Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 The In-Season Tournament seemed to inspire and energize a Celtics bench that wasn't exactly bringing back memories of Bill Walton, Scott Wedman and Jerry Sichting from the mid-80's .  It started with the somewhat-maligned Luke Kornet . He was aggressive while scoring seven points and hauling in nine rebounds - six of which were off the offensive glass . Payton Pritchard had a solid outing that fans were waiting for, with 13 points, five boards (4 offensive) and three assists . He and Luke were fierce on the offensive glass. Then there was Sam Hauser. "The Mauser" was on target , hitting five of his ten 3-point attempts for 15 points. His ability to get his shot off so quickly and hit the trey so consistently really opens up the floor. In all, Boston got 91 minutes, 37 points, 21 rebounds (13 offensive) and five assists from their bench . Not enough can be said for the ability of Pritchard and Kornet to take down offensive rebounds, setting things up for easy hoo...

 After following the Russell-era Celtics of the 60's - the Cowens/Hondo/JoJo crew of the 70's - the Bird-era team of the 80's - and the Big-3 Title crew of 2008 , I had to give some thought to what the current Celtics troops could accomplish down the road. Since I rate the 1985-86 Green Team as perhaps the best NBA roster ever assembled, we start there. The two main stars were Larry Bird and Kevin McHale , but some fans may forget that Dennis Johnson already had four All-Star apperarences prior to coming to Boston in addition to a Title and Finals MVP Award. Robert Parish and Danny Ainge rounded out the starting five. And how about the bench. Scott Wedman had two All-Star stints under his belt prior to joining the Celtics, and Bill Walton had a prior Championship, MVP Award and Finals MVP with the Trail Blazers. Jerry Sichting rounded out the bench crew. That is an "Elite Eight" that would be hard to beat. So can the Jay Team and their comrades take over ...

 Received Cedric Maxwell's book as one of my Christmas gifts, and it brought back memories of his time in Boston. Let me say this - I really enjoyed watching him play. We hear the nickname, Cornbread , a lot connected to Max, but I always liked the moniker, Rubber Band Man . It clearly described his resilient, wiggle-his-way-to-the-hoop-maneuver for a layup or a foul. Kevin McHale may have had better footwork close to the basket, but The Rubber Band Man was adept at getting a short-range shot up, with or without being fouled. @cedricmaxwell81 We never hear your nickname, Rubber Band Man, anymore. It all had to do with your resilient, flexible maneuvering under the hoop, getting the layup or picking up a foul. One of the best at it I have ever seen. — Tom Lane (@CelticsSentinel) September 19, 2020   Maxwell may have peaked too soon . The 1978-79 season , his second in the NBA, may have been his most-productive season stats-wise. For a full season, he led the Celtics in poin...

With Detroit's Blake Griffin reportedly agreeing to a buyout today, he just might fit into Danny Ainge's plans. Yes, I know what you are thinking- Blake's injury history is just too lengthy to seriously consider him in Boston. Well, so was Bill Walton's long line of injuries , but he was a major factor in the Celtics winning the 1986 Championship. Six-time All-Star forward Blake Griffin has agreed to a contract buyout with the Detroit Pistons and will become an unrestricted free agent, sources tell ESPN. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 5, 2021  Ainge was on that team, and that may just spur him on to try to get the 6'9" wing on board. Griffin is a 6-time All-Star and certainly has that "shooting with size" the Celtics are seeking. Granted, he is only shooting 36% from the field this season, while averaging 12.3 PPG, 5.2 RPG and 3.9 APG, but Ainge could take a shot at a deja vu from the 80's, hoping that like Walton, Blake could fill a need ...

The NBA has decided to clamp down on the listed heights of it's players. The little guys have often been listed as taller than the reality, while bigs over 7-feet have have sometimes insisted that they are shorter than what the numbers indicate. Start with Bill Walton. He played two seasons in Boston and was always shown to be 6'11", yet he clearly was taller than teammate, Robert Parish, who was listed at 7'0.5". Wes Unseld was listed at 6'7" but that must have included the height of his large Afro. Charles Barkley was alleged to be 6'6", but 6'4" may have been closer to his real height. In the modern NBA, Isaiah Thomas comes to mind. He shows at 5'9" on paper, but my daughter stood next to him and told me that he was closer to 5'7"-5'8" in height. How about Kevin Durant? No way he is 6'9" tall. To get his actual height, add at least two or three inches. For years some players have been listed a...