Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

Last night's game was winnable for the Boston Celtics. They came within a point of the Heat (93-92) with 2:20 to go in the game, but eventually lost Game 3 109-103. The turnovers (23 to Miami's 8) and the Heat's steals (19 to Boston's 2) played a large role, but the Celtics players and their coach seemed perplexed as to what took place ( per NBA.com's Steve Aschburner ): The question to Boston was, how could the players and coaches possibly let that (loss) happen? Did they not know this was a kind of big playoff game? They seemed as puzzled afterward as they were befuddled to start. “It wasn’t just myself,” coach Ime Udoka said. “It was Marcus [Smart], Jayson [Tatum], Jaylen and Al [Horford] all speaking up at shootarounds and at the meetings saying be prepared, knowing they’re going to come out with their best hit. For whatever reason, we didn’t match that to start the game. Kyle Lowry's return to action and Bam Adeboayo's 31 points, 10 boards and six ...

 One of the NBA's truest adages is, A team's weaknesses get exposed in the post-season . The Celtics struggles against the Miami Heat made it quite evident that lack of a dominant center and a shallow, non-playoff-worthy bench  made the Boston's Celtics vulnerable. Miami's third-year center, Bam Adebayo gave Boston trouble all series long. In the Heat's 125-113 closeout of Boston last night in Game Six, Bam's line included 32 points, 14 rebounds and five assist s. He shot 75% from the field and 10-of-11 from the free throw line. All he lacks is a 3-point shot. The line supplied by Boston's center quartet of Daniel Theis, Enes Kanter, Rob Williams and Grant Williams (combined 41 minutes)? 11 points, 16 boards, one assist . It must be added for those that think the Celtics would have fared better against the Lakers Anthony Davis have to be delusional. Now to the benches. The Heat had both rookie Tyler Herro and veteran  Andre Iguodala coming off the pine....

In the third quarter of a critical Game Five last night, the Boston Celtics came out and looked like a team reborn.  Daniel Theis, who had been pulled out at the 8:13 mark of the first quarter, started to assert himself in every part of the game - setting screens, hitting the boards, blocking shots and looking to score ( per NBA's Steve Aschburner ): Meanwhile, Boston was pushing into the paint, going to center Daniel Theis in the heart of Miami’s defense. The 6-foot-8 native of Salzgitter, Germany, in his third NBA season at 28, contributed six points, two offensive rebounds and a couple of blocks while playing all but 39 seconds of the quarter.  Theis had been averaging 6.5 points and 0.5 blocks per game through the series’ first four games. After being a cumulative minus-9 in those games, Theis was plus-16 Friday, behind only Walker’s plus-21.   Besides being yanked early in the first quarter, Daniel was also taken out at the 9:48 mark of the second period in favo...

 The Miami Heat All-Star center, Bam Adebayo, is averaging 21.5 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 4.5 APG, 2.0 SPG and 1.3 BPG versus the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Finals - all while earning a plus/minus of +7.3. Boston now sits with a 1-3 deficit in the series, and Miami has had various heroes in the four contests. But Bam has been tough, productive and consistent.  In the center spot for Boston, Brad Stevens has gone with Daniel Theis as his main weapon - sporadic views of Rob Williams - rare minutes from Enes Kanter - and ditto for Grant Williams. It isn't working. . @kendrickperkins is calling out Brad Stevens for not putting the Celtics in a position to win. "How many lobs is Bam gonna get in this series?! ... Right now Erik Spoelstra is coaching circles around [Stevens]." pic.twitter.com/kgSFIVdymQ — First Take (@FirstTake) September 25, 2020 Miami guard, Goran Dragic, has been a thorn in the Celtics side, and rookie Tyler Herro was a major factor in the Heat's Game 4 victory...

 Celtics coach, Brad Stevens must be asking the same question about the Miami Heat players. "Who are those guys?" Butch Cassidy (played by Paul Newman) asked that question of the Sundance Kid (portrayed by Robert Redford) in the 1969 western flick. In the film, the two outlaws were being pursued by a relentless posse that just would not quit. It starts with 3rd-year, All-Star center with a first name seemingly snatched from a Batman cartoon, Bam Adebayo . The 14th pick in the 2017 NBA draft was never supposed to be this good - at least not so soon. The starter at shooting guard for Miami, Duncan Robinson , went undrafted in the 2018 draft and has worked hard (a requirement for Pat Riley's teams) to earn a spot on this Title contender. Robinson avoids 2-point shots (less than one per game) and does his damage from beyond the arc at 7.3 attempts/game and making 41% of them. Forward, and Ex-Celtic, Jae Crowder , has found a niche in Miami - at least for now. The Heat are his...

 The Boston Celtics 106-101 defeat at the Hands of the Miami Heat cannot be blamed on one factor. There were many. Miami coach, Eric Spoelstra, went with a zone defense for most of the game, putting his forwards out at the top of the key. It worked. Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder, Tyler Herro and Derrick Jones accounted for nine of the Heat's 11 steals in the game. Miami ended up forcing Boston into 20 turnovers, and that was a killer for The Green. I predicted That slowing down Bam Adebayo in this series would be Boston's main obstacle. He went wild in the third quarter, and as predicted, Boston had no answer for him. He came away with 21 points, 10 boards and four assists in the game. The Celtics were not providing weak side help on Bam, and he had a field day down low in the third quarter. In the hustle department, one play at the 10:36 mark of the fourth quarter told the story. A lazy inbounds pass by Brad Wanamaker was stolen by Derrick Jones, who then got the ball to Herro - ...

 Of the four NBA teams still competing for the 2020 Championship, the Boston Celtics are the only one without a dominant big man. The Los Angeles Lakers have Anthony Davis. The Denver Nuggets have Nikola Jokic manning the center position, and the Miami Heat place Bam Adebayo at the five-spot. Conversely, Boston has the Daniel Theis-Rob Williams (TW) tandem sharing the center spot. A quick glance at the 2020 post-season stats show, at least on the surface, that the TW duo matches up fairly well with the individual members of the Davis-Jokic-Adebayo (DJA) trio. The numbers for DJA are an average of the three, while the stats for the Celtics duo are combined. Boston's center pairing averages a combined 40.4 MPG, while the DJA center crew log 36.2 MPG. It is no surprise that the three star centers get the nod on average points (23.1 PPG vs. 12.9 PPG) and assists (5.1 vs. 2.4), but the Green Centers take honors on blocks (1.9 vs. 1.1) and turnovers (1.4 vs. 2.9). Rebounds (10-11) and st...

The Celtics are set to kick off the Eastern Conference Finals versus the Miami Heat tomorrow night, and the series may well go the full seven games. The Heat rely on Jimmy Butler for everything but 3-point shots, and he is definitely a key for Miami. But the Celtics have no one in the mold of second-year center, Bam Adebayo. Bam is another non-distance shooter, but he has put up 16.2 points per game in the postseason on 54% from the field. He sits behind only Giannis Antetokounmpo in rebounds pulled down in the playoffs (11.7 RPG - 7 or more games played). Oh - yes, and he is a decent assist man, passing off for 4.8 assists/game in the playoffs. He is a handful down low, on both ends of the floor. He is strong and versatile. He will be a tough assignment for Daniel Theis and Rob Williams. Bam Adebayo in his first year as a full time starter: • Youngest player in NBA history to average 15+ PTS, 10+ REB, 5+ AST, 50% FG • All-Star • All-NBA Defender pic.twitter.com/CPysb704z3 — ...

The Celtics no longer have a hold on the number-2 standing in the Eastern Conference. The Miami Heat have taken over that slot after winning their last two games, while Boston has racked up two losses in a row. The Heat's record is now 27-10, just ahead of the Celtics at 25-10. Great team win vs @Pacers . Let’s go @MiamiHEAT !!! #TheDragon 🐲🔥 Good night pic.twitter.com/NToldzKrnv — Goran Dragić (@Goran_Dragic) January 9, 2020 Miami goes 11-deep with players logging double-digit minutes. Seven Miami players are putting up double-digits in points, and two of them, Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro, are rookies. Nunn averages 15.4 PPG and 4.5 APG, while Herro averages 13.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG and 2.1 APG. The Heat's 6'9" center, Bam Adebayo, and Jimmy Walker are both having All-Star-level seasons. Bam is producing 15.7 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.3 SPG and 1.2 BPG. Butler is the team's top scorer at 20.2 Points/game, while also adding 6.9 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 2.0 st...

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown got a chance to go one-on-one against 6'3" point guard De'Aaron Fox and 6'10" big man, Bam Adebayo during Day One of USA Basketball training camp. . They even went against each other, and they are looking sharp. Their work versus a ball handler, wing and big is great prep for Brad Stevens' switching defenses, and both members of the Jay Team should be getting a lot of looks on offense this season. USA Basketball Players Go 1 V 1 King Of The Court! Jayson Tatum, DeAaron... https://t.co/0DZCLjX9qQ via @YouTube — Tom Lane (@CelticsSentinel) August 6, 2019 Today will be the second day of training camp for the USA Basketball invitees. Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum all have solid shots at making the final 12-man roster. The fourth Celtic making a bid, Marcus Smart, will have a better chance of making the squad if Kyle Lowry's thumb surgery forces him to withdraw. Stay with us for daily updates and news from USA Tra...