Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 Larry Bird did it in the Celtics Championship 85-86 season. John Havlicek did it in the 69-70 "transition" season. Both stars led their teams in average points, rebounds and assists . In the 1969-70 season, following the retirement of Bill Russell and Sam Jones , Hondo averaged 41.6 MPG, 24.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG and 6.8 APG - to lead his team in all four categories. Bird did the same in the 1985-86 season, averaging 38.0 MPG, 25.8 PPG, 9.8 RPG and 6.8 APG . Now to Jayson Tatum . In six post-season games played in 2026, coming back from a torn Achilles tendon, he averaged 23.3 PPG, 10.7 RPG and 6.8 APG in 36.3 minutes per game . It is ironic that all three Boston superstars had the identical number of assists per game {6.8 APG), and that shows the versatility of the famed trio. We all knew that Tatum would be a scorer in the NBA, but he has also become an ace rebounder and adept facilitator . I expect a solid season for Jayson in 2026-27, probably leading "The Green" i...

 Former Celtics star center, Robert Parish , was recently asked which team would win in a clash between the 2024 Champion "Green" and the 1986 roster . "The Chief" answered that the 1986 crew would prevail because nobody had an answer for Bill Walton . I love the present Celtics team, but the 85-86 group may be the best NBA crew ever assembled . The 80s group were at their peak, and Bill Walton had an injury-free season, walking away with the 6th-Man-of-the-Year award. Bill was a luxury for a team so stacked. Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Parish, Dennis Johnson and Danny Ainge were generally the starters, and Walton, Scott Wedman and Jerry Sichting came off the bench. Before coming to Boston, Walton had won many awards, including MVP and Finals MVP . Wedman had been a two-time All-Star prior to becoming a Celtic. That was quite a bench. The 80s Celtics had it all - no weaknesses . It started with size. They were long in the front court, and when Coach K C Jones wa...

 In the history of the Boston Celtics, Red Auerbach's acquisition of Bill Russell and Larry Bird have to rank at the very-top of "The Green's" major moves. Add in maneuvering to get Robert Parish and Kevin McHale and Danny Ainge's dealing to get The Jay Team. But I still can't believe how Brad Stevens quickly rebuilt his team when forced to shed the roster of Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Jrue Holiday and Luke Kornet - while working to lessen the damage of losing his beast player, Jayson Tatum , to injury. If Stevens is not in serious conversation as Exec of The Year , I will continue to feel the Celtics tend to be ignored at award time. And frankly, his belief in Joe Mazzulla to orchestrate the regular season with a ravaged roster enters into this discussion.  The Russell, Bird, Parish, McHale and Jay Team acquisitions were successful, long-term moves . Ditto on Stevens' masterful maneuvering to cutting costs drastically, while maintaining a trul...

 At least to me, the Boston Celtics have the only true dynasty in the NBA's history . They won 11 Titles from 1957 to 1969 , and not incredibly, Bill Russell owns all of those rings. Thinga have changed in the League. No team has even won back-to-back Championships since the Golden State Warriors did it in 2017 and 2018 . And the last six Titles have been won by different teams every season.  Sports Dynasty (definition): A team or individual that dominates their sport or league for an extended length of time. Sure, the Lakers, Warriors and Bulls had their runs as imitators of the Celtics, but none of them had the 8-in-a-row Titles (1959-1966) that Russell and his team had. But that is all in the rear view mirror now. A repeat of Boston's record will never be achieved again . And I believe that is a good thing. Salary caps, payroll aprons, injuries and players with wanderlust (read: Lebron, Durant, etc.) have ensured that. The Russell-led Celtics of the 60s were so dominan...

 Back in 1973, the players chose the NBA MVP , not the sports writers and broadcasters that do the voting today. And the players chose Celtics center, Dave Cowens , as their Most Valuable Player . And remember, in 1973, players could not vote for a member of their own team. But the 1973 choice of "Big Red" brought some criticism from many NBA followers. Here are a few of the arguments: "Kareem deserved the award." "John Havlicek had a better season" "Tiny Archibald led the League in scoring and assists. He should have won." J abbar finished second in the MVP voting, while Tiny ended up third - and "Jarrin' John" was fifth. Personally, MVP to me means - take the specific player out of action, and how would the team have fared. In the 1972-73 season, Boston finished the regular season with a 68-14 record - tops in the League. So it was no surprise to see two Celtics players in the top-5 . Havlicek was high man for Boston in mi...

 I am talking maximum playoff minutes per game in their Celtics careers. Here are their average floor time per contest - followed by the year it was accomplished. Bill Russell: 48.0 MPG (1962) John Havlicek: 47.2 MPG (1969) Bob Cousy: 46.0 MPG (1952) - tie Dave Cowens: 46.0 MPG (1973) - tie Larry Bird: 44.9 MPG (1988)\ Jayson Tatum: 41.0 MPG (2022) So, it appears that in 1962, Russ never left the court during the post season. He either played the entire game for each contest, or there were a few overtime situations and some less-than-48-MPGs battles. He was THAT good. No surprise Hondo was next. The year, 1969, was Big Bill's last season before retirement, and The Green were getting older. Havlicek was badly needed, particularly versus the rival Lakers. The Cooz and Big Red tied for third place . Larry came in fourth. No big surprises there, either. Frankly, I was a bit surprised that Tatum (5th place) was that far behind the other Celtics stars in playoff floor time. I may ha...

 Remember Hank Finkel , the tall guy that tried to replace Bill Russell after Russ retired. Finkel did his best to fill the gap bwtween Big Bill's retirement and Dave Cowens' arrival in Beantown, but other than size (7-feet) and a decent ability to rebound the ball, his limited production in the 1969=70 season drew undeserved criticism from the Boston faithful. To be kind, Hank's athleticism left something to be desired. Now comes Georges Niang , sent to Boston in a trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis packing. And the Finkel Flak has started . Jaylen Brown and Georges Niang were both given a technical foul after Niang appeared to grab Brown's leg from the bench. pic.twitter.com/rBwelUVROZ — ESPN (@espn) May 14, 2023 Is the leg-grabbing incident involving Jaylen Brown /the initiator of the whining? Could be, but as with "High Henry" Finkel, some fans may see Niang as poor compensation for the loss of Porzingis . That is not his fault.  In the mid-70s, as a...

  Three NBA stars suffered season-ending Achilles injuries this post-season. Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton were the casualties. Why? "Overuse" seems to be the major culprit. And today's game involves a faster pace than fans witnessed in past decades, and the moves can be explosive . Existing calf injuries can also make a player more susceptible to tearing his Achilles tendon. It is no surprise that Jayson Tatum was high man for Boston in minutes per game at 40.2 MPG this post-season.   "Big deal", some may say. Hell, Bill Russell logged 42.7 minutes/game in the 1968-69 season. But the present game, as already indicated, is not the same now. Here's more on the Achilles tendon ( per ESPN's Maria Dawson): "The stresses that go through the Achilles tendon are probably the highest in the body, many times body weight, [just from] walking," he said. "... When you're talking about a professional athlete who's big...

      Founding Fathers... Episode 1       The Celtics have been in the forefront of social justice and of course winning. Red Auerbach was the leader of all of that. A man who was unafraid of what anyone would say. Bob Cousy was ahead of his time the way that man could handle the rock and distribute it! He was a magician on the floor! I personally remember meeting Couz as a young man. He was doing a game at the old Springfield Civic Center. Amazing that despite all the undertones of racism in Boston, the Celtics were the first team to draft a black player in Chuck Cooper. Something to be said for Cooper and Cousy who built a friendship despite looking different. As it should be!      When the Celtics drafted Bill Russell everything in the course of NBA history was set afire. Red knew he could be the most dominant player on defense, I mean let's be real on both ends of thr floor. Pairing Russell and Cousy was one of the most genius sports move...

  This is a close call . Who is the Greatest-of-All-Time for the Boston Celtics? You can't go wrong with either choice. Let's look at their career stats: Russ: 15.1PPG - 22.5 RPG - 4.3 APG - .440 FG - .561 FT - 11-time Champion - 5-time MVP Larry: 24.3 PPG - 10-0 RPG - 6.3 APG - .496 FG - .886 FT - 3-time Champion - 3-time MVP The numbers, of course, don't tell the whole story. Russell's 11 Title rings are amazing, and five MVPs is impressive. But Russ was not a volume scorer and almost never shot the ball from any distance (as partly evidenced by his 56% accuracy from the foul line . But Russ gets the nod on athleticism, rim protection and rebounding . And Bird was the better passer. Both stars were true team players and played to win. The NBA has seen few players with their level of fierce intensity. Remember that the League did not track blocks and 3-pointers in Bill's time, but Celtics fans know who wins each of those categories. I always have a tough time ...

  Jayson Tatum may not be Superman on the court, but he certainly is the Celtics "Iron Man" . He rarely misses games and leads his team in five key statistical categories.   Is he "soft"? I think not. Here are my -eight tough Celtics players from the past as compiled by my readers when I wrote for another blog. Bill Russell . Few in the NBA at the time could handle Russ in the middle. He rebounded and defended like no other. He averaged 42.3 minutes per game in the regular season over the course of his career - and 45.4 MPG in the post-season. He backed down to no one - including Wilt Chamberlain. Larry Bird : Larry could play either way - as a finesse guy or a hard-working warrior. He was tough - both mentally and physically. Never forget his head bouncing off the floor in that crucial playoff game versus the Pacers - and his triumphant return to the court to the surprise of everyone watching the game.  Isaiah Thomas : I am not talking "toughness-per-inch...

 The late Celtics play-by-play man, Johnny Most , called him "High Henry" . Hank Finkel had the "distinction" of being Boston's primary center in the lone season (1969-70) between the departure of Bill Russell and the arrival of the effervescent Dave Cowens . The 7-foot Finkel was not generally a starter for Boston. That task went to 6'7" Rich Johnson , primarily for the purpose of winning the center tap . And 6'8" Jim Barnes took center stage when The Green needed some muscle in the middle. But Hank's first season in Boston was his best. He averaged 23 minutes per game, 9.7 PPG and 7.7 RPG. He lasted six seasons with Boston and became a backup for Cowens - and also a crowd favorite.  Henry's first season with the Celtics was tough on him . He often heard the crowd noise - "He's no Bill Russell". But of course, the Boston fans were right. Hank was tall but he was not quick or athletic . And frankly, he often looked aw...

  Let me be "blunt"  (correct pronunciation of Blount)! Mark Blount was never a favorite of mine when he played for the Boston Celtics. He was the 54th pick in the 1997 NBA draft by Seattle and played for the American minor Leagues for three seasons before signing with Boston for the 2000-2001 season . The stats for the rookie center were hardly noteworthy (3.9 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.2 BPG)) and they dropped significantly in his sophomore season with the Celtics (2.1 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.4 BPG). Possibly feeling he wasn't being used correctly in Beantown, he signed with the Nuggets in 2002 , but was traded back to Boston in 2003 . For some unknown reason, the Celtics decided to offer Blount a 6 year/$41 million deal starting in the 2004-05 season. Perhaps it is the fact that Mark came to Boston after Bill Russell, Dave Cowens and Robert Parish had terminated their NBA careers, but I never favored Blount as an acceptable center for the Celtics. His play always seemed lethargic a...

  I loved the Celtics teams of the 1970s! Tickets to the games at "The Garden" were cheap (see photo) - the action was fast - the Celtics players were undersized and overachievers - and "The Jewish Architect", Red Auerbach , used to send personal Christmas cards to me since I filled many of the empty seats by sponsoring bus trips to the games. The 70s Celtics players were generally undersized . Dave Cowens , at 6'8.5", had to combat the likes of 7-foot-plus Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. John Havlicek , at 6'5", often manned the forward position - as did 6'6" Don Nelson. Paul Silas had one inch over "Nellie" and played the power forward slot. JoJo White did have average size (6'3") as the point guard. Only Don Chaney had a bit of an edge at 6'5", covering the shooting guard slot. It was the same for Charlie Scott , also 6'5", manning one of the guard spots. My point is that basketball f...

  This mock draft was held several years ago, and eight teams consisting of 10 players each would be drafted - for a total of 80 players. A total of 76 players had to come from the members of the 75th Anniversary Team, and four others could be "wild cards". It was a snake draft. Larry Bird was the first Celtic chosen (by Sue Bird) with the 13th-overall pick. It is noteworthy that Dominique Wilkins chose himself with the #1 -overall pick . Bill Russell was the second player from Boston - taken with the 19th pick by Shams Charania . Kevin Garnett went to Sue Bird with the very-next (#20) pick . Kevin McHale was off the board at #24, and Ray Allen was next at #34 by Charania. Dave Cowens went to Charles Barkley at #38 and Wilkins chose Paul Pierce at #48. West took John Havlicek and Bill Sharman with his 8th and 10th picks, respectively, well after going with Kobe Bryant, Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor as his first, 2nd and 4th choices, respectively.  Sue Bird took Sam...

 After seeing Neemias Queta's dominance in the first two games of Summer League, the Celtics brass had seen enough . The Portuguese import is signed with Boston for the next three seasons at roughly $2.4 million per year. I know some of you are thinking - "It's only Summer League" , but let's flash back to the final 2023-24 regular season game for the Celtics: Neemias Queta made NBA history today... 19 minutes 19 points 9 rebounds 6 blocks No player in NBA history has ever had a 19-9-6 game in fewer than 24 minutes. — Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) April 14, 2024   Am I hearing "Only one game"? Hey, this guy is a double-double machine . His per-36-minutes stats with Boston in 28 games last season show 16.6 PPG, 13.2 RPG and 2.3 BPG. And the more floor time he gets, the better he performs. Queta's pluses are his size (7', 245 lbs.), athleticism, offensive footwork down low, rim protection, rebounding and toughness. On the negative side, he doesn...

 On a recent NBA TV segment titled Basketball Stories: Indiana Glory , Larry Bird had no wasted words in summing up the present state of the NBA: "I really like where the League's at." That was it! Nothing more. Nothing less. But when Bird talks - I listen. And I agree totally . Having followed the League since 1960, the NBA has attained enormous popularity world-wide. The League has never displayed the combination of skills and athleticism fans see on the court lately. And the international popularity has spawned the likes of Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kristaps Porzingis.  What's not to like? Well, maybe the NBA-as-big-business may eventually burst at the seams . Just where do the sky-high salaries stop ? In the Celtics camp, Bob Cousy in the mid-to-late 50's was the highest-paid NBA payer at $25,000.00 per season. In the late 60's, Bill Russell was high man at $100,001.00 (yes, one dollar more than Wilt) , and Larry Bird ...

  Poise: definition Merriam/Webster: :  easy self-possessed assurance of manner  : gracious tact in coping or handling. also : the pleasantly tranquil interaction between persons of poise. no angry outbursts marred the poise of the meeting. b. : a particular way of carrying oneself : bearing, carriage "Easy self-possessed assurance of manner". "Gracious tact in coping or handling". "No angry outbursts". That describes the Jayson Tatum fans have seen and heard throughout the 2024 playoffs. I started noticing the change in the 26-year-old superstar when he took a hard foul by Miami's Caleb Martin . Tatum hit the deck hard, but bounced right back up with no verbal explosions or physical reaction, He simply walked away. #Celtics brothers and sisters all we heard for the last couple of weeks was how Tatum was underperforming. Check out the graphic below. ESPN showed this last night on Sportscenter, but you won't here achievement coming out of the mo...

 The credit is somewhat dubious, but the origin of the alley-oop play probably started at the University of San Francisco with K C Jones lobbing the pass to Bill Russell for the slam (per Wikipedia): In the 1950s, some players began grabbing balls in mid-air and then  dunking .  K. C. Jones  and  Bill Russell  teamed up to perform the alley-oop several times while at the  University of San Francisco  in the mid-1950s. During their time with the Dons, Russell and Jones led the team to a then-record 55-game win streak  (including an undefeated 29–0 record during the  1955–56 season ) and helped pioneer a play that later became known as the  alley-oop . It makes sense. K C was an accomplished playmaker, and Russ was a leaper and amazingly athletic. Their USF teams were so powerful that it allowed experimentation without risking losses. It is notable that in the photo, K C is relegated to the back row - which brings me to the Basketbal...

 There is only outer space beyond the exosphere , and that is where the expectations for the Boston Celtics reside this season. No excuses! No alibis! Anything less than Banner 18 for The Green is failure. But is that even fair. I admit to being disgusted by the 0-3 start for Boston - with home court - in last season's Eastern Finals versus Miami. It took a harsh scolding by owner, Wic Grousbeck, to even the series (barely) at 3-3 - with Boston losing Game 7. Boston sports fans are terrific, but they are also very demanding . They see 17 banners in TD Garden rafters and expect the next one very soon - probably this June. The last Title was in 2008 , so with 30 teams in the League, most fans around the League would be content with waiting until 2038. Not so in Beantown. We have been spoiled. Red and Russ got us 11 Titles. Then came another two in the 70's - three in the 80's - and the last one in 2008 . May I introduce the 10 present NBA teams that have ZERO Titles , gran...