Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

  "Hail fellow well met"  is an  English   idiom  used when referring to a person whose behavior is hearty, friendly, and congenial, in the affirmative sense. It took an excellent CelticsBlog article by Dan Kelley  to once again remind me why the hell K C Jones has not been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach. Read Dan's article for many specifics. Both former Celtics coaches, Bill Fitch and Rick Pitino , are in the Hall as coaches. Why isn't K C there? I was never a fan of Fitch and still despise Pitino. Rick came close to ruining a treasured sports franchise (Celtics) and I didn't care for Bill - even though Larry Bird still showers praise on him. I first learned of Fitch's harsh treatment of his (then) assistant, K C Jones after reading Jones' book, Rebound . Fitch's abuse of K C was well-known ( per latimes.com's Thomas Bonk ): "Fitch had little use for K.C. Jones, who was one of his assistant coaches, but who succeeded...

 Do you recognize the top photo? Of course you do. That's Rick Pitino . How about the bottom photo? Probably not. That's the "immortal" Travis Knight , for whom the gracious Pitino granted a long-term, 7-year/$22 million deal - while allowing f uture-3-time Champion Rick Fox to head off to the rival Lakers. I am not done! Travis' most-productive season was in 1997-98 with Boston, averaging 20.3 MPG, 6.5 PPG and 4.9 RPG . Knight never achieved that again. He went back to Laker-Land the very next season and finished his 7-year NBA stint, granted via Pitino's 7-year gift. The Knight-in-lusterless-armor finished his career averaging 9.0 minutes per game and producing a mere 1.9 points and 1.9 boards .  Not done yet! How about Rick Fox in Los Angeles? How does three Championships in a row from 1999 to 2002 sound? He started all playoff games for LA in 2001 and 2002, averaging 35.8 MPG, 10.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 1.9 SPG in 2001 .  People may forget that Pitino beca...

 I don't label Danny Ainge taking Giannis Antetokounmpo 15th in the 2013 NBA draft as a blunder, or even bad judgement. No NBA coach, GM or analyst could envision what the now-League Champion and Finals MVP could be. So lets call it unfortunate that we won't be seeing a starting-5 of The Greek Freak alongside The Jay team, Marcus Smart and Al Horford this coming season. The Celtics slipping to number-3 in the 1997 draft and missing out on Tim Duncan won't be included in this rating. The Evil Emperor of Beantown, Rick Pitino , was in charge and would most-likely would have butchered his handling of such a fundamentally-sound talent.  So the greatest misfortune in Celtics history has to be the early deaths of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis , taken in successive (1986 & 87) NBA draft s. I lump the two players together since, had they lived, they would have paired to possibly prolong the careers of Bird, Parish and McHale in Boston, and perhaps add a couple of banners to ...

DJ Bean and Michael Holley of NBC Sports Boston tried their hands at picking some of the worst contracts in sports history. Bean got it right with his choice of Rick Pitino. Holley faltered terribly with his pick of Gordon Hayward. Whomst u got? @MichaelSHolley pic.twitter.com/82hfwT9aEH — DJ Bean (@DJ_Bean) March 5, 2020 Pitino came to Boston in 1997, taking over the reins of a team that had been struggling. He pushed the much-revered Red Auerbach aside and amassed a disappointing 102-146 record with the Celtics until his resignation in 2001. To say he was despised by Celtics fans is to understate the issue. His contract with Boston called for the sum of $70 million dollars over a 10-year period. He lasted only three-and-one-half years and came close to ruining a storied franchise - a lot of money ill-spent. Rick Pitino, pushed Red out the door and left the franchise in ruins — Jason Richter (@JasonRichter13) March 5, 2020 Holley including Hayward's contract in his l...

Make no mistake about this. Success and the limelight bring jealousy and even hatred. One of the most successful NBA coach/executives in the 1950's and beyond was Red Auerbach. He was smart. He was shrewd. He took chances. And the Boston Celtics just kept winning. To this day, I swear that the envy and dislike continues. Red's mortal self has left us, but the issue remains. I posted an article a few days ago focused on ESPN's projection of a starting USA Basketball lineup when the crew travels to China. Despite the fact that Kemba Walker started last night's game once again (versus Spain), ESPN's starting-5 did not include one Celtic. Yes, the envy and dislike persists. I believe the photo below is to blame. Red is pictured smack-dab in the middle of villains from the Batman TV series. We have Frank Gorshin as The Riddler, Julie Newmar as Cat Woman, Burgess Meredith as The Penguin, Cesar Romero as The Joker - and Red Auerbach as - well, himself. Red doesn'...

It had to be. Tim Duncan, alias The Big Fundamental, eventually just had to land in the NBA coaching ranks at some point. Returning to San Antonio, where he played for 19 seasons, just seems natural - as does Gregg Popovich's comment on Duncan's return. The Spurs have hired Tim Duncan as an assistant coach, the team announced. “It is only fitting, that after I served loyally for 19 years as Tim Duncan’s assistant, that he returns the favor,” said Gregg Popovich. pic.twitter.com/DEVhxZyVn6 — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 22, 2019 It was Shaquille O'Neal that gave Tim his nickname, The Big Fundamental. Shaq compared Duncan to former Celtic, Larry Bird, as a player that was not terribly athletic, but could destroy you with the basics - the fundamentals. Duncan averaged 19.0 PPG, 10.8 RPG and 2.2 BPG, and he used the glass much like another former Celtic, Sam Jones. Tim was a 5-time Champion, 3-time Finals MVP and 2-time NBA MVP. Could he shoot 3-pointers? Nope! Over...

You may remember Joe Johnson who had little more than a cup of coffee before being sent packing to Phoenix. Joe was taken with the 10th overall pick in 2001 and then traded halfway though his rookie season. Joey, we hardly knew ye. Johnson became a 7-time NBA All-Star, and I blame his errant trade on residue from the disastrous reign of Rick Pitino in Boston, even though he was gone went the trade went down. Joe is now Captain of the undefeated Triplets of Ice Cube's BIG3 League. When you look at the stats from the four BIG3 games thus far, be aware that these 3-on-3 games only go to 50 points. Joe Johnson's 1st 4 games in @TheBIG3 GM1: 27 PTS, 16 REB, 5 AST, GW GM2: 20 PTS, 8 REB, 5 AST, GW GM3: 26 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST GM4: 17 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST, GW pic.twitter.com/ziMC7bhifX — Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) July 14, 2019 "Iso" Joe Johnson was, and is, known for his shooting and scoring, but the moniker misses the fact he is a willing passer. In addition to le...