Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 Don't look now, but Doc Rivers is once again in turbulent waters . His Milwaukee Bucks are mired in the standings with a 2-8 record and have lost twice to the Boston Celtics , the team he deserted in 2013 because he did not want to be part of a rebuild. His two stars, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damien Lillard, are having fine seasons, but the rest of his cast just can't get the job done. In 2020, Doc left his position with the Clippers - and in 2023, he was fired as coach of the 76'ers. But the veteran coach took over the reins of the Bucks in January of 2024 after Milwaukee fired Adrian Griffin . Such is the lot of the modern NBA coach. So what happens now in Milwaukee? Trading The Greek Freak and tanking won't help due to a paucity of future first-round picks. Ditto for trading Lillard. The Milwaukee Bucks have little in the way of tradeable players or draft picks, so almost realistic any trade scenario would not improve their immediate future . So, back to Doc. Ri...

 The Celtics 104-91 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks has little meaning in the scheme of things, but two  items clearly stand out. The first, of course, is the calf injury to Giannis Antetokounmpo . The extent of the injury remains unknown, but it could have ramifications for the upcoming playoffs . Milwaukee's post-season without The Freak, even for a few games, would not sit well for Doc Rivers or his team. Number-2 items from last night has to be the fact that only two free throws were taken the entire game , and those two just happened to be taken by Giannis. So Boston had zero free throws taken , and Milwaukee committed only four fouls the whole game. How does than stand up in NBAS history ( per CNN's Matias Grez )? "During the team’s 104-91 defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday, the Celtics became the first team in NBA history to shoot zero free throws in a game. To make matters even more bizarre, the Bucks only shot two, meaning the two teams set a new record for t...

 It was  October, 2006 , and the Boston Celtics were in Manchester, NH for an exhibition game against the Cavaliers. As my wife and I entered the lobby of the arena, several younger members of the Celtics had been sent out to greet the fans.  Among the players was rookie Rajon Rondo , and he absolutely looked like a "deer in the headlights" . I will never forget that look.  The team at the time also included Paul Pierce (of course), Ryan Gomes, Tony Allen, Gerald Green, Leon Powe, Brian Scalabrine, Sebastian Telfair and Delonte West. Doc Rivers was at the helm. In the previous exhibition contest, the rookie R ondo had a great game in Boston's loss to the Toronto Raptors ( per Toronto City News ) "For the visitors (Celtics), rookie Rajon Rondo poured in an impressive 29 points, including a buzzer beating three pointer that forced the extra frame." I guess that told Doc Rivers (and us) that Danny Ainge made a solid move in acquiring this 6'1", 180-lb ...

  Doc Rivers took over the reins of the Milwaukee Bucks on January, 26, 2024 and things right now don't look too rosy. His team has a 3-7 record over the last 10 games, but last night's 113-110 loss to the lowly-and-understaffed Memphis Grizzlies was a shocker to many. The Bucks are 3-7 in the Doc Rivers era pic.twitter.com/raf6t8jFsm — NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 16, 2024 Do the names Vince Williams, Santi Adams, Trey Jamison, Ziaire Williams or Jordan Goodwin ring a bell? They were the five starters for Memphis. How about G G Jackson and Lamar Stevens? They both played big minutes off the bench, with Jackson joining Ziaire for top scoring honors with 27 apiece . Celtics fans remember Stevens as the guy traded away to get Xavier Tillman to Boston. Lamar had 13 points and five rebounds in the contest. Things can only go upward for the coach that left the Celtics so as to not participate in a rebuild. So,  What's up, Doc? Here it comes - "Some guys in ...

 We know Doc Rivers is a good coach, but why does he keep going joining Celtics Eastern rivals? First it was three seasons coaching the Philadelphia 76'ers - until they fired him following a Game-7 loss to Boston in the conference semi-finals.  Now it appears he has become the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks following the controversial firing of Adrian Griffin . So what's going on here. It seems obvious that Milwaukee wanted a seasoned, veteran coach to get them back to Championship caliber, but does Doc look to lead an Eastern Conference team to take out the top contender for the 2023-24 Title - the Boston Celtics?  Our guess is that it is both. When Rivers chose to leave Boston for the LA Clippers, it was clear h e did not want to coach a team on the rebuild. Well, that rebuild happened nicely without him , and there was no second Championship in Clipper-Land or the City of Brotherly Love. He wants a second Title , beyond the one with Boston in 2008. Will that h...

 The Celtics coaching staff may be about to be depleted even more. Per the Boston Globe's Gary Washburn , assistants Ben Sullivan, Aaron Miles and Mike Moser are expected to join Ime Udoka's staff in Houston. Former Celtics assistant, Damon Stoudamire , already left Boston to be head coach for Georgia Tech. So here come more headaches for Celtics head honcho, Brad Stevens . He may be still mulling whether to keep going ahead with Joe Mazzulla as head coach, and Celtics fans appear to be divided on that same subject. In my recent Twitter poll, the majority of responders chose to keep both Mazzulla and Jaylen Brown (43.8%), while 18.1% voted to get rid of both. We will be following & writing about the Celtics reshaping the team somewhat over the summer. Started with the situations of Joe Mazzulla & Jaylen Brown. We are interested in your input. https://t.co/sHmH63uA0c — Tom Lane (@CelticsSentinel) May 31, 2023 Maybe it's time to bring another former NBA player into...

 After failing once again to take his team to the Conference Finals, It appears that Philadelphia Coach, Doc Rivers , may be out of a job. And to make matters worse, Doc took a shot from one of his former players . Rivers' comment on "cooperation" and J J Redick's response are seen below: I wonder if they cooperated — JJ Redick (@jj_redick) May 14, 202       "Not trying to take anything away from that [Clippers] team. That team was never going to win, when you look back at it. We just didn't get along well enough as a group and you can't win without cooperation. That's the only way you can win." -- Doc Rivers during an ESPN segment   "Everybody I've talked to about [Lob City] has kind of owned their own mistakes, if that makes sense, and realizes especially later on that we still could have had something special. And to not get any of that accountability from [Rivers], and the interesting part too, is he talked about players not gettin...

 It's not over yet. The Celtics still have a shot at making the Eastern Conference Finals, but I must admit the thought of the 76'ers potentially ending Boston's run for Banner 18 this season makes me nauseous . Here's the deal. It's not the fact that Banner 18 would have to wait at least another year before being raised at TD Garden. It has only been 15 years since Beantown's last NBA Title, and the last I knew, there are 30 teams in the League. Do the math. I am not a "Title-or-nothing" Celtics fan . I can handle another "almost-made-it" season, but what I can't stomach is the thought of the Philadelphia 76'ers moving on to the Eastern Conference Finals - and possibly going all the way this season. My basis for this stand? Doc Rivers walked away from Beantown because he did not want to take on a rebuild after the departure of Paul Pierce andf Kevin Garnett . Nothing personal, but Doc has not exactly flourished since he left the Cel...

  "The Process" in Philadelphia basically involved shameless tanking to pick up Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz . None of that trio were on the TD Garden parquet when the 76'ers defeated the Boston Celtics in Game-1 of the Eastern Semi's. Oh, the shame of it all! With Embiid out with a knee injury and Simmons and Fultz gone from the City of Brotherly Love, it was James Harden (45 points, 6 assists), Tobias Harris 18 points, 5 boards, 3 assists) and Tyrese Maxey (26 points, 4 steals) that too over, with former Celtics Coach, Doc Rivers gloating on the sideline.  The Celtics were heavy favories to take Game-1, particularly with the 76'ers big man out of action. But, alas, that was not to be. Boston seemed to rely on their offense to win the contest They shot 74% from the field in the first half but onloy led by three points (66-63) at the end of the half. That was the red light for Boston - as analyst Charles Barkley stated - the Celtics should have ...

 Last night's Celtics/76'ers game went fast for me. It always seems to happen when the two teams clash. It came down to the wire, with Philly coming away with the win. Boston appears to have Philly's number, but always have trouble containing the big guy, Joel Embiid . He had a line of 52 points, 13 boards and six assists and made it look easy . He shot 80% from the field and 92% from the free throw line . Grant Williams did his best to slow down Joel but continually got abused by the big man.  The Celtics definitely missed Jaylen Brown (back issues) and Rob Williams, and Payton Pritchard once again never saw the floor. Mike Muscala and Luke Kornet were in for significant minutes but had limited effect on the on the outcome. The Green seemed to get a boost when Blake Griffin came in , but he only logged eight minutes. Philadelphia remains pretty much a Joel Embiid/James Harden show, while Boston is definitely deeper, with Derrick White, Malcolm Brogdon, Al Horford, Marcu...

 I am frankly surprised at lack of outcry in the snubbing of the great Tommy Heinsohn who is not included in The Greatest Coaches in NBA History . Is this another case of erasing history . Understanding that Tommy no longer inhabits the living world - and that he only coached for nine seasons in the NBA - but those are not reasons to slight his accomplishments. With no disrespect to former Celtics coach, Doc Rivers, I would gladly put Heinsohn in Doc's place Tommy Heinsohn snubbed, WTF? https://t.co/i86epHOueo — Mike Dynon ☘️🏀 (@MikeDynon) February 9, 2022 . Doc Rivers One-time NBA Champion One-time Coach-of-the-Year Three-time All-Star Coach 1024-725 record as coach .585 all-time record Tommy Heinsohn Two-time NBA Champion One-time Coach-of-the-Year Four-time All-Star Coach 427-263 record as coach .619 all-time record There's more! How would you like to take over the reins from Red Auerbach and Bill Russell of one of the greatest sports franchises of all time. Well, Tomm...

 I wrote on this subject in the middle of the 2019-20 season. Celtics boss, Danny Ainge , voiced his concern about his team having "equal depth" and no ":clear hierarchy"  That issue was partially solved through the disappearance of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward from the Celtics landscape. The two stars clashed, with each wanting a top role in the team's fate.  Some analysts argue that Jaylen Brown should be traded since he and Jayson Tatum on the same is redundant, that is, they have similar skills and size . I disagree . The only real issue here is the question of who leads this team. Brown is a year older than Tatum and has an extra year under his belt in the League and with the Celtics. But thus far, it seems quite certain that Jaylen is the Alpha-best-player. That is the only dilemma. Ainge saw no drastic signs of any power struggle among his comrades in the 80's, with Larry Bird the top dog. Not so with the 2008 Championship crew. Paul Pierce h...

  Marcus Smart will go into the final year of his 4-year deal next season, earning a team-friendly $13.8 million . Both Allens from the 2008 Championship team left the Celtics of their own accord, and there may be lessons there from the departures of Tony and Ray Allen that Danny Ainge may take into account in dealing with any new contract for Marcus. Ainge openly lamented that he let Tony Allen walk away in the summer of 2010 to join the Memphis Grizzlies. The "Grindfather" , as he was later known, admitted that he left, in part, because he felt overshadowed by Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.   Ray Allen left the team in 2012, rejecting a 2-year, $12 million deal from the Celtics to accept a 3-year contract for $9 million with the Miami Heat. He, like Tony Allen, may have felt less-than-appreciated in Boston ( per Sporting News' Sean Deveney ): Perhaps that’s where the problem started, then. In the book, Allen seems genuinely unsure of why Rondo turned on him so complet...

 I truly believe that injecting two philosophies into the present Celtics culture will solve most of their shortcomings. Additional age, seasoning - and a new player or two - will fill the rest of the void. The first step concerns ubuntu , a philosophy that coach Doc Rivers introduced to his 2008 Championship team. The entire phrase is  "Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu" , meaning that a person is a person through other people, a team concept perfect for today's NBA players. Accept it or reject it, but the ibuntu idea worked for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and the rest of the Title crew. It also can function for Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and their comrades.  On the front-office front,  “ primum non nocere ,”   , or "do no harm", appears to be on Danny Ainge's mind. He has to be saying, I can't screw this up! With three present-and-past All-Stars, a Defensive-Player-of-the-Year candidate - and a young rebounding/rim-protecting center on...

Once former Celtics coach, Doc Rivers , parted ways with the Los Angeles Clippers, it didn't take long for the Philadelphia 76'ers to latch onto him. His team takes the court tonight at 7:30 ET for an exhibition contest versus the Boston Celtics. Doc indicates it is all about conditioning, timing and pace - along with a large dose of 4-man, position-less basketball. We can assume that Philly center, Joel Embiid will reamain glued to the 5-spot ( per Philadelphia Enquirer's Keith Pompey ): They will run more pick-and-rolls under Rivers compared to the past seven seasons with Brett Brown. They’ll also run a motion offense with every position interchangeable besides the five spot. Right now, the offense is a day-to-day process. “Obviously, Shake [Milton] and Furkan [Korkmaz] being together,” he said, “I definitely want to see Tyrese [Maxey] with that group because of his ball-handling ability and his ability to shoot. Mike Scott has had a phenomenal training camp, not a ...

The BOVADA betting site has given the Los Angeles Lakers the best shot at re-signing former Celtics guard, Rajon Rondo, to a contract. They also gave the Lakers LA rival Clippers the second-best odds of landing the veteran point guard.  Rondo's former coach, Doc Rivers is now in Philadelphia, so Philly lands in third place, tied with the Boston Celtics. I recently proposed a return to Boston for the irascible, 2-time NBA Champ, a move I envision as beneficial to both parties.  The reaction to the BOVADA odds generated a mixed reaction from Lakers fans on Twitter: Odds: Lakers -150 Clippers +550 76ers +650 Celtics +650 Bucks +1000 pic.twitter.com/KULFiKBqcP — 👑📍Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson, M.A. (@ScoopB) November 14, 2020 I need DeRozan odds  I think sixers make alot of sense. history with doc and morey. also wants to be a coach. mentoring ben is a move in that direction  I don’t care where he goes as long as it’s not the Clippers!!!  Lebron James will have...

What goes unmentioned in the abrupt departure of Doc Rivers as coach of the Los Angeles Clippers is the role of Jerry West in the transition. "The Logo" only won one Title as a player with the Lakers, mainly due to the brick wall in the guise of the Boston Celtics. But he garnered eight Championship rings as an exec for the Lakers and Golden State Warriors. Between his stints with the Lakers and Warriors, West joined the Memphis Grizzlies as General Manager. He won no Titles there, but he turned around a franchise that was floundering (per Wikipedia): West's Memphis stint was not as spectacular as his Los Angeles stint, but he turned a franchise which was about to be sold into a reliable playoffs team, making few trades but getting the maximum from the players he had available (such as  Pau Gasol ,  James Posey  and  Jason Williams ) and signing coach  Hubie Brown , who became Coach of the Year in 2004 Jerry West came to the Clippers in 2017 as an executive boar...