Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 The Boston Celtics currently hold a somewhat shaky hold on the second seed in the Eastern Conference. "The Green" have a record of 44-23 but are trailed by the New York Knicks with a 43-25 record. Should Boston meet the Knicks in the post-season, home court advantage may be critica l, even though the Celtics' road record is almost as good as its home numbers. But the Celtcs are 1-2 against New York this season, and as many as four playoff contests in Madison Square Garden would not be what Joe Mazzulla is looking forward to. Let me be blunt. At very least, the refs do not seem to favor Boston when it comes to calling - or not calling - fouls. But as Jaylen Brown has possibly inferred, the refs - and the League - may just feel that "The Green" have accumulated enough awards over the years to satisfy Boston fans. And New York has more residents than Boston - while the Knicks are a bigger market with a higher monetary value than the Celtics.  The Celtics...

 The optimists in Beantown are hoping for one or two wins over the Nets in the upcoming matchup. Regardless of the outcome, what happens in this series will go a long way to defining the following season. Danny Ainge has stated fans can expect he, Brad Stevens, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will all be back for the 2021-22 campaign . The rest is in Limbo. Danny Ainge told @Dan_Shaughnessy that he, Brad Stevens, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown will all still be part of the #Celtics next season. This shouldn't surprise (or disappoint) you, but in case you were curious... https://t.co/8orO0upg5S — Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) May 17, 2021 Much of the hope for a hard-fought series lies in the hands of Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart and Evan Fournier . Beyond that foursome, I find it interesting that at least one Brooklyn sports writer feels the center matchup featuring the Nets DeAndre Jordan and the Celtics Tristan Thompson is critical, basing the slant on Thompson'...

I'm serious here. Last night's 105-75 drubbing of The Green by the struggling New York Knicks is not such a bad thing. A 'bad thing" would be the Celtics peaking so early in the season, only to decelerate as the post-season approached. With COVID stubbornly refusing to go away, we have no idea what this season's playoffs will look like - or even if they will be played at all. Home court advantage may have no meaning this year. Danny Ainge seems to be moderately-content with the crew he has, but floor time for the youngsters is paramount, as is ending the regular season with a sufficient record to make the playoffs. As a worst-case scenario, ending the season and barely qualifying for the playoffs - and starting the post-season against the top team in the Eastern Conference - when the troops are fresh - is not totally negative. The key here is to make the post season with a complete and healthy roster, in addition to having an 8-or-9-man rotation that is prepared wi...