Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 Now it starts. It is NBA All-Star weekend as I write this, and some inferior teams have their focus on losing enough games to "earn" a high lottery pick . Danny Ainge , never one to previously tank as Head Honcho of the Boston Celtics, and his Utah Jazz took a half-million-dollar  hit for failing to play his stars in the final period of two close games. Unnecessarily resting star players has been a major issue in the League this season, and Adam Silver has decided to make teams pay for such a practice. Silver stated that such behavior "undermines the foundation of NBA compeition" . That may be so, but what may eventually be undermined might be the popularity of the League itself - and the massive amount of money it acquires.  The blatent "losing to gain a high draft position" needs to stop , but large fines are hardly felt by the offending teams. Resting star players to avoid injuries is one thing, but benching them after overstating the seriousness ...

With no disrespect to Adam Silver, but when looking at him, Mister Barlow from the TV horror movie, Salem's Lot comes to mind. The comparison doesn't end there. Barlow virtually emptied the town of Salem's Lot of it's occupants, and Adam has his work ahead of him from having the same happen to NBA arenas around the country. Battling a centuries-old vampire might be a cakewalk compared to taking on a sub-microscopic entity that exists in a state somewhere between life and death ( per Scientific American's Luis Villareal ): First seen as poisons, then as life-forms, then biological chemicals, viruses today are thought of as being in a gray area between living and nonliving:  So even though viruses can't be totally classified as living things, they have the power to sicken and kill human beings. That is what Adam Silver is up against. No longer protected by a bubble environment, NBA players are being infected with COVID-19 at an increasing rate. Spectators are almo...

That's the word from The Athletic's Jared Weiss. The NBA has yet to decide how to handle the G League season in the face of the COVID pandemic. The Celtics are opting out of the NBA’s preliminary plans for a G-League bubble, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA . Details on the league’s planning stage, impact on Exhibit 10 contracts and what this means for the Maine Red Claws: https://t.co/7BzK6IFKjK — Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) December 6, 2020 One week of "bubble play" in Atlanta is a current option, but Danny Ainge may take the safer route of not choosing to send any two-way or G League guys out of the New England environment.Adam Silver may opt to allow for expanded team rosters to allow coaches to get a more-complete view of their new additions. Yet, Celtics coach, Brad Stevens usually takes the conservative route and doesn't favor throwing the younger and inexperienced troops into the fray. Right now, Adam Silver is making this up as he goes, and that frankly is h...

It's all about intensity and motivation. When the infamous Larry Bird-versus-Julius Erving duel took place in the Garden, the immediate aftermath saw the Boston faithful start the chant for their hero. "Laaaarrrryyy, Laaaarrrryyy". I was there, and it was deafening - exciting - exhilarating. Yes, that's the word - EXHILARATING . Animated, elated, thrilling. That is what is missing. That exhilaration is good for the fans, the players - and even the TV watchers at home. In-person viewing of most events just doesn't compare with watching a television set many miles away from the action. My belief is that most NBA players prefer performing in an arena with capacity crowds. The Lakers Lebron James certainly does: “I definitely love playing in front of the fans. The fans are what make the game,” James said. “Without the fans, I wouldn’t be who I am today. To all the fans out there that come watch me play, I miss you guys and hopefully someday I can get back to that inte...

We have heard of most of the negative aspects of the NBA's decision to put the 2019-20 season on hiatus because of the coronavirus outbreak. But one major concern is the fact that even elite athletes, including professional basketball players, can become deconditioned in a very short period of time. Admittedly, two of the very few positive aspects of the shutdown are that the players get some relief from the grind of a long season and sufficient time to recover from injuries. Certainly, Jaylen Brown, who has been out of action for a while with a knee issue, can use the down time. But having worked as a Personal Trainer for 27 years in athletic clubs, gyms and corporations, with many clients being athletes, I found that even one week's absence from training results in measurable losses in conditioning. This may not be an issue for Lebron James and other NBA players who live in mansions equipped with massive gymnasiums, but how about the low-salaried players, particularly th...

The Celtics do-everything forward, Gordon Hayward, has been through the mill since coming to Boston in 2017. First it was a season lost with the devastating ankle injury and then a turbulent year of playing while still recovering and rehabbing. Portland's Damian Lillard has now announced that he will not participate in the All-Star game due to injuries, and Commissioner Adam Silver will choose his replacement. The Suns' Devin Booker has been mentioned as a logical substitute, but Gordon may be a more appropriate one. Hayward participated in the 2017 All-Star contest when he was in Utah. His averages that season are compared below to his stats from this season: 2017 (Utah): 34.5 MPG, 21.9 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 3.5 APG, 47% FG, 40% 3P, 1.9 TOPG 2020 (Boston): 32.8 MPG, 17.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 4.1 APG, 51% FG, 39% 3P, 1.8 TOPG The numbers are very similar, but that is not the whole story. The choice of Booker-as-replacement makes sense to a significant extent. He is doing it all for a P...