Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 JUGGERNAUT: :  a massive inexorable force, campaign, movement, or object that crushes whatever is in its path . an advertising juggernaut. The Celtics Joe Mazzulla and his troops have transformed themselves into a "juggernaut" in the clutch. They currently rank sixth in Net Rating (+20.5) under Mazzulla this season in Clutch-Time games  - whereas they ranked 26th in NR (-9.5) in the 2021-22 season under Ime Udoka . That is a point- differential of of 30.2 . So where does the difference really come from - the offense or defense? The Defensive Ratings from both seasons are virtually the same - (07.5 for 2023-24 /and 107.2 for 2021-22. The Offensive Rating difference is huge (97.7 in 2021-22 and 128.8 in 2023-24).  At least for the early portion of this season, The Green can not be talked about as "chokers in the Clutch". At the end of close games they have learned to maintain their poise and put the ball in the hoop. Credit both the players and the coachi...

 The Boston Celtics once-grand offense has fizzled in the last five games - resulting in a 1-5 record in that span. What's up? The Green have been toppled by the Milwaukee Bucks from top spot in the League Standings - but still are number-one in Offensive Rating (116.8 points) for the season - but are dead-last (101.0 points) in that category over the last five games . The main reason? T heir field goal and 3-point shooting have hit the skids. The Celtics players are taking more treys and hitting fewer of them . They average 41.9 treys per game (attempted) for the season, and make 38.1% of them. Not so for the last five contests. For that span, they are up to 44.0 3-point attempts/game and hitting a mere 28.6%. And their assists are down from 26.3 APG (season) -to-22.0 APG while racking up four losses and one victory. The rebounds, turnovers and Defensive Rating have not changed much for the Boys from Beantown, so it appears that the main issue in their lackluster play in the la...

In three preseason games with the Philadephia 76'ers, Al Horford is not looking quite like himself. His scoring is still there, as is his rebounding. But his defensive and assist numbers are down from his last season in Boston. Al comes in fifth on his present team in points (10.0 PPG) and rebounds (5.0 RPG). But he is ranked eighth on the team in assists (1.3 APG) and 6th in Defensive rating . As a comparison, the Celtics Enes Kanter - never applauded for his defense - is ranked 53rd in Defensive Rating in the League for preseason play, while Al is ranked 54th , one place behind Kanter - just a bit of irony. With the Celtics in the 2018-19 season, Horford averaged 29.0 MPG, 13.6 PPG, 6.7 RPG and 4.2 APG. And he was ranked 184th in Defensive Rating for that season. With regard to Advanced Statistics, he is not in the top-5 on the 76'ers for Player Efficiency Rating, Offensive Rating, Defensive Rating, Effective Field Goal Percentage or Assist Percentage. It is only preseason...

The Boston Celtics are 3-0 in Exhibition play and two of those wins have been blowouts. What is the main reason? The Celtics now lead the NBA in Defensive Rating and have seven players in the top-50 (2 games or more played). Daniel Theis leads the pack. For 2-or-more games played, he ranks second in Defensive Rating in the League. He is followed by Jaylen Brown (5th), Jayson Tatum (12th), Marcus Smart (16th), Rob Williams (35th), Enes Kanter (yes, Kanter - 43rd) and rookie Carsen Edwards. Please note that Kanter beat out Al Horford by one place, with Al coming in at #44. That is ironic. Some quick math. As an average, each of the 30 NBA teams would have 1.7 players in that top-50 - some more, some less. Boston has SEVEN. Am I getting too optimistic? Could be. We were instructed not to have high expectations for this season. I realize this is only exhibition - and only three games - but I am astonished by these numbers. The real tests will come against real powerhouses! — Br...