Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 With the Celtics sloppy play , coupled with Jayson Tatum's poor shooting night , fans may wonder why no appearance from center, Enes Kanter . It may have been a move by Ime Udoka and/or Brad Stevens to keep Kanter out of the spotlight after comments made by the Turk on Chinese government repression Dear Brutal Dictator XI JINPING and the Chinese Government Tibet belongs to the Tibetan people! #FreeTibet pic.twitter.com/To4qWMXK56 — Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) October 20, 2021 In "The City That Never Sleeps" , it would seem a good idea to not put Enes on display - or in harm's way - if that indeed was the strategy for not putting him out there. I would expect to see him on the parquet in the more-friendly environment of Beantown .    .

      Dennis the Menace Shroeder showed he can ball out. He's quick enough to get to the cup. Knocking down jumpers, hitting threes, and driving and dishing to cutters. This dude is explosive . A guy who annoys you when he isn't on your team. Thank goodness he's ours!     Jabari Parker  looks like a new man with a lease on his basketball life. He looks young, cutting, crashing the boards and playing D. He can be huge to this teams success this year. If he's a hair how he was at Duke, we are in for a good season.        Jayson Tatum has a new willingness to drive to the hoop with authority . But he's still shooting threes.. His body has made him more confident in crashing the boards.        Josh Richardson came in tonight and made in impact. His Moxy and competitiveness are going to be huge this season. He's a very confident get in your face defensive player. He used to kill the C's, now he can take it to the rest o...

 My readers know the starting-five that I feel is the best mix of offense, defense, seasoning and overall skill. That would consist of Al Horford, Rob Williams, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart . I think the "two-bigs-won't-cut-it" argument has no basis. Rob is 6'8" tall, the same as Tatum, and he can play as a mobile center or a wing. Admittedly, questions remain on the composition of the second unit, but to start the season, I like Dennis Schroder, Payton Pritchard, Josh Richardson, Jabari Parker (if he makes the team) and Enes Kanter coming off the bench.  Granted, that leaves Aaron Nesmith, Grant Williams, Bruno Fernando - and several new additions of whom we know little - as contenders for the back-up quintet. So why did I put Parker into that second unit when we are not sure he will even make the team? My position is - if he ends up on the roster, he needs sufficient minutes to prove, or disprove, his value to the team . This could be a make-o...

 Lately, nothing seems to generate heated discussions among Celtics fans as the question of who starts for Boston - who is the sixth man - who comes off the bench - and who finishes critical games . Take it or leave it, here my take : At the center spot, Rob Williams needs to start games, at least as an early experiment . The reason? The Celtics from last season had trouble scoring easy baskets , and Rob is surely Boston's main Lob Guy . And his per-36-minutes numbers show 12.3 rebounds per game, 4.3 of which are off the offensive glass . His putbacks are easy hoops . Ditto for Enes Kanter at the five off the bench . He is a capable scorer down low, and like Williams III, he is a strong rebounder , including ones of the offensive variety . Did I mention easy hoops ? I put Al Horford into the starting-5 because he deserves to be there in a season when he will be trying to resurrect his career after disappointing stints with Philadelphia and Oklahoma City. Fans can recall his ef...

 Right off the bat, let me state that I use the term "misfits" lovingly . I refer to individuals, like me , constantly on the move - or at least endlessly searching for their proper niche in the world. For the Celtics, it starts with coach, Ime Udoka . This guy has seen more stops than the Boston subway system . No NBA team wanted him, and he went undrafted in 2000. He later saw 16 (yes, 16) stops around the globe as a player - and then three stints as an assistant coach before landing his first job as head coach in Boston. Al Horford has played in Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia and Oklahoma City but has settled back in Beantown after less-than-satisfactory stays in Philly and OKC . Fellow-center, Enes Kanter played for four different teams prior to going into bumper pool mode, with two stints-each in Boston and Portland . Josh Richardson has experienced a more-sedentary existence by comparison , playing four seasons in Miami before serving a year in Philadelphia and the ...

 Using last season's stats, I did some numerical analysis on what type of production we might expect with Al Horford, Enes Kanter and Rob Williams manning the 5-spot. I am projecting that both Al and Rob will spend floor time at center and power forward , while Enes will probably play most of the time at the center spot. Please note that the allotted minutes and other stats for Horford and Williams are for their time in the middle only. I expect they will log additional minutes at the forward spots. Horford: 18 MPG - 9.2 PPG - 4.3 RPG - 2.2 APG - 0.6 SPG - 0.6 BPG Kanter:   16 MPG - 7.3 PPG - 7.2 RPG - 0.8 APG - 0.3 SPG - 0.5 BPG Williams III: 14 MPG - 5.9 PPG - 5.1 RPG - 1.3 APG - 0.6 SPG - 1.3 BPG Rounding out the stats, it looks like roughly 22 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks from the 5-spot in 48 minutes of play from the center trio. Of course, Coach Ime Udoka may throw these numbers to the winds by giving Grant Williams or Jabari Parker majo...

 In a new Celtics era, there are several Celtics players that have something to prove this season. I'll start with Al Horford - while unashamedly admitting that I love this guy. Al Horford After a disappointing stint in Philadelphia, followed by his shut-down after playing only 28 games for Oklahoma City last season - Al is back in Boston. At 35 years of age , his best days are in the past, but we probably can expect something approaching to what he produced in the 2018-19 season for the Celtics. Al Horford needs to show that he can still play a vital role for an NBA team. (2018-19 season) 29.0 MPG - 13.6 PGF - 6.7 RPG - 4.2 APG - 1.3 BPG   Marcus Smart Is Marcus a true point guard? We are about to find out. "The Wolverine" somewhat reminds me of a cross between K C Jones and Don Chaney , but with a bit more punch on the offensive end . Notice I wrote "bit more" . Marcus will never be a volume scorer on a consistent basis, and he needs to rein in his tendency ...

 Brad Stevens' strategy is quite clear. Keep the Celtics very competitive this season while setting the financial stage for next off-season to make a solid push for Banner 18. The three new acquisitions (Kris Dunn, Josh Richardson, Enes Kanter) are all on expiring deals this coming season. Jabari Parker has a team option this season. Romeo Langford, Aaron Nesmith, Grant Williams, Payton Pritchard and Carsen Edwards all have "Team Option" attached to their 2022-23  contracts. Marcus Smart will be in the final year of his latest contract this season, and no information is coming out relative to an extension. This all equates to the Boston Celtics potentially having some real cap room this summer.  The free agent class for summer of '22 includes James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal - all having a player option. Julius Randle and Zach Lavine look to be unrestricted free agents. It appears that the Celtics are looking at that one-year perio...

 Can it be? Enes Kanter returning to the Boston Celtics? It  appears that it will happen. Free agent center Enes Kanter has agreed to a one-year deal with the Boston Celtics, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium . Kanter returns to Boston to compete in the Eastern Conference title race. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 4, 2021 Kanter's career has pin-balled between  Portland and Boston the last several years, and thus fat, it looks like this is only a one-year deal in Beantown. The signing definitely goes against Brad Stevens seeming preference for an all-wing, defensive-focused lineup. Enes is an old-school, back to the basket, down-low scorer and rebounder. He is not an accomplished rim protector or defensive standout on the perimeter. But I like the signing. Right now, it is for the vet-minimum ($2.7 million) but that could rise somewhat. The likable Turk can be counted on to rebound and put up points under the hoop when other schemes fail, and I am sure he will...

Newly-acquired Jabari Parker produced more in his debut with the Boston Celtics than most fans expected. His 11 points in only 16 minutes of action was a bit of a surprise, but Parker's four rebounds really stood out because they were all off the offensive boards . Nice debut for Jabari Parker - 11 points on a combo of put-backs, mid-range jumper & "sweet turnaround move" close to the hoop - 4 rebounds ALL Offensive. Jabari Parker Celtics Debut Highlights vs Golden State Warriors (11 pts,... https://t.co/6i0bEmB3gj via @YouTube — Tom Lane (@CelticsSentinel) April 19, 2021 At least pre-All-Star break, the Celtics seemed to work hard on almost every attempted shot. Easy baskets seldom happened. Particularly with Enes Kanter gone, put-backs via offensive boards were rare. But Saturday night versus the Warriors, Jabari scored off all of his four offensive board s. Three of his hoops came on put-backs following the offensive boards, and he sank a fourth shot on a mi...

Even with the free-agent acquisition of center, Tristan Thompson, in the Celtics attempt to improve strength, toughness and physicality , I still maintain that Danny Ainge needs to bring back Aron Baynes. Marcus Smart already covers those three bases, and the Celtics wisely fully-guaranteed the $1.8 million contract for Semi Ojeleye for this season, despite the 6'6" wing having naysayers among the Boston faithful ( Per Celtics blog's Adam Taylor ): Fresh off an impressive season in Phoenix, where he averaged career highs in points (11.5), rebounds (5.6), assists (1.6), and three-point percentage (35.1 on four attempts per game).  Aron Baynes  is an unrestricted free agent and fits the bill of a rotation caliber center that Boston so sorely needs. Ojeleye is 240 pounds of solid muscle. To opponents jockeying for position against him, it must seem like bumping against a cement wall. "But he can't play", his critics might say. I say he can. He has been an elite ...

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 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 - ...

After two DNP-CDs in Games One and Two of the Eastern Semis versus the Toronto Raptors, Celtics backup center, Enes Kanter logged a mere four minutes in Boston's 104-103 loss to the Raptors last night. He was not effective. Coach Brad Stevens inserted Kanter into the game to counter Toronto's zone defense. It backfired. Enes managed four points and one rebound in his limited minutes, but the Raptors offensive attack went right at him, starting at the 4:13 mark of the third quarter when Toronto guard, Fred VanVleet, drove into the lane and was fouled by Kanter. With Toronto consistently attacking the basket, Enes was slow in reacting. Then with less than one second remaining in the game and the Celtics leading 103-101, Stevens put Tacko Fall in to cover Kyle Lowry on the inbounds pass. the idea being that Fall's Wall of defensive coverage being roughly 10 feet by eight feet was sufficient to squash any chance of a successful inbounds pass and 3-pointer by the Raptors. T...

Celtics fans clamoring to get a Rob Williams sighting are getting their wish. Backup center, Enes Kanter has yet to see the floor in the first two games of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, and Brad Stevens has opted to ride with Rob off the bench at the center spot. The Celtics are 2-0 in those games. In the two games thus far, RWill has not missed a shot. He is a perfect 10-of-10 from the field in a total of 35 minutes over the two contests, adding nine boards, two assists three blocks - and an acceptable five fouls. He is contributing and making a difference ( per CBS Sports Michael Kaskey-Blowmain ): "He's the only reason we were in the game in the first quarter," Celtics coach Brad Stevenson said of Williams after the game. With the way he's played so far, it seems safe to say that Williams will get more opportunities to put his imprint on the series *THE* TIME LORD #Celtics pic.twitter.com/dnphXfD2KF — Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) Septemb...

The Celtics blowout 128-101 win over the Philadelphia 76'ers last night demonstrated - among other things - that Boston may have no stars coming off its bench, but it appears that coach Brad Stevens intends to employ his "Pine Troops" in specific matchups and situations. Eight Celtics subs logged a combined 107 minutes in the victory, partly due to the large point differential. And the 41-point production from the eight bench guys far exceeded the combined eight points from the series opener. Grant Williams (9P, 6R, 2A), Brad Wanamaker (7P, 2R, 4A), Enes Kanter (10P, 9R) and Romeo Langford((6P, 1R) all logged 20-or-more minutes. GWill, Kanter and Wanamaker all made significant contributions. Kanter was on his offensive game last night, and it showed. Semi Ojeleye and Romeo Langford also got into the action, contributing mostly on the defensive end. The loss of Gordon Hayward for roughly four weeks will have a significant negative effect on the team's performance ...

Results of my Twitter poll concerned with the Celtics present position at the 5-spot are in, and they can be seen below. The likable Enes Kanter didn't get much love from fans this time, garnering no votes to start in the pivot. Does Theis suffice at the center spot? Daniel has been Brad Stevens' top choice in the pivot, and that may not change soon. What are your thoughts for next season? — Tom Lane (@CelticsSentinel) June 12, 2020 Daniel set career highs in 58 games thus far this season in: Minutes:23.8 Points: 9.3 Rebounds: 6.6 Assists: 1.6 Steals: 0.6 Blocks: 1.3 FG%: 56.5 FT%: 76.4 Damn fine stats considering he plays slightly less than half the game. What more does this man have to do to be taken seriously? And at the age of 28 years, he may not have reached his peak. He just keeps improving.

"Journeyman" defines Boston Celtics center, Enes Kanter. In his ninth season in the NBA, Kanter has played for six different franchises - three of them twice. In other words, he has performed alongside a total of nine different rosters. He may be on the move once again this summer. Enes is signed with Boston for the sum of $5 million for 2020-21, but he has a player option. His 17.5 minutes per game this season mark the least floor time for him since the 2012-13 season, his second in the League. His minutes have dropped from 12.0 MPG (last 10 games) to 11.1 MPG (last 5) to 10.2 MPG for the last two contests. Daniel Theis has clearly been Brad Stevens' center of choice. Theis has averaged 23.8 minutes/game this year - 28.2 MPG over the last 10 games - and 31.0 MPG for the last two contests. Daniel's minutes have soared, while Kanter's time has plummeted. The message is clear. If a player doesn't dedicate himself to Brad's constant-movement, switching d...

Observers of yesterday's playoff-atmosphere contest between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers knew that Enes Kanter's stint on the hardwood would not be an extended one. He entered the game at the 2:56 mark of the first quarter, and less than half-a-minute later had the ball taken out of his hands by Kantavious Caldwell-Pope. It’s a one point game! *Enes Kanter checks in for literally two minutes* It’s a nine point game! — S M A R F (@ColeyMick) February 23, 2020 Things went downhill for Boston after that costly turnover. Lakers point guard, Rajon Rondo, decided to show his former team why they should never have traded him. In the final two minutes of the quarter, he scored two points and assisted on four others, while also grabbing one rebound. By the end of the period, the score had gone from 18-17, pre-Kanter-turnover, in favor of LA to 28-19 with Boston trailing by nine points. Kanter is averaging 18.1 minutes per game for the season, but that number has droppe...

In Boston's win over the Lakers, I was in awe of Marcus Smart's behind-the-back bounce pass to Enes Kanter for two points. Not so much for Jaylen Brown's dunk over Lebron James. Apparently, Danny Ainge agrees. It's simple math. Brown got a technical for his hanging-on-the-rim, taunting antics - the result being it was a one-point play. In the first video, Ainge displays absolutely no excitement over Jaylen's jam. Dang @FCHWPO over here throwin down and TD gettin 🔥🔥 and @danielrainge still got his Sunday church-face on 😎or it’s Poker night somewhere. #Stonecold #AllBiz #AllLove ☘️☘️ pic.twitter.com/dqawfGA8EF — marcus smart (@smart_MS3) January 22, 2020 I think I liked the @smart_MS3 pass to @EnesKanter a little more. I’m hard to impress. Seen a million dunks in the last 40 years. Just two points minus the one for the Tech is just a net one point dunk☘️ https://t.co/u7l9LLkkcZ — Danny Ainge (@danielrainge) January 22, 2020 Marcus Smart with the dime 👀 ...