Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 Miami Heat Coach, Eric Spoelstra , believes the Celtics Derrick White is the most-underrated player in the NBA. He may be correct, but Boston's 6'4",  do-everything guard must be getting used to the tag. In high school, he was a 6-foot combo guard that did not get a ton of attention from colleges. But Colorado-Colorado Springs gave him a room-and-board stipend . He grew three inches prior to playing for UCCS - and he was on his way. Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on Derrick White: “I think Derrick White is the most underrated player in the league.” pic.twitter.com/PRQtoA3qbE — 𝙟𝙗 (@lockedupjb) March 15, 2025 But the underrated tag hung on to him . In the 2017 NBA draft he lasted until the 29th-overall pick and went to the San Antonio Spurs. The Celtics were sharp enough to trade for him in 2022, sending Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford , a draft pick (and draft swap) to the Spurs. White is averaging 16.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.0 SPG and 1.1 BPG this season ,...

      1st Quarter       When JB hits his threes in stride it's as pure as organic honey, so damn sweet! Celtics fans can we give a shout out to Mike Gorman, just love him doing games. Just wish Tommy was still with him. Not an ideal start IMO, this is a weaker less talented team. Celtics should be coming out ready to bury them!        RWill with a huge block, yet no fast break off if it? JRich my guy coming in and making stuff happen. Drilling a three like he just struck oil! JRich with another nice offensive set with the floater that touched Heaven where my mom is. I'd like to think she guided that one home.        2nd Quarter       Celtics are getting rolled, didn't score until 9:30 left in the quarter come on guys. Unacceptable! How can an NBA team be so cold, really I don't get it. Someone needs to get to the rack and score. What is this team, because right now they look like losers. ...

The Celtics seemed to be a newly-formed team when they defeated the second-place Phoenix Suns, 123-108, on New years Eve. Here's why! First-half toughness Yes, Celtics toughness. Suns Coach, Kevin Young said it. His team could not match Boston's tough play, at least in the early going. Taking it into the paint Celtics finished with 64 points in the paint to only 46 by Phoenix. Tommy Heinsohn would have been proud of his crew. Limiting 3-pointers Celtics attempted only 27 3-pointers, making 10 (37%) . Suns took 35 treys, making 11 (31%) Bench production Boston's bench consisted of three players, Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford and Payton Pritchard . They scored a combined 46 points, took down nine boards, handed out four assists and made three steals . The trio shot 62% on field goals and 58% on 3s .  Marcus Smart was back The sometimes-maligned fireball was back in action - and Marcus was instrumental in the win. He had a line of 24 points (tied for team-high) in 39 minu...

 Boston fans have no idea what to expect from these two guys. Injuries and limited floor time have left Jabari Parker and Romeo Langford in Limbo with respect to what they can offer this season. But their emergence could significantly swing the odds in Boston's favor in both the regular season and playoffs. Parker has shown his bosses enough that it appears he will make the roster cut and earn at least a guaranteed $1.1 million as of the start of the regular season. He has the size (6'8"), age (26 years old) and skills to help The Green's cause if he remains injury-free. Looks like Jabari Parker is a lock to make the final roster cut. Look for my upcoming article. Best of Jabari Parker in 2020-21 NBA Season https://t.co/y9WaPwrt7M via @YouTube — Tom Lane (@CelticsSentinel) October 17, 2021  Although not blessed with superior athleticism , at least from what we have seen, Jabari can score in many ways - bullying his way to the hoop - creating his own shot from mid...

  Dennis Schroder got the nod at starting point guard with both Marcus Smart (suspension) and Payton Pritchard (broken nose) out of action in the Celtics 121-100 loss to Miami last night. The German import's line was solid but didn't tell the whole story: 26 M - 13 P - 4 R - 6 A - 3 S - 1 B  For a guy with such a slim frame, Dennis is tough and Boston fans can count on him to be a constant irritant to the opposition going forward. That is one reason Schroder is often compared to former-Celtic, Rajon Rondo . Dennis pulled out his best Rondo impression with this bucket ☘️🏀👀 pic.twitter.com/Mc7N6VxZBg — Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) October 15, 2021 Grant Williams also was in the starting lineup and did a credible job out there, but Coach Ime Udoka benched him at one point, making it clear that he is in charge on the bench this season ( per MassLive's Brian Robb) :  Grant Williams found himself doing exactly that (complaining about a call) however with just...

      Dennis the Menace Shroeder showed he can ball out. He's quick enough to get to the cup. Knocking down jumpers, hitting threes, and driving and dishing to cutters. This dude is explosive . A guy who annoys you when he isn't on your team. Thank goodness he's ours!     Jabari Parker  looks like a new man with a lease on his basketball life. He looks young, cutting, crashing the boards and playing D. He can be huge to this teams success this year. If he's a hair how he was at Duke, we are in for a good season.        Jayson Tatum has a new willingness to drive to the hoop with authority . But he's still shooting threes.. His body has made him more confident in crashing the boards.        Josh Richardson came in tonight and made in impact. His Moxy and competitiveness are going to be huge this season. He's a very confident get in your face defensive player. He used to kill the C's, now he can take it to the rest o...

          First quarter thoughts , Jaylen Brown looks slimmer yet his shot is just as sweet. No fear going to the hoop. Jayson Tatum looks bigger, ready to go at his opponents. We saw some good ball movement. Good effort on the defensive end. Juancho isn't afraid to bang . We saw some fight on going after the ball and extra passes. Shroeder and Al Horford have a nice connection and good pick and roll. J Rich getting a block, a reminder of his defensive pedigree. The Wolverine showed his willingness to be the facilitator. There were some defensive breakdowns and a few bad turnovers.        Second quarter thoughts , JT used his new frame and massive shoulders to post up and get buckets. We see that P ayton Pritchard has no fear, willing to take and make 3s. The Wolverine showing us he can get to the hoop with his strength, plus the ability to drive. We saw more of Juancho's energy on that offensive rebound. Al making plays, setting screens...

       Romeo Langford! Is he ever going to be healthy? Ever since he was drafted there has been talk about the upside in what he offers on the floor, and in flashes he shows why the Celtics drafted him so high. Defensively he can stay with anyone. He has length and quickness. He's a very smart player. Offensively he can knock down threes and as fans saw he brought the hammer down on that dunk in summer league.         Yet he's never healthy. It seems there's usually something physical going on and when your not on the floor, your value starts to decrease. Not to mention when your team brings in guys who are similar in your skill set like a Josh Richardson . What does that say? Plus you drafted a guy like Nesmith who honestly has higher upside than you do. Let's also look at a guy like Sam Hauser who can shoot the lights out, and imagine him being left open when the Jays are doubled. If Romeo isn't healthy than where does that leave him?...

      This summer league team for the Boston Celtics has a lot to look for while watching the games. Will Carsen Edwards finally turn into that steal in the draft that Celtics fans thought, or will his play be just another tease of the college moments he had? Is this where Romeo finally shows why Danny took him so high in the draft? Can he stay healthy?       Will Nesmith build on that good rookie campaign where when given valuable minutes showed he's willing to hustle and play hard D? He proved he will crash the boards, run the floor, and knock down threes! Is it his time for that next step to becoming a key player on this Celtics roster?       Are these games the stage in which Pritch shows fans he's the point guard of the future? A PG who can knock down threes from anywhere? A hard nosed defender and player who isn't afraid to go to the hoop! A player who can spread the floor when teamed up with JB and JT?      ...

 Celtics fans knew this game was going to be focused on the play of Boston's young guards when 6'4" Romeo Langford was penciled in as the starting center , and the back court consisted of 6'1" Payton Pitchard and 5'11" Carsen Edwards . Boston came away with the 85-83 win , but the rust was evident in the first minutes of the game, with The Green missing their first eight shots . Yam Madar was inserted, and that seemed to be the right move. Madar only played 17 minutes, but came away with eight points, two rebounds and two assists . He had a decent NBA debut. But the stars for Boston were Pritchard and Edwards. While fully understanding the limited importance of Summer League, I like this relatively-undersized duo. Payton's Pace is always on fast mode, but Edwards, once he gets the ball, just goes for it . His speed and strength were on display , and he finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists . At least for one game, he showed he is m...

 The Marcus Smart trade rumors are rampant. This proposal has Marcus, Tristan Thompson, Romeo Langford and a first-round pick going to the Pelicans for former-Celtic, Terry Rozier . The theory behind the idea is that the Celtics need a pass-first point guard. One of Danny Ainge's biggest regrets was allowing defensive ace, Tony Allen , to walk away in free agency. In my estimation, Smart has more value to the Celtics than Allen had at the time, and Brad Stevens should not trade The Wolverine away. Marcus will be in the final year of his contract this coming season, earning a bargain-level $13.8 million . This past season, he had career-highs in minutes (32.9 MPG), points (13.1 PPG), blocks (0.5 BPG) and guess what - assists (5.7 APG). The downside was his shooting. He only hit 40% of his field goals and 33% of his three-pointers. He will never be the second-coming of Ray Allen in the accuracy category, but he supplies energy, fire, ferocious defense and the willingness to do ...

 I am not writing this accolade for Tremont Waters based solely on his solid performance versus the Knicks yesterday, although it does play a role. In the Celtics 96-92 loss, and despite a few miscues early (3 turnovers), Waters contributed 17 points, five rebounds, five assists and a team-high plus minus of +20 . He is the pass-first backup point guard that The Green needs. Granted, he would most-likely be the second PG off the bench behind Payton Pritchard , but Payton has shown to be more of a scorer than facilitator. Tremont's per-36-minutes stats reveal 9.4 assists per game, along with 2.3 steals/game and a 94.1 % accuracy on free throws. He leads the team in all three categories on a 36-minute basis .  One other point. Opponents can't leave the 5'10" guard alone past the 3-point line. He hits roughly 40% (.395) of the long balls, and Tre' was 3-of-8 on treys yesterday .  This off-season will be a time of significant change for the Boston Celtics, and ri...

Celtics sophomore, Romeo Langford only scored five points and took down five rebounds in the Celtics come-from-behind win over the Denver Nuggets, but he gets most of the credit for turning around what appeared to be a lost cause for Boston. It all started at the 1:44 mark of the third quarter with the Celtics trailing, 79-65 . The 6'4" Langford was covering Denver's 6'8" JaMychal Green , and Romeo's intense defense forced a travel call on Green . Things went Boston's way after that. Romeo started the fourth quarter, and his play had already allowed Boston to close the gap to five points with a 79-74 score. It was Langford once again making the right play on a drive to the hoop, taking a hard foul in the process. His two foul shots gave the Celtics the lead at 80-79 . Langford's plus/minus for the contest was a +18 , second only to Grant Williams' +23 . Boston's 40-8 run started with Romeo's tough defense on Green. Admittedly, the Nugge...

Forgive me! I swore I wouldn't use the poetry found in the title, but I have to do something. Danny Ainge certainly isn't. Where the Hell are these guys? What is going on with the Celtics two recent lottery picks, Romeo Langford and Aaron Nesmith? Romeo's wrist has been repaired, and now he is out of action on COVID protocols. We have seen next-to-nothing of him since he was taken with the 14th pick in the 2019 NBA draft. Ainge also grabbed Aaron Langford at number-14 in the 2020 draft, and he can also be listed as "missing in action" most of the time. His absence is more puzzling than that of Langford. Granted, Aaron has not exactly been a redo of Larry Bird "coming through that door", but he has had little opportunity to prove - or disprove - the choice of picking him at #14. Same with Romeo. These two youngsters are certainly not being showcased for a potential trade, but that doesn't mean that is not Danny's plan. No one, including Brad Steve...

I have admired Danny Ainge for never tanking - never punting - and rebuilding his team on the fly. But things may have gotten out of hand in the past several years. If Danny is truly saddled with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) , it just may be that his impulsiveness has had some negative effects on the Celtics performance this season. Ainge has been Celtics boss since 2003, and for the past four years, he has been constantly plugging holes in his roster as players come and go. First, it was Al Horford in 2016 coming to Boston in free agency. Then Kyrie Irving showed up in 2017 in a trade that sent beloved Isaiah Thomas off to Cleveland. Gordon Hayward also joined the Celtics in 2017. In 2019, things started to go downhill when both Horford and Irving left town as free agents. Aron Baynes , who had been acquired in 2017, was traded - as was point guard Terry Rozier in a move to pick up Kemba Walker as a replacement for Kyrie Irving. Hayward left the Celtics fold ...

My readers will notice that I did not employ the term "happy" (with the present roster), nor did I go crazy and suggest the Celtics boss is "thrilled" with the crew he has right now. And I am sure that upon writing this piece, we will get bombarded with noise of a major deal he has in mind. But for now, I do believe Danny is (somewhat) content with what he has at hand. Do not be fooled by the smile on Ainge's face in the above photo. He is being stalked by my daughter, Lisa Lane McCarty, outside the old Boston Garden back in the mid-80's. He just wants to go home or out to eat. Danny wants to win. Period! Can he do it with his present roster? Of course he can, but it is far from a sure thing. Things are library-quiet in the Celtics environs concerning any impending deals, and it just may be that Ainge is going with what he has - and will look more at developing his young guys. Tristan Thompson's arrival in Beantown brings the much-needed toughness that w...

  The good news? The Celtics are back. After a long 2 and a half months with the bitter taste of an Eastern Conference Finals loss, we finally were able to watch some Celtics basketball last night. I'll never complain about that The bad news? It's just the preseason. After the most unprecedented season in NBA history, the 20-21 season promises to be strange as well. Some teams haven't played a competitive game in over 9 months, while the Lakers and Heat finished play about 2 months ago. Also, a shortened training camp for everyone never helps, especially rookies trying to find their footing in the league. The beginning of this season is going to be a roller coaster for every team, not just the Celtics. Regardless, let's take a look at some numbers from the C's game against Philly last night. Yes, this is an incredibly small sample size, and yes, it's still the preseason, so everything here should be taken with a pound of salt, but let's work with what we hav...

With 10 players on the Celtics roster with three years-or-less experience, it now is time for coach Brad Stevens needs to sort this all out. Who plays - who stays - who goes? Here they are: Payton Pritchard - rookie Aaron Nesmith - rookie Grant Williams - 1 year Carsen Edwards - 1 year Romeo Langford - 1 year Tremont Waters - 1 year - 2-way contract Tacko Fall - 1 year - 2-way contract Javonte Green - 1 year Robert Williams - 2 years Amile Jefferson - 2 years  - Exhibit 10 contract Semi Ojeleye - 3 years I doubt that rookies, Nesmith and Pritchard , are going anywhere, and they really need to see some floor time early in the season to determine the wisdom of drafting them. Aaron was pegged by NBA TV as "most exciting rookie to watch this season"  out of the League-wide rookie crop. Payton just seems like Danny Ainge's type of player. Boston's 2-way player duo of Tacko Fall and Tremont Waters look once again to be spending most of their time with the Maine Red Claws. T...

The Celtics blowout 128-101 win over the Philadelphia 76'ers last night demonstrated - among other things - that Boston may have no stars coming off its bench, but it appears that coach Brad Stevens intends to employ his "Pine Troops" in specific matchups and situations. Eight Celtics subs logged a combined 107 minutes in the victory, partly due to the large point differential. And the 41-point production from the eight bench guys far exceeded the combined eight points from the series opener. Grant Williams (9P, 6R, 2A), Brad Wanamaker (7P, 2R, 4A), Enes Kanter (10P, 9R) and Romeo Langford((6P, 1R) all logged 20-or-more minutes. GWill, Kanter and Wanamaker all made significant contributions. Kanter was on his offensive game last night, and it showed. Semi Ojeleye and Romeo Langford also got into the action, contributing mostly on the defensive end. The loss of Gordon Hayward for roughly four weeks will have a significant negative effect on the team's performance ...

Brad Stevens continues to give his rookies playing time during critical junctures in games. It is obvious he is trying to determine what his rotations will look like for post-season play. Brad inserted Romeo Langford into the lineup at the 5:02 mark of the first quarter on Saturday against the Houston Rockets. Grant Williams came into the game two minutes later. The Celtics had been playing tight defense to that point, and both rookies did a credible job on that end of the court. The problem came on the offensive end. Langford went scoreless, missing both of his shots, while Williams scored two points, collected three boards and came away with a team-high plus/minus of +10. Brad Wanamaker added two points to the bench-total of four points in the Celtics 111-110 loss to Houston. Stevens chose to leave Enes Kanter on the bench for the entire game, and it is becoming obvious that, particularly with injuries a constant issue, lack of scoring from the bench will continue to haunt this ...