Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 Let's be frank! Jaylen Brown now sits in fifth  place in the NBA KIA MVP race , but his chances to win the prize at the end of the season are slim indeed . No member of the Celtics has won the award since Larry Bird did it (for the third time) in the 1985-86 season. And international players have won the prize in the last seven seasons _something which may not change with the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shea Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid still battling for the trophy . Still, Jaylen Brown has been true to his word about replacing Jayson Tatum as leader of "The Green" - at least until Tatum returns.  Jaylen, this season, is averaging a team-high 33.5 minutes per game, 29.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.1 SPG and a whopping 15.6 2-point shot attempts per contest . He is taking the mid-range game seriously and driving to the hoop constantly.  The Celtics are currently sitting at number-3 in the Eastern Standings with a 15-10 record , which is somew...

 Back in 1973, the players chose the NBA MVP , not the sports writers and broadcasters that do the voting today. And the players chose Celtics center, Dave Cowens , as their Most Valuable Player . And remember, in 1973, players could not vote for a member of their own team. But the 1973 choice of "Big Red" brought some criticism from many NBA followers. Here are a few of the arguments: "Kareem deserved the award." "John Havlicek had a better season" "Tiny Archibald led the League in scoring and assists. He should have won." J abbar finished second in the MVP voting, while Tiny ended up third - and "Jarrin' John" was fifth. Personally, MVP to me means - take the specific player out of action, and how would the team have fared. In the 1972-73 season, Boston finished the regular season with a 68-14 record - tops in the League. So it was no surprise to see two Celtics players in the top-5 . Havlicek was high man for Boston in mi...

 Three seasons ago, I asked the question, "Is Kevin Durant too-high a ceiling projection for Jayson Tatum" . Well, comparing the two stars in their 8th seasons (where Tatum now sits), it appears Jayson is still in that territory. Here are their 8th-season stats: Tatum 26.8 PPG - 8.7 RPG - 6.0 APG - 1.1 SPG - 0.5 BPG -  .452FG - .343 3s - .814FT Durant 25.4 PPG - 6.6 RPG - 4.1 APG - 0.9 SPG - 0.9 BPG - .510FG - .403 3s - .854 FT Tatum gets the nod for the first four stats , and Durant takes the last four . Jayson is still only 27 years old and may not have yet peaked.  Durant has two NBA Championships to his credit, in addition to two Finals MVP Awards and one NBA MVP trophy thus far in his total career , while Tatum has only the one Title to his credit thus far. Their games are quite similar, as indicated by the stats. Jayson needed to improve his point guard skills to remain in Durant territory, and he has done that. We don't know the final outcome to this duel, but ...

  This is a close call . Who is the Greatest-of-All-Time for the Boston Celtics? You can't go wrong with either choice. Let's look at their career stats: Russ: 15.1PPG - 22.5 RPG - 4.3 APG - .440 FG - .561 FT - 11-time Champion - 5-time MVP Larry: 24.3 PPG - 10-0 RPG - 6.3 APG - .496 FG - .886 FT - 3-time Champion - 3-time MVP The numbers, of course, don't tell the whole story. Russell's 11 Title rings are amazing, and five MVPs is impressive. But Russ was not a volume scorer and almost never shot the ball from any distance (as partly evidenced by his 56% accuracy from the foul line . But Russ gets the nod on athleticism, rim protection and rebounding . And Bird was the better passer. Both stars were true team players and played to win. The NBA has seen few players with their level of fierce intensity. Remember that the League did not track blocks and 3-pointers in Bill's time, but Celtics fans know who wins each of those categories. I always have a tough time ...

 It is now widely known that Jayson Tatum's goal is to eventually reach-or-surpass Larry Bird as /best Celtics player ever.  Can he do it? My feeling is that his goal is a lofty on, but...... "Aim high or you will hit low" -- Tom Lane This quote doesn't relate to just target shooting . A shooter has to aim high to hit a distant-and-difficult target . It applies to most endeavors. I rate Bird as one of the top-5 NBA players of all time . Tatum has taken aim at a lofty goal indeed . Can Jayson end his career with three MVP awards, three Championships, two Finals MVP trophies and three 3-point Champ Awards?  Tatum has been an iron man for Boston and he should have a longer career than Larry. Jayson has become a complete player, and if he continues to improve, particularly in his passing skills, he has a shot at equalizing - or surpassing - Bird as Boston Celtics GOAT, but the odds are against him . I like this kid. I really like Jayson and his game. But I adore Bird - ...

 The Celtics Kevin McHale was known in NBA circles as "The Torture Chamber" for his varied offensive skills near the hoop , but it was his comrade-in-arms, Larry Bird,  that may have been the toughest cover in League history. Bird had ZERO weaknesses at both ends of the court. He had the size, at 6'9", to shoot over many of his defenders - the ability to get a decent shot off despite heavy coverage - the passing skills to get the ball to a teammate if shooting was not an option for him - and the court savvy to make the right decision virtually every time. And Larry's anticipation was astounding. He seemed to know what was about to happen before it occurred. And "The Bird Man" would announce to the opposition exactly what his offensive plan was on the next play - and then carried it out successfully. The many opponents he tortured over the seasons offered that Bird's trash talking was not arrogance , since he made it all happen. He backed it ...

 Only one game, but the Boston Celtics dominance over the New York Knicks in the season opener might be indicative of the entire 2024-25 season. The Green looked omnipotent against the team that may be their strongest opponent in the East.   Jayson Tatum was incredible in the win - scoring 37 points from everywhere. while handing out 10 assists with only one turnover. Jayson has mentioned himself as a potential winner of the MVP Award this season, and at least for one game - he certainly looked like one. Jayson Tatum on who will win the 2024-25 MVP Award 'Can I say myself?' 👀 pic.twitter.com/s2XGHmlNj1 — 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕮𝖊𝖑𝖙𝖎𝖈𝖘 𝕲𝖑𝖔𝖇𝖊 ☘️ (@CelticsGlobe) September 12, 2024 Tatum just looked in total control out on the court - absolutely confident . What happened to his 'broken shot"? He connected on 14-of-18 from the field versus the Knicks and  8-of-11 from downtown. And he made it look so easy. The final score was 132-109 in favor of Boston, and the game was...

 Only three NBA players have garnered three MVP trophies in consecutive years. Two of them are former Celtics, namely Bill Russell and Larry Bird . Wilt Chamberlain rounds out the trio. Jayson Tatum has a fair shot as League MVP this season, so I thought I would compare Jayson's stats from last season with those of The Birdman from his first MVP season, 1984. Tatum (2021-22): 35.9 MPG - 26.9 PPG - 8.0 RPG - 4.4 APG - 1.0 SPG - 0.6 BPG Bird (1983-84): 38.7 MPG - 24.2 PPG - 10.1 RPG - 6.6 APG - 1.8 SPG - 0.9 BPG Bird takes 5-of-6 categories, while Tatum gets the nod on points per game. Larry takes two more categories (FG% and FT%), and Jayson takes the 3-point award. End result is Bird wins seven categories, and Tatum takes two.  Also interesting to note that the Celtics won two Titles in two of the seasons (1984, 1986) where Larry walked away with the MVP trophy. Did Larry Bird acquire those MVP awards because he was white? That's what former-Piston Dennis Rodman reportedly sa...

 My planned article for this morning was going to be Jayson Tatum as "dark horse" NBA MVP for 2022, and guess what? I decided to watch this morning's NBA TV broadcast on the MVP race, and lo and behold, NBA analyst Steve Smith picked Tatum as his candidate to come out of the shadows to win the award this season. Granted, Smith did project that the Nets' Kevin Durant would actually win the MVA prize, but he cited Jayson's momentum and performance in last season's playoffs - that Tatum was "ripe to take another leap" - and have the wins under his belt.  It is well-understood that any serious MVP candidate needs major stats and sufficient wins to qualify for the award. Jayson had the numbers last season, but his team finishing in seventh place in the East with a 36-36 record didn't cut it for the rising star. Soon pic.twitter.com/UhLNRM8613 — Joey☘️ (@greenbean3742) September 28, 2021  So Jayson will have to oust reigning Most Valuable Playe...