Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 Prior to the 2023-24 NBA season, in an article, I asked the question , "Is Joe Mazzulla an acceptable replacement for for Ime Udoka" (as Celtics coach)? My answer at the time was an emphatic "NO". That has changed. As a college student , Mazzulla was arrested and charged with domestic battery for grabbing a woman by the neck in a bar room. With Udoka being banished from the Celtics due to allegations of misconduct, my feeling at the time was that "The Green" did not need a repeat with Joe at the helm . What did counter my negative thoughts on Mazzulla was the fact that Brad Stevens , well known for hiring - and promoting - guys with character - fully backed Joe for the position of head coach. The positive result is history - with Mazzulla listed as one of the three finalists for NBA Coach of the Year . Frankly, I love this guy. He turned his life around from his wayward college days and is not only a superior pro basketball coach - he is a fine ...

  🏀       C's welcome the Rockets to the Garden. You can't help but remember the 81 and 86 Finals when we won both times vs Houston. Memories that will never fade away. So many good players on both ends but especially on the C's. KP and JB seemed locked in early tonight. It hasn't been smooth sailing after a win and playing at home. C's need to fix that trend and win tonight's game.        You have to tip your cap to how well Ime Udoka has these Rockets playing. They have taken on his personality. A tough minded, get down and dirty defensive squad. He had imparted that on the Celtics when he was Coach for that one year. I wonder if he ever thinks about what if... In regards to what he could have done with these Celtics.      Luke Kornet just jammed over Thompson and did it with authority! KP earning the Tommy point throwing the ball off of Brooks. Love seeing a top tier player making plays like that. When I was playing back in the ...

 Celtics Coach, Joe Mazzulla, has been stressing the importance of hitting the offensive glass for second-chance points . It worked in last night's 116-106 win over Ime Udoka's Rockets ( per NBA.com ): The Celtics outrebounded the Rockets 56-49 and had 17 offensive rebounds, helping them outscore the Rockets 23-10 in second-chance points. “It’s something we’ve stressed this year, and it’s something we’ve gotten better at,” Mazzulla said. “On nights like this, it keeps baskets alive and gives us extra possessions.” The top rebounders versus Houston were Jaylen Brown and Derrick White with 11 each, but it was the big man tandem of Luke Kornet and Kristaps Porzingis that combined for nine of Boston's 16 offensive boards . Even with limited minutes, Neemias Queta and Kornet lead The Green in offensive rebounds  this season with 2.1 and 1.7 offensive boards per game, respectively. I am reluctant to broach the idea of second-chance hoops resulting from offensive rebounds as ...

 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...

 Final score: Celtics 145, Rockets 113. Jaylen Brown pouring it on against a f ormer Celtics coach (Ime Udoka) he soundly supported , despite the latter's "misdeeds" in Beantown. . Payton Pritchard "horsing around" late in the contest. Jayson Tatum getting an ejection when the game was already in the bag.  Not only did the Boston win keep the home streak alive at 19-straight, but Udoka's previous-interim substitute, Joe Mazzulla, kept his team at the top-of-the-hill record-wise . This was not only a "must-win" for the Celtics, the blowout made it sweet. Why wouldn't Pritchard throw a lob to Oshae Brissett off the glass for the jam? Brissett was the guy that grabbed the defensive board and got the outlet pass to Payton. Nice move. Payton Pritchard throwing a garbage time off-the-backboard alley oop against Ime Udoka’s team is rich. Ime once got mad the Celtics kept feeding Pritchard late in a blowout win, suggesting they disrespected the g...

  Kudos to Celtics Coach Joe Mazzulla! Since taking over the reins from Ime Udoka, he has amassed a record of 71-29 in his first 100 games - a winning percentage of .710. To be honest, I was skeptical when Brad Stevens decided to go with a young coach with some negative history in his college playing days . But Mazzulla has more-than-weathered the storm. Joe Mazzulla's record through 100 games as Boston's head coach: 71-29. He currently has the highest winning percentage (.710) of any coach in NBA history. pic.twitter.com/nKj2umkvfm — ☘︎ (@CelticsRepublic) November 29, 2023 Per StatMuse.com ,  Here are the winningest Celtics coaches, all-time: K C Jones - .751 Bill Fitch - .738 Joe Mazzulla - .710 Celtics fans have been through some tough times over the past decades - with the Rick Pitino era taking the "Booby Prize" . Joe has taken some hits - some perhaps deserved - but he has persevered and the initial results are in. We very likely don't have an "Avera...

  So did anyone else catch what Danny Ainge had to say?!?! Here ya go.... Danny was a player I always loved to watch even when he wasn't on the Cs. I also thought he was a pretty good coach and a good GM. His teams underachieved and he hoarded draft picks but that doesn't take away my love for Danny. I know he had a relationship with Joe but Ime brought this team to the Finals. Joe did not. So how are you making this assessment Danny? Is it because there's something more....  I believe Danny - in his own way - may have supported the rumors that the woman Ime reportedly had a relationship with was married to a minority owner , and like Ainge, is also a Mormon. Why else would Danny be so quick to say Joe is the better Coach?! Clearly the results are in favor of Ime. Are Danny's feeling warranted because he knows Joe or because of anger towards Ime. I'm going to say it's because Danny knows Joe and loves him. But.... there is more to the story. Of which we will ne...

 Prior to the start of the Celtics 2022-23 season, I went on record as being against Joe Mazzulla taking the helm as coach of the Boston Celtics after Ime Udoka was suspended. My argument was based on an alcohol-related incident where Joe reportedly grabbed a woman by the neck and was charged with domestic battery . Using my 20 years in law enfoprcement, and after doing further research, I cited the specific, and sinister, nature of such an act (per Wikipedia): "Strangulation is sometimes fatal. According to a large U.S. case control study, prior strangulation is a substantial and unique predictor of attempted and completed homicide of women by a male intimate partner. A special issue of the  Domestic Violence Report  devoted to the crime of strangulation states: "Many domestic violence offenders and rapists do not strangle their partners to kill them; they strangle them to let them know they can kill them—any time they wish. Once victims know this truth, they live u...

 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...

 It may not be the sole cause of the Celtics sub-par post-season play and questionable synergy , but according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski , the Boston locker room n ever got over the suspension of former Coach Ime Udoka. "This locker room never got over Ime Udoka's dismissal as head coach," he (Woj) said Monday. "These players did not accept the organization's reasoning for doing it. They thought it was a wild overreaction. There were a lot of the people on the outside who thought it was an overreaction. That it was an HR matter. "I think for this team and talking with management, they never got any more answers than the public was getting on this. That doesn't mean they haven't accepted Joe Mazzulla as head coach, but this is a team that really believed in Ime Udoka and had a strong connection with him. "There was nothing that they found to be disqualifying to work again in the NBA." @wojespn discusses why the @HoustonRockets deci...

 Shortly after the official announcement that Joe Mazzulla was named Head Coach of the Boston Celtics, we now hear that Ime Udoka is "no longer employed" by the team. But suspicion lurks that Ime's offenses may have been more widespread than fans were told. So what happened? I have a nagging suspension it involved ownership — bobby orderve (@deadsiox9) February 17, 2023 Why have we never gotten the true story? Was it Grousbeck’s wife? — Robert Smithers (@RSmithers52) February 16, 2023  So it's done! Mazzulla goes into the post-break season in full charge of his team . But Celtics fans may never hear the whole story behind the suspension and "no-longer-employed-status" of Mazzulla.  But one thing is for sure. If the transgeressions of Ime Udoka involved someone related to ownership, future potential bosses of the "no-longer-employed" coach will certainly attempt to dig deeper into the scandal that threatened to derail a franchise that was on ...

 Please help me here! In 20-plus years in law enforcement, I have seen enough bizarre behavior from my officers and the public to fill a novel. So what is up with Joe Mazzula doing a somersault  in front of Marcus Smart (per NESN's Adam London)? According to The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach, Mazzulla walked past Marcus Smart in the Celtics locker room before the game,  did a full somersault  in front of the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, said “you can’t do that” and walked out. Smart made it clear to Himmelsbach that the theatrics weren’t an inside joke between him and his coach. “We need to stop giving him sugar,” Smart told Himmelsbach. The best chance here is that the act was simply a light, spontaneous moment by a rookie coach trying to lighten the pre-game tension . I obviously wasn't there to see the acrobatics or Smart's innocuous response, but the incident-as-described has bizarre aspects to it . But right now, I will go with the incident being ju...

 Frankly, the record speaks for itself.   1.) Top record in the League (29-12, .707) 2.) 3-game win streak 3.) 7-3 last 10 games 4.) 16-5 at home 5.) 13-7 on the road NBA.Com's Steve Aschburner  gives Boston a grade of "A" for the first 41 games.  "If the old saying about success in life is true — 80% is just showing up — the Celtics are a great case study because their two best players are the biggest reasons Boston has the NBA’s top record to the midpoint. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have taken, in tandem, another leap, with neither serious injuries nor trendy “load management” blocking their way." Yes, the immediate, and future, success of The Green rests heavily with The Jay Team . Both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have raised the level of their games while remaining injury free.  Early on, Boston fans worried about the health of Rob Williams , the effectiveness of rookie coach, Joe Mazzulla , a few lackluster losses and the ability of the entire Celtics...

 I have limits! And they have just been reached! I have a problem with the "Title Seekers" conversing in the shadows to come together to create a new NBA dynasty. And the Brooklyn Nets are a prime example. The plotting of Celtics misfit, Kyrie Irving, and the star that cast aside any thoughts of joining the Boston Celtics, Kevin Durant , came together in Brooklyn for the purpose to winning a few Titles. They have added Ben Simmons to the mix and are strategically positioned to achieve the goal. Or are they? All three stars are flawed in one way or another. Individually, they are filled to the brim with various superior skills which are yet to produce wins together - let alone a Championship - in our time. Coach Steve Nash was the scapegoat in an NBA League that is now controlled by the star players. Now comes former Celtics Coach, Ime Udoka , the main character in one of the biggest scandals in Celtics history. Speaking only for myself, if this foursome achieves any leve...

 My answer to my title question is, "NO" . Let me explain. Most naysayers to Assistant Celtics Coach Joe Mazzulla stepping into the role of head coach for the Boston Celtics would cite his two arrests within a year for alcohol-related violence. As a 20-year law enforcement veteran, I will take it one step further. Mazzulla's first arrest occurred in April of 2009 and allegedly involved his grabbing of a woman by the neck. He was charged with domestic battery ( per Bob Hertzel, Times, West Virginia ): (Joe) Mazzulla, from Johnston, R.I., was arrested and charged with domestic battery after an incident at de Lazy Lizard nightclub in Morgantown. Mazzulla allegedly grabbed a woman by the neck at the bar. Research, and my experience, shows men who strangle women (or attempt to) can be a predictor of future domestic violence, including murder :  ( per Wikipedia ): Strangulation is sometimes fatal. According to a large U.S. case control study, prior strangulation is a substan...

  The Athletic's Shams Charania wrote the following on the reason for the season-long suspension of Celtics Coach, Ime Udoka: "Some members of the Celtics organization first became aware of the relationship in July, sources said. At that time, team leadership was led to believe by both parties that the relationship was consensual. But sources said that the woman recently accused Udoka of making unwanted comments toward her - leading the team to launch a set of internal interviews." If correct, this would explain the punishment placed on Udoka that many Celtics fans originally felt was too severe. Also, if the "unwanted comments" allegedly made by Coach Udoka were of a threatening nature (no information to that effect as of this writing), criminal action would be a possibility. It is looking more and more that Ime Udoka may never return to the Celtics fold, and this has to be one of the most-negative happenings in my six-decade following of The Green. Stay with ...

 May I start with the fact that I am older than the NBA. I have weathered the John Y. Brown fiasco and the horror of the Rick Pitino extremely-flawed takeover of such a storied franchise as the Boston Celtics. Now comes the 2022 off-season, accompanied by the season-ending injury to newly-acquired Danilo Gallinari and the impending surgery to the super-athletic, super-exciting Rob Williams . And now we have the impending suspension of Head Coach Ime Udoka .  Can the Boston Celtics withstand such turmoil! I think so. When things go bad, go back to basics. The current Celtics team is no longer a bunch of youngsters trying to find their way. They came close to Banner 18 last season. They are the key going forward. Assuming Udoka will be suspended for an undetermined period of time, the interim coach will have a lot of say in what success The Green has in 2022-23. Beyond that, I love the team we have. The skills of the Jay Team - the savvy and stabilization of Horford - the "...

 According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, Celtics Coach, Ime Udoka , is possibly acing disciplinary measures after allegedly having "an improper and intimate and consensual relationship" with a member of the team staff. Celtics coach Ime Udoka had an improper intimate and consensual relationship with a female member of the team staff, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium . It’s been deemed a violation of franchise’s code of conduct. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 22, 2022 The bad news for Celtics fans continues after the recent reports of a possible season-ending injury to Danilo Gallinari and pending knee surgery for Rob Williams . Any possible discipline for Udoka will likely come from the team itself, and not the League. 

 Could someone help me here. Are the Boston Celtics really looking to Luke Kornet to significantly contribute this coming season? While many NBA GMs and coaches regard height as a positive attribute, both Brad Stevens and Ime Udoka don't seem to be among them   Their "ideal"player would be roughly 6'8" tall and able to play all five positions. The 7'2" Kornet has career averages of: 14.3 MPG - 5.5 PPG - 2.6 RPG - 1.0 APG - 0.8 BPG - .408 FG, - .324 on 3s I see nothing that Luke does well. Are the Celtics looking to the Vanderbilt product to fire away from 3-point land (per Wikipedia): "He (Kornet) holds the NCAA record for three-pointers made by a 7-footer with 150." In two stints with Boston, Luke is 9-of-42 on trey s for a whopping ,214 percentage . But has has 27 blocks to his credit in 30 games as a Celtic , and therein may be part of his value. As a long inside presence, he could see time filling in for Rob Williams .  Oh yes, and even t...

 With the reported signing of wing, Denzel Valentine , we can expect he will be trying to live up to his pre-draft potential during the Boston Celtics' Training Camp.  The 6'4", 220-pound shooting guard has not exactly thrived in his NBA career, but he has the size and long-distance shooting ability (36% on 3s for his career) Brad Stevens looks for . His pre-draft analysis  reveals a slow, unathletic guard with intelligence and leadership . However, his outlook in the big League showed the following: "Given the right situation, Valentine could in time become a key cog in a championship contender" It may be an uphill battle for the 14-overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, but the Celtics are truly a major contender for the 2023 Title, and Valentine may have landed in the right spot. And may I add that Denzel was signed by the Maine Celtics on my birthday, January 21 of this year - possibly a positive omen.…