Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 It's already out there. The vibes are resounding that the Boston Celtics , mostly due to key injuries to members of opposing teams, have had - and will have - an easy path - at least to the NBA Finals ( per nytimes.com ): "Boston faced a  Miami Heat  team without  Jimmy Butler . Now, it’s facing a  Cavaliers  team that misses  Jarrett Allen  and just had to sit Mitchell because of his knee. Also, this is a Cleveland team that gave away  the worst t-shirts ever  used as promo. Assuming the Celtics take care of business in the next game or two ( they beat Cleveland 109-102  last night to move to 3-1 in the series), they will face either a  young, inexperienced Pacers team  with one of the worst defenses we’ve ever seen, or an  extremely banged-up Knicks squad  missing at least two starters." No kidding! Since when has good luck not been a requirement for bringing the Championship Trophy back to your home city? G...

  Jrue Holiday doesn't have to prove anything to anybody. Despite his less-than-expected stats in the regular season, in last night's Game-3 in the East Semis, he showed his bosses and Celtics fans just how valuable he is. Holiday inked a 4-yeat/$134.4 million deal recently, which means he will be 37 years old in the final season of the contract if he picks up his player option . Brad Stevens knows what he has in the 2-time All Star, 1-time Champ, 5-time All-Defense and 3-time Teammate of the year. Boston truly needed last night's win in Game-3 against the Cavaliers, and Jrue expressed himself on the court from the start, defending, rebounding and scoring almost at will. He came away with 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists . He was dead-on in his shooting, hitting 7-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 on 3-pointers. The focus will always be on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown , the two main stars for Boston, but Jrue Holiday's credentials are solid . I am most moved ...

 Particularly with the Boston-Miami rivalry in full swing, it was amazing to see so many Heat fans at the Kaseya Center in full "White Hot" garb (per NBA.com ): "The coolest thing about White Hot is HEAT Fans understanding the power of their solidarity. When everyone dresses in white for HEAT Playoff games, they become a collective unit—one incredibly loud voice that creates the atmosphere and energy that can help make a difference in the outcome of a game.:"  There you have it. "One incredibly loud voice that creates the atmosphere and energy that can help make a difference in the outcome of a game" Those Miami fans   simply knew that that the Celtics Derrick White was going to have a career night, and the white shirts predicted that Derrick White was going to be "White Hot" and lead his team to victory. White finished Boston's 102-88 victory over Miami in Game-4 with 3 8 points - on 57.7% accuracy from the field and 53.3% from the hinterl...

Guest article by "The Sports Machine with Slim"  HEY CELTICS FANS! All of you. Yes even the ones who come on here just to complain even when we win. I need all of your eyes here please. We all want the Celtics to win banner 18. We may argue about how to get there and whether or not Jayson Tatum can get it done in a close game. We might not agree on Mazzulla being a championship level coach. And we might actually not even really like one another in real life. But we have a common goal. Let's come together for the next two months. Please. Let's join as one to lift this incredible regular season team to new playoff highs. Honestly, I'm not sure this group of players can do it without us. Here are the facts: The Celtics were 6-3 on the road in the playoffs last year. They were 5-6 at home in those same playoffs. Now this year they are 1-1 at home against an 8 seed that is without their best player. These Celtics are immature and they need our help. This ain't the ...

 The reasons behind the Celtics unexpected loss to the Miami Heat in Game-2 have all been discussed. Stifling Miami defense and dead-eye accuracy from the hinterlands  and Porzingis having trouble receiving passes and getting open, etc. But how about only three assists from Jayson Tatum and a meager one assist from Jaylen Brown . Hell, Miami's Tyler Herro had 14 assists all by himself in the win - and s till managed a team-high 24 points - while hitting 7-of-13 from the field and 6-of-11 on threes. Let's go back to the 1986 Celtics post-season . Larry Bird, from the forward position, averaged 8.2 assists-per-game. Even Kevin McHale, alias "The Black Hole", averaged 2.7 APG.   This is hardly an indictment against The Jay Team. The point is simply that they have seasoned scorers on the floor with them, and as good as Jaylen and Jayson are, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and Al Horford need more looks - even in clutch time. Miami Coach, Eric Spoelstra , may be trying to ...

 It was apparent from the start that the Miami Heat were not giving away anything to the Celtics . Their defense was versatile and stifling.  But few expected their shooting display from the hinterlands in the Heat's 111-101 defeat of Boston . They hit on 23-of-43 shots from deep for a 53.5 percentage. In the regular season , they only attempted an average of 33.7 3-pointers per game, making 12.5 of them (37.0%) . What also didn't help the Celtics cause was Kristaps Porzingis having an off-shooting night . He was 1-of-9 from the field and 0-of-4 from long range for a total of six points . He did fine in the other categories, however, with eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. And give credit to T yler Herro and his 24 points, five boards and 14 assists. He lived up to his name . So it's on to Miami with the series tied 1-1. Home court has once again been negated versus the Miami Heat - in a series that many felt would be a sweep by Boston - particul...

 Where do I start? Flashback to Game-5 of the 1991 Celtics-Pacers playoff series . Larry Bird spent the night before the game in traction with a spine ailment - was there for opening tap - and during one play, hit his head on the floor so hard, his head bounced. He was forced to head to the locker room with a fractured cheekbone, and possible concussion, but returned to the court with an astounding roar from the crowd . Boston took the game and the series as I watched every minute of the contest on TV. Now to the present. I have rightfully been critical of Jayson Tatum for his frequent complaints to officials . But after the hard foul on him by Caleb Martin in Game-1 of the Celtics-Heat series - and Jayson's quick bounce-back from the floor - and what could have been a serious injury - I saw a guy that is ready to be an on-court leader for his team. That is my focus. I am rightfully proud of Jayson - the entire Celtics team - and the coaches and execs. Not one of the folks conne...

Guest article by "The Sports Machine with Slim"  Let’s Go Celtics FANS! I hear the chant in the TD Garden all the time.  “Let’s Go CEL-TICS!” It’s catchy. It’s easy to say. And it’s on the jumbotron with the accompanying drumbeat so we all know the rhythm to say it to. It’s also old and played out. So I’m gonna make a little alteration: “Let’s Go Cel-tics – FANS!” It is obvious to anyone with two eyeballs that the fans are making a difference in the NBA. Heading into last night’s games, the home team had been 10-0 in the playoffs. Home court matters. Boston fans like to feel as though our home crowd advantage is something special. That isn’t really the case though. The Celtics are 12-12 in their last 24 playoff games in Boston . #NotGoodEnough Do I blame the Boston fans for our home court playoff mediocrity? No. The players are the ones shooting the shots. But I will say this: The fans can make a difference. I saw it two nights ago. The New York Knicks fans 100% absolutely wo...

  Jayson Tatum has a bad rap of complaining too much to the refs on call and non-calls. But a hard late-game hard foul on Tatum by Caleb Martin - and Jayson's (non) response - is a turning point for him in my mind. After being undercut by Martin in Boston's win over the Heat last night, Tatum hit the floor really hard - and I fully expected him to be injured or to dramatize it. Neither happened. Instead, the Celtics main star jumped quickly to his feet and walked away. No faking an injury. No complaining. No confrontation with Martin. No fisticuffs and an ejection. His (non) actions were so "Larry Bird-like". Could this be a turning point for Jayson Tatum? I think so. What we saw was a mature superstar reacting as such. He left the confrontations to his teammate, Jaylen Brown, who in turn picked up a technical foul - as did Caleb Martin. Congrats, Jayson, on all of that. Oh, and also on your triple-double.

Guest article by "The Sports Machine with Slim"  Celtics Fans - Let's Get Busy! Today the Boston Celtics kick off what should be an amazing playoff run. We are the most talented team in the league and we have gotten the benefit of an incredibly easy draw. Jimmy Butler is down, and after we beat the Heat, Cleveland or Orlando will await us. Please excuse me while I laugh. If the Celtics come with the right effort level, there is no way on God's green earth that any of those teams can beat us four out of seven games. Zero percent chance. But what if the Celtics DONT come with the right intensity and effort? What if Jayson Tatum doesn't hustle back on D and instead chooses to whine at officials like he has done for most of his career? What if Jaylen Brown chooses to dribble too much and makes untimely turnovers like he has done for most of HIS career? And what if Kristaps Porzingis turns into the soft unicorn that he has been for most of his career? What will happ...

  I started following pro basketball in 1960 . My next-door friend was from Lawrence, Massachusetts - and like most young guys from that city - he was a hoop fanatic . As a senior in high school, I quickly became one. These playoffs will be number-64 for me. The present version of my home team has been brilliantly constructed . They have been close to omnipotent in the regular season and should have corrected any weaknesses that have revealed themselves in the past several post-seasons. Physically, they really lack nothing . The starters - the bench - the role players are all there. Scoring? Check! Defense? Ditto! Luck? They have that. Unlike a few opposing teams, they are healthy.   My point here is that: "You can not tweak your little finger without your brain initiating the action". -- Tom Lane It seems the only thing that can get in the way of Banner 18 for the Boston Celtics would be mental lapses . Taking plays off - repeating bad habits - overreliance on 3- pointe...

 I Don’t Think the Celtics Will Win Guest article by "The Sports Machine" with Slim Something hit me like a ton of bricks the other day when a friend told me that he “hopes the Celtics win it all”. Those words have changed my life. For years I have believed that the Celtics were better than they actually were. We won three titles during the 80’s. I thought we were going to win 5 or 6. During the 90’s, I knew we had potential, and I delusionally thought we might even be good enough to win a title a couple of those years. The 2000’s brought some serious hope, and eventually we did break through with KG (Love that man!). Still, I was positive that we were going to win it all in 08-09 and in 09-10. I'm a hard core, tried and true Green Teamer. These past few seasons, I have put my money where my mouth is. Starting back during the bubble season, I have bet substantial sums of money on the Celtics to win the title each year. As you know, I lost those substantial sums. I j...