Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

      Our Cs are home to play those pesky Pacers who have always given the Cs fits. I mean I remember the 90s when they gave the Big 3 fits yet we always found a way to win. The Truth had his moments with the Pacers. Historically there have been some really good matchups with these two teams. Larry Bird played for the Celtics and coached the Pacers. Larry damn near lead them to a title as Coach. The Pacers have always been right on the cusp. Yet have never tasted winning it all in the NBA. Here's hoping the Cs can handle their business and send em back to Indy with another loss.       Sam hits the first shot for the Cs and its a three! I'm really hoping that Derrick White can get his offense going tonight. He's just been completely off lately and it makes no logical sense to me. I mean he's still doing everything else well but we know how good a scorer he is. Kudos to Aaron Nesmith for finding himself in Indiana. I feel he may not have gotten his chanc...

      Cs are in Detroit to take on the best in the East at least record wise... Cs have played them well this year but I'd to grab a victory tonight. JB and Cade have both balled out facing each other this season. Cs get us started with a Hauser corner bomb! JB gets inside and scores, gets hacked and no call. Both teams are trading blows early on and I'm loving it. JB is dominant from the midrange and should live there. Unless he's driving to drop the hammer on a defender.       Cs have come out giving the Pistons all they can handle. Cs must continue to protect the ball as they only average 12 turnovers a game. This Pistons team can get after it and create turnovers. It's a battle of wills tonight! Cs ball movement has been elite on a few of these offensive possessions. There's a beauty when the ball moves, like a jazz band in unison. We have some jostling between JB and Beef Stew. It's heading to a review I wish Bill Kennedy was Herr tonight. We have...

 Granted, the Celtics Hugo Gonzalez is not positioned high in the Rookie of the Year rankings , but he is looking like a steal as the 28th-overall pick in this year's draft. And he is only logging 14.8 minuted per game thus far. The kid has shown that he is savvy, skilled, patient and fiery - on both offense and defense. Great job by Bras Stevens grabbing "The Spaniard" towards the end of the first round. Here is another qualified opinion of Hugo Gonzalez ( per NY Times Sam Vencenie ): "The last player I want to highlight briefly is Hugo Gonzalez, whose infectious energy has helped the Boston Celtics off the bench in a big way. Few players bring the motor and hustle that Gonzalez does every time he takes the court. He’s a live wire of loose ball dives and activity, using his nose for the ball to make an impact. The Celtics are beating their opponents by a preposterous 20.1 points per 100 possessions in the 354 minutes that he’s played, undeniably a noisy stat influ...

 Hugo Gonzalez is quietly making an impression on his coach, Joe Mazzulla. In last night's loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, he was on the court for 30-plus minutes and led his team in plus/minus with a +3. The rookie contributed 13 points, six boards, three assists and two steals. "The Spaniard" is in fourth place in plus/minus this season ( per NBA.com's John Schuhmann ): "The Celtics have still outscored their opponents by 17.2 points per 100 possessions with González on the floor. That’s  the fourth-best on-court mark   among 332 players who’ve averaged at least 10 minutes in 15 games or more. (He’s the only player in the top seven who’s not on the Thunder.)" The kid is not particularly flashy but he is relentless on defense and opportunistic on offense. Coming into the League, Hugo was known for his defense, but his offense is better than advertised. He finds ways to score simply by being in the right place at the right time. As I recently wrote , Gon...

 Right now, the four consistent Celtics starters have been Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Neemias Queta. Jordan Walsh and Josh Minott have started 17 and 10 games, respectively, but the season is still relatively young. When Jayson Tatum returns, either this season or next , he obviously will be that fifth starter, and if the roster remains quite the same, a player that latches on to that 5th position this season would most-likely come off the bench as the 6th man come the 2026-27 campaign . Who else may fill that role, other than Walsh and Minott? Hugo Gonzalez comes to mind. The rookie is still only 19 years old and showing that he belongs in the NBA. If "The Spaniard" continues to improve this season, he possibly could fit that 5th-man role. Anfernee Simons currently has logged the 5th-most minutes (23.7 MPG) , but he may be going elsewhere - and it is doubtful that he would bump White or Pritchard from the starting lineup. How about Sam Hauser ? H...

     Cs are trailing the Raptors in the standings but with a win they will surpass them..despite being shorthanded these Celtics have stepped up to this point. Everyone who has stepped on the floor has made an impact. Derrick White has been solid after a heck of a game last night. Nice to see Luka Garza getting some action tonight. Hugo continues to show he's going to be a solid NBA player. I think he's going to be a guy on our next championship team.       PP has been exceptional tonight and how about Queta with double digits in points. Simons has played a really solid role tonight. I mean there are times where this team looks off, but tonight they look good. It's an impressive feat given no JB tonight and they are on the second night of a back to back. The lead here in the fourth is eight and Joe calls a timeout. A very wise timeout in my opinion. Especially because you don't want the Raptors to get any momentum.       Cs will hav...

      Cs are short handed in Washington with no JB, but we are playing tomorrow night vs the Fakers. Queta the Pride of Portugal is having himself one heck of a first quarter. The way in which Queta has improved this season gives me hope that his ceiling is high. Cs will need to address the bigs in the off season but Queta is a huge part of the future. I absolutely love watching him play the game of basketball.       DWhite has shown that even without JB he can carry the load on offense. He's had an up and down season but he's slowly breaking out and showing us who he is. An All Star caliber player who is one of my favorite all time Celtics. Yeah that's right I said it. His defense this season has been exceptional. Did we expect anything less??? Offensively he's finding that form and I tell you this watch out folks. Once he finds his stroke the Cs will be in the top four in the East.       Jordan Walsh has shown he can score when ne...

 We already knew rookie Hugo Gonzalez - alias "The Spaniard" - needed to develop his outside shot. He was only 4-of-12 from the field and 1-of-5 from the charity stripe in Boston's win over the Grizzlies. But he did hit 3-of-5 from beyond the arc . But he is a newcomer to watch. He never stops moving - whether on offense or defense . A matador, he is not. He may have given Celtics fans a brief return to the days of John Havlicek . Great to see that movement.  And the kid is versatile . He ended the game with four rebounds, five assists, one steal and two blocks . Hugo is only 19 years old , and a newcomer to American basketball. He has a lot of growth ahead of him, and I am excited to watch him develop over the next few seasons. Looks like another (at least minor) coup by the figuratively-handcuffed Brad Stevens . Forced to trade two valued starters to save money, Hugo Gonzalez could end up a prize with the 28th pick in the draft.

 Celtics fans have been hearing that the The Green appear to be taking a "step back" by cutting costs and acquiring some younger players, some of which may be in Brad Stevens' long-term plans . There is nothing wrong with Boston taking a one-year breather while waiting for Jayson Tatum's return. I personally would like to see Al Horford return for next season, but if his price is too high, I wish him the best elsewhere. Backing up a step and cutting costs allows for flexibility down the road , and I find that exciting. New faces on the parquet always instills interest, and I look forward to seeing what "The Spaniard", Hugo Gonzalez can do . And there is always the possibility of a "Cinderella Story" whereby The Green surprise everyone with their ravaged roste r and go deep into the post-season. The pressure on Brad Stevens has to be tremendous. But he is a master craftsman at constructing a winning roster, and even with restricted finances - ...

  Don't expect miracles from the Celtics newly-acquired Hugo Gonzalez , who I refer to as "The Spaniard" . He is only 19 and played limited minutes in his pro career overseas. But at 6'6" and 205 pound s, the frame seems NBA-ready, and Brad Stevens used the terms "tough", "hard playing" and "winning basketball player" in describing the youngster. The suggestion right now is that the Celtics may hang onto him. The other Spaniard, played by Russell Crowe in the Movie, Gladiator, was told to "Win the Crowd" . The Boston crowd can be tough, but they love toughness, hard-playing and a winning mindset in their players.  The 28th-overall picks in the NBA rarely get to the "star" level, and this kid has a some work to do . But with his work ethic and some court time, he could become a fan favorite . Hopefully - down the road - if fans are asked, "Are you not entertained" (by Hugo's play), they will a...

 In the NBA draft last night, the Celtics Brad Stevens chose 6'6', 205-lb. Hugo Gonzalez from Spain. Your first question may be, Why the Spaniard? "Competitiveness"   appears to be the main answer. Here is what Brad Stevens had to say about "The Spaniard": “He’s obviously been on everybody’s radar for a long time. … Just a big fan of how he plays. He’s tough, he’s hard-playing, he cuts, he goes after the ball, he competes. He’s got all the intangibles of a winning basketball player. “There’s things he can get better at just like everybody else at that age, but competitiveness is at a high level.” In Spain, Hugo has played with several former NBA players , and as such, has learned how to play the NBA style. Is this 19-year-old ready for the big time? He may be, but it seems like some seasoning will be needed before he gets any significant time on the parquet.