tyler Herro looks like a damn fool in that outfit. Another player who makes me sick!  Derrick White has bee

According to anonymous sources, granted anonymity because they were not authorized to give out this information, the Celtics Malcom Brogdon has been playing through an injury to his right arm ( per TheAthletic's Jared Weiss ):  Malcolm Brogdon  has been playing through a partial tear in the tendon coming out of his right elbow that leads into his forearm, team sources told  The Athletic. Brogdon suffered the injury in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, according to the sources, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record. The  Celtics  guard was initially dealing with golfer’s elbow soreness during the second-round series against  Philadelphia , but an MRI after Game 1 against the  Heat  determined he exacerbated the injury by tearing the tendon in boxing out  Miami Heat  big  Kevin Love  midway through the first quarter. This would explain why the current Sixth-Man-of-the-Year has struggled to score in the past three games of the Eas

 After Miami's 116-99 loss to Boston in Game-4 of the East Finals, Jimmy Butler was asked how his team would respond in Game-5 in Boston. He mentioned "going back to our habits" . Well, what got the Celtics the win in Game-4 was getting away from some of their bad habits fans have witnessed of late. Boston was intense from the start and their defense forced Miami into 15 turnovers for the game - and kept their own total to 10 miscues . The Celtics also got into their passing game, "outassisting" their opponent 28-to-18. In this contest, Boston continued to throw up a lot of treys (45 of them) , but they were falling (40% on 3-pointers) . But The Green decided to play tough "D, resulting in eight (8) steals and eight (8) blocks, to Miami's 5-and-2, respectively. And it didn't hurt that Al Horford and Grant Williams stepped up, supplying a combined 26 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks.   And for those fans down on Jayson Tatum, he

  If this team has any pride in themselves then they need to show it tonight. I honestly don't know how it came to this being down three to zero. I will put the blame on Wyc and Brad for letting Ime go and not hiring a competent coach. Then the blame lies on this team quitting last game.  C's are taking everything Miami is throwing at them. They sustained a few blows and are now in quite a decent run. GWill has nailed a huge three and the C's have a small lead. C's are going to need absolute heart tonight. I want to believe they do but I'm not certain.  C's have allowed the Heat way too many second chance opportunities. C's just turned their defense into offense. Need to see more of that. The defense can be so hit or miss. Almost as if they haven't been practicing it at all.  Their offensive ball movement has been decent up to this point. C's aren't embarrassing themselves so that's something to hang your head on tonight. Shaq and Barkley kil

 It may not be the sole cause of the Celtics sub-par post-season play and questionable synergy , but according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski , the Boston locker room n ever got over the suspension of former Coach Ime Udoka. "This locker room never got over Ime Udoka's dismissal as head coach," he (Woj) said Monday. "These players did not accept the organization's reasoning for doing it. They thought it was a wild overreaction. There were a lot of the people on the outside who thought it was an overreaction. That it was an HR matter. "I think for this team and talking with management, they never got any more answers than the public was getting on this. That doesn't mean they haven't accepted Joe Mazzulla as head coach, but this is a team that really believed in Ime Udoka and had a strong connection with him. "There was nothing that they found to be disqualifying to work again in the NBA." @wojespn discusses why the @HoustonRockets deci

 Why am I writing about the Celtics future when the East Finals are not finished yet? We already know that no NBA team has come back from a 0-3 deficit, and fans feel that this version of the Boston Celtics will not be the first to do so.  Where do they go from here? When I have thoughts of them winning Game-4 in Miami and then losing Game-5 at home, all I can hear in my mind are the boos from the home crowd for losing to an 8th-seed . I hate when that happens at any time, although it may be deserved for The Green's performance in the 2023 post-season. It starts with Joe Mazzulla . Specifics were not made known about his contract - other than it was extended and the interim tag removed. Analysts fully realize Joe has been out-coached by Eric Spoelstra in the East Finals, but that was expected . Mazzulla is a rookie head coach and the veteran, Spoelstra, is one of the best at his craft.  Mazzulla will most-likely remain as Boston's head coach , but a return to consistent, har

  Who will be the catalyst to these Celtics finally winning a game in this series? Tatum gets the C's on the board with a nice three. Other than that the start to this game sucks. JT and JB getting involved early! Al hits his first three, that's a good sign. JB seems locked in early tonight.  Bam is constantly setting moving screens. This entire Heat team grabs on every defensive play as well. This game might be over already. I'm starting to dislike watching this game. What a lackluster start. This team and Coach have no guts right now.  This team has QUIT ON THEIR TERRIBLE HEAD COACH. How do you allow a Coach who got us to the Finals last year go. Then do no work at all finding his successor. You hire a guy with no experience at all. It's all biting them in the rump as we speak. There is no reason why you give the keys of this model team to a guy who can't adjust on either end of the floor.  Mazzulla doesn't do anything valuable on his offensive plays or creati

There needs to be four quarters of balls to the wall basketball tonight from the Celtics. C's need to come out throwing jabs and haymakers. Marcus starts off the game scoring inside. The Jays need to lead by example and destroy the Heat.  Not an ideal start... What in the actual heck is going on. What a freaking nightmare.  Jayson seems to ready to attack tonight. Going to need a lot of that tonight. JT for THREEEEEEEEE!!! He's feeling it! Good ball movement leads to a DWhite three. C's need a huge run! Too many missed shots up to this point. This start sucks tonight. C's are slowly fighting to get back in the game. But it's not pretty at all.  JT nails a beautiful three! They take a big punch from the Heat and punch em right back! I can't stand Kyle Lowry if you didn't know. The first has ended and the C's are up by one. Not bad given a cold start. On to the second... Great D by Grant Williams on Bam! Grant with the assist to DWhite for THREEEEEEEEE! Br

 The current version of the Boston Celtics has few weaknesses, but they certainly seem to have trouble winning close games.  "Clutch Time" is defined as minutes when the scoring margin is within five (5) points with 5-or-fewer minutes remaining in a game. Thus far, The Green have not done well in Clutch Time   (CT) during this year's playoffs. As a team, Boston ranks ninth (9th) recordwise with a winning percentage of 44.4% (4-5 record in games involving "Clutch Time"). Not surprising is that the Celtics current opponent, the Miami Heat, hold top place with a 71.4% winning percentage (5-2). Jayson Tatum's four turnovers in Boston's loss in Game-1 of the East Finals may have some fans pointing fingers at the youngster, but he has only turned the ball over only 0.1 times per game during those five critical minutes in the post-season, while also hitting 61.5% of his field goals and 62.5% of his 3-point attempts. In Crunch Time, Marcus Smart turns the b

  In a first quarter that was nip and tuck the C's ended up with a small lead. They moved it well on offense but had a few too many turnovers. Defensively they seemed to be ready to grind. In the second we saw the C's exert their will a bit especially on D. You have to love how they are attacking the paint! They are destroying Miami inside.  Need a big third quarter... Marcus Smart has been an assist machine! Rob Williams has been excellent on both ends. Marcus pulls up and nails the three! Would love to see the C's go on a huge run! Miami is hitting some lucky threes tonight.  JB for THREEEEEEEEE! Kevin Harland is beyond annoying to listen to. Not sure what the C's are doing but the lead is gone and it's getting annoying. Great job by MB getting inside and scoring. The Celtics defense absolutely sucked in the third. Absolutely disgusting third quarter overall. There was absolutely no defense and now they trail by double digits. Just don't get this team at all..

 The size differential between the Celtics Al Horford (6'9", 240 lbs.) and The Sixers Joel Embiid (7', 280 lbs.) appears greater than the measurements indicate . Still, Boston's 36-year-old center/forward did one terrific job defending the League MVP. It was obvious from Game-1 of the East Semis versus the Philadelphia 76'ers that The Dominican Gentleman was up to the task . Al was annointed as Embiid's prime defender in the series, and he was not going to allow the Philly center's size, strength and MVP status to detract from his task. It probably helped that Joe Mazzulla (or was it Brad Stevens?) decided to play his 2-big starting lineup for the final two games of the series - bringing in 6'8" Rob Williams to pair with Horford. In a post-game interview, Al put it right out there, stating: "I was just out there trying to fight for my life!" "I had to put my imprint in the series. I had to figure it out." Al Horford on guard

 Celticvs coach, Joe Mazzulla went back to his 2-big starting lineup for the final two games in the East Semis agains Philadelphia, both wins for Boston. Expect the same when the Celtics take on the Miami Heat for Game-1 of the East Finals on Wednesday. Miami doesn't generally put a big lineup out there, but Kevin Love has been starting games alongside Bam Adebayo . Love has not been playing large minutes, but his r ebounding remains solid, and his outlet passes remain some of the best in the business. But it is Jimmy Butler that does everything for the Heat - everything but shoot (and hit) a lot of 3-pointers. He leads his team in points, assists and steals and does a lot of his damage close to the rim .  Part of Rob Williams job will be to keep rebounds out of the hands of both Kevin and Bam -and also Butler who averages 6.6 rebounds per game thus far in the post-season. Re-experimenting with Rob and Al Horford starting for the Celtics proved effective against the 76'e

 After failing once again to take his team to the Conference Finals, It appears that Philadelphia Coach, Doc Rivers , may be out of a job. And to make matters worse, Doc took a shot from one of his former players . Rivers' comment on "cooperation" and J J Redick's response are seen below: I wonder if they cooperated — JJ Redick (@jj_redick) May 14, 202       "Not trying to take anything away from that [Clippers] team. That team was never going to win, when you look back at it. We just didn't get along well enough as a group and you can't win without cooperation. That's the only way you can win." -- Doc Rivers during an ESPN segment   "Everybody I've talked to about [Lob City] has kind of owned their own mistakes, if that makes sense, and realizes especially later on that we still could have had something special. And to not get any of that accountability from [Rivers], and the interesting part too, is he talked about players not gettin

  So I said these all NBA nods meant nothing unless we won game six and seven. Well we did and here we are.... Jayson Christopher Tatum was a man amongst boys today! Everything about his game screamed perfection. My goodness was he just amazing! JB brought his A game and wowed is as well.  Today proves despite the heart ache the rest of the series brought me was this team can actually be unbeatable. Today's outcome was what I expect every single night. I know that's a dream but I want it this way all the time.  Jayson Christopher Tatum is an incredibly special young man. Despite missing the mark, he came to play and willed the C's to a huge win. Not sure what it takes this team so long to figure things out..but we are so close to Banner 18.  All that's left in the East is the Miami Heat. Jimmy Butler has been incredible, but we are the better team. I just went thru every bucket JT put in today and my goodness it was a thing of Beauty!  This entire team decided to play d

  Oh no, not Lebron again! Yes, the Los Angeles Lakers have defeated the 2022 Champ Warriors and will move on to the West Finals versus the Denver Nuggets . And Lebron James will potentially be seeking his fifth Title. It is possible that we could be seeing yet another Celtics-Lakers Finals if LA takes out Denver and Boston defeats the 76'ers in Game-7 of the East Semis and then takes care of business against the Miami Heat. That is a lot of "Ifs" , but it could happen, this time for all the marbles . He has battled with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett,  but this time, The King would be facing  Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart .  There is little question that yet another Celtics-Lakers Finals clash would draw a lot of attention, and the "age-versus-youth" hype would be loud and long. plus, the Tatum/James matchup would be interesting. But without suggesting any clandestine workings within the referee crew or NBA generally, the question must be ask

  Where have the Marcus Smart naysayers gone? Well, the truth is that they strill exist - but in lesser numbers.  Smart came away from the Celtics 95-86 win over the 76'ers with a team-high 22 points , hitting on 53% from the field and 38% from downtown. He also added seven boards, seven assists and tied Rob Williams for top plus/minus (+18). But there was more from The Wolverine. He once again had "The Look" to start this game. That meant no plays off, "no quarter"defense and absolute intensity. By the way, when did Marcus morph into Boston's third opion on offense? After 12 playoff games, he ranks only behing Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in poinjts (16.6 PPG). But he can't shoot - right? How does 46.6% FG and 36.4% on 3s sound for this post-season? The Green is going nowhere without Jayson Tatum who put the team on his back in the final period last night - but it is Smart who is the unofficial leader of the Boston Celtics.   Look for "The Loo

  Celtics played a pretty decent first half, despite Jayson Tatum only scoring one point. The C's D made some nice plays and both DWhite and MB made some nice shots. Marcus Smart was extremely solid in the first half!  The only way they are going to win tonight is by playing an incredible defensive game tonight. So far it's been nice. Marcus has led the charge on D and set the tone. Marcus has always prided himself on the defensive end.  JT gets inside and scores his first field goal. Here we are in third and he finally scores. Let's hope it's followed up with many more. Personally I can't stand this Sixers team and how they flop. C's need to buckle down on D!  JB takes a huge spill on the floor, the court is wet. Thankfully he's not injured, and seems to want to stay out there. It would be nice to have the C's make a run. The lead is shrinking as we speak... Not sure my heart can take this tonight.  The wheels are starting to fall off as the C's hav

 It's not over yet. The Celtics still have a shot at making the Eastern Conference Finals, but I must admit the thought of the 76'ers potentially ending Boston's run for Banner 18 this season makes me nauseous . Here's the deal. It's not the fact that Banner 18 would have to wait at least another year before being raised at TD Garden. It has only been 15 years since Beantown's last NBA Title, and the last I knew, there are 30 teams in the League. Do the math. I am not a "Title-or-nothing" Celtics fan . I can handle another "almost-made-it" season, but what I can't stomach is the thought of the Philadelphia 76'ers moving on to the Eastern Conference Finals - and possibly going all the way this season. My basis for this stand? Doc Rivers walked away from Beantown because he did not want to take on a rebuild after the departure of Paul Pierce andf Kevin Garnett . Nothing personal, but Doc has not exactly flourished since he left the Cel

  Tonight could be the start of the end. This team came out with absolutely no balls. They are a game away from an epic failure. I truly don't understand this team at all. How can an entire team go cold?! Where was the ball movement and scoring tonight?!  How many more years are Celtics fans going to have their hearts broken?! One title in what 37 years?! Unacceptable! The Pierce Celtics underachieved, and now the Tatum/ Brown Celtics are underachieving. There is still a game six in Philly on Thursday with a possible game Seven on Sunday.  I had such high hopes for this team, they brought us on quite a ride last year. Yet this year they are driving straight into a wall and dreams are crashing all over. I don't know why I get so involved and attached to the C's when honestly they don't care about us.  An entire team goes cold as ice and we get our jocks handed to us. Am I disappointed for sure. Am I sad most definitely. I'm that little kid who wants to believe in spo

  I for one want to say the Celtics are the better team. What scares me is we have a coach who fails to use the tools in his shed. Two opportunities to win yesterday and absolutely no freaking timeout?! You gave the reigns of a championship team to a guy who can't Coach sometimes.  If u asked me at the start of the game and well into the third if we had a shot, I'd say we just needed a run. That run came in the fourth where our defense was awesome for the most part. What sickens me as a fan is watching Harden push off on every freaking play. Plus Embid flops on every freaking play. The refs give those two calls that are disgusting.  Doc complaining about JT, yet your freaking guy does it every single time! Hey Doc thanks for quitting on the C's. If your a player in that Celtics locker room, be ready to knockout this team on Tuesday. Then go to Philly on Thursday and ring the bell.  In OT JB admitted he shouldn't have doubled Embid. Honestly Tatum has him pretty well def

 If the Boston Celtics go all the way and earn Banner 18 this season, it will be Jayson Tatum that leads them. It is no surprise that, in the nine (9) playoff contests already played, Tatum leads in average minutes (38.0 MPG), points (26.2 PPG), rebounds ((9.8 RPG) and assists (5.0 APG) . He also ranks only behind Al Horford and Rob Williams in blocks with 1.1 BPG . It is the rebounds and assists that stand out for the one-and-done Duke product. Jayson has morphed into a prolific rebounder and solid facilitator.  Granted, Tatum is fortunate to have Jaylen Brown alongside to demand close attention from opposing defenses - and to have Marcus Smart and Grant Williams to do the "dirty work". And let's not forget the vital contributions of Al Horford, Derrick White, Malcolm Brogdon and Rob Williams . But it is Jayson that is the main focus for opponents.  The 4-time All-Star may be the most-dangerous scorer in the post-season right now , with his ability to handle the bal

  Grant Williams didn't score a point as all three of his shot attempts missed the mark, but he made his presence known. In his 23 minutes of floor time, he bellied up to Joel Embiid and - despite the Philly big man's 30 points, 13 boards and four blocks - made life difficult for the reigning MVP. Marcus Smart did put some points on the board (15 of them), adding three rebounds, four assists and three steals, and he was everywhere on the court at both ends. The Wolverine also spent time in the ditch guarding Embiid and fared well, despite the height disparity. Celtics Grant Williams gets face stomped by Joel Embiid 😳 https://t.co/lD1ov8PoiG via @YouTube — Tom Lane (@CelticsSentinel) May 6, 2023 I have been verbal in the past about the Boston Celtics lacking mental and physical toughness . That has changed. Smart has always delivered in that category, but he is now joined by Grant Williams . Grant getting "curb stomped" by Joel was tough to watch. But the 6'

1st...  C's start of with an eight to two lead! C's need to play hard core D! Celtics ball movement looks good right now! C's D looks pretty good so far. Tatum is out here performing and proving a point! Expect JT to play a heck of a game tonight, especially with Embid receiving the MVP award. We all know Jordan uses those things as fuel.  Scott Foster scares me as a ref... He was friends with Tim Donaghey. Excellent job by the Wolverine getting the charge! Let's Go! JB goes hard to the hoop and gets to the line! What a crap call.... Embid misses a layup and gets the foul freaking joke! Refs keeping Sixers in the game.  Al Horford for THREEEEEEEEE!!! Yet another garbage call against the C's. Remember the name Scott Foster. RWill with the jam!  2nd... C's tie it up after the technical by the Sixers. Marcus to the line to tie up the game. I'm telling you the Sixers have the refs in their pocket. Another horrible call as Harden flops... I'm sickened because