Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 The current version of the Boston Celtics, basically built by the team's former Head Honcho, Danny Ainge , was expected to be good this season, and it is. The Green, with a 9-3 record (.750) sit in second place in the East and are tied with the Trail Blazers for the third spot in the League. The real irony is the positioning of the Utah Jazz , currently in "rebuild status" after Ainge went back out West to join them. The quotation marks surround "rebuild status" for Utah since they are currently in second place (behind the Bucks) in the NBA standings - with a 10-3 record. This wasn't supposed to happen, and my thinking is that this is a surprise, even to Danny himself. When with Boston, Ainge worked a major trade with the Brooklyn Nets that ultimately brought Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to Beantown. If this pair is not the top duo in the NBA right now, they may soon be. But once in Utah, CEO Ainge traded Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell for a slew of p...

  Utah's Rudy Gobert is always in the Defensive-Player-of-the-Year ladder, but the Celtics Rob Williams is gaining some ground. Last night's Celtics 125-97 victory over the Jazz was representative of that. Not only did Boston get the convincing win, but Williams III fared nicely against Gobert. Gobert: 30 minutes, 14 points, 11 rebounds - 1 assist - 1 steal - 0 blocks - 67% FG - plus/minus -10 Williams III: - 25 minutes - 12 points - 10 rebounds - 2 assists - 2 steals - 4 blocks - 86% FG - plus/minus +20 Celtics opponents, out of necessity are starting to pay a lot of attention to where the hell Rob is, both on offense and defense. Offensively, he is a threat close to the hoop, and on defense, he can guard any piece of the floor. He has been a major part of Boston's surge since the holidays .

 I wrote last year that Rob Williams' ceiling could be at least that of Deandre Jordan . Well, he has surpassed that projection, and his current surge has the 6'8" Pogo Stick closing in on Rudy Gobert . Here are the 4th-season stats for both rim-protectors, each at the age of 24. Rob: 10.0 PPG - 9.7 RPG - 2.0 APG - 0.9 SPG - 2.2 BPG - .732 FG Rudy: 14.0 PPG - 12.8 RPG - 1.2 APG - 0.6 SPG - 2.6 BPG - .661 FG Why "Pogo Stick" you may ask? Because Williams III has a very-quick second and third jump on rebounds and block attempts - an extremely-valuable asset at the center spot. Agree or disagree with Rob's ceiling projection approaching Gobert's, but he certainly has made a significant jump in his fourth season in the League.

Don't expect Celtics guard, Marcus Smart, to seriously compete for the NBA Defensive-Player-of-the-Year Award this season. He has too much against him in the form of bias from several sources. Defensive guards stand little chance to walk away with this trophy, but that has not always been the case. The DPOY Award has been given out since the 1982-83 season, and five of the six initial winners played the guard position: 1983: Sidney Moncrief (guard) 1984: Sidney Moncrief (guard) 1985: Mark Eaton (center) 1986: Alvin Robertson (guard) 1987: Michael Cooper (guard/forward) 1988: Michael Jordan (guard) It has been all centers (23) and forwards(7), with the one exception being Gary Payton (guard) winning the trophy in 1996. The numbers clearly show why Smart stands little chance of ever seeing the DPOY Trophy in his home. So where does the bias come in. Well, first of all, there is obvious prejudice here directed at the "little guy". While other NBA awards such as...