Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 With the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76'ers not making the Eastern Conference Finals, the immediate future has brightened for the Boston Celtics. As expected, injuries derailed the Nets season, and another year of wear-and-tear on four former All-Stars not getting any younger certainly lowers expectations for the upcoming season.  And the Philadelphia 76'ers, under former Celtics coach, Doc Rivers , just can't seem to perform in the spotlight. Ben Simmons refuses to learn how to shoot the ball, and Joel Embiid , for all his talent, occasionally fades into the background. And people are starting to wonder if Doc Rivers is as good as some of us thought. That leaves the Milwaukee Bucks , and surprisingly, the Atlanta Hawks , in the Eastern race. It just seems to me that with the right coach, and tweaks to the current roster, the Celtics have a solid shot at making major noise in 2021-22. Young defensive anchor potential, Timelord insurance. — Christopher Landers (@armch...

 Apparently, 33 All-Star appearances and two MVP awards shared by four members of the Brooklyn Nets wasn't sufficient to prevent their take down by the Milwaukee Bucks in the deciding Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. Granted, injuries, particularly the recent ankle mishap suffered by former-Celtic, Kyrie Irving , played a large role in ending the Nets' quest for the 2021 NBA Championship, but fate - good or bad - always comes into play in the post-season. The moment Kyrie stomped on the Leprechaun the Nets were doomed…. — Coach Mantia (@KenMantia) June 14, 2021  I take no pleasure in injuries to opposing players, but I always felt that James Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving conspiring to assemble in Brooklyn was overkill. Many analysts had them pegged for this year's Title. Adding Blake Griffin to the mix seemed to sweeten their pot, but in the end, it just didn't work. Boston just doesn't seem to hold the charm for NBA stars that the warm st...

 I wrote in February of bringing Al Horford back to Boston , and count me as thrilled that it finally happened. Many NBA analysts are not giving the Celtics sky-high grades for the move, but Al checks most of the boxes for the boost needed by a team that under-performed last season. The Celtics are trading Kemba Walker, the No. 16 overall pick in the 2021 draft and a 2025 second-round draft pick to Oklahoma City for Al Horford, Moses Brown and a 2023 second-round pick, sources tell ESPN. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 18, 2021 The move made by current Celtics GM, Brad Stevens , was quick and decisive. The fact that it happened before the arrival of a new head coach is revealing. Horford, at 35 years of age, can still play. The stats from his stint with Oklahoma City last season show it: 28 MPG - 14.2 PPG - 6.7 RPG - 3.4 APG - .9 SPG - .9 BPG - 45% FG - 37% 3s - 82% FT Al could be looking at similar minutes, and probably similar stats, this coming season with the Celtics. Hor...