Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 I have not been a Rick Barry fan since I watched him belittle the great Bill Russell on National TV. But he recently spoke of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum as suffering from the Russell Westbrook Syndrome. Was he right? ( per SI's Eric Jay Santos ): Barry:  “Both (Jaylen) Brown and (Jayson) Tatum, who are two talented players, suffer from what I call (Russell) Westbrook syndrome. Westbrook is an incredible talent. I love how hard he plays, but he tries to force things. In the game of basketball, you should always be taking what the defense gives you… Both Jaylen and Jayson, they have a tendency to force things and end up getting a lot of turnovers.” Barry is known as one of the top passing forwards in the history of the NBA, and I do tend to agree with his assessment. I checked the numbers for the 2023 post-season via NBA.com, and sure-enough - Westbrook averaged the third-most turnovers (4.0 per game). Brown comes in at number-15 for turnovers in the playoffs. He has al...

 The Celtics 6th-Man-of-the-Year candidate, Malcolm Brogdon, is hard to define but I describe him as quietly-intense. One analyst on Twitter acutely portrays Brogdon playing basketball with "the personality of an 8th-grade world history teacher" . I get that, and I agree with the comparison: Malcolm Brogdon hoops with the personality of an 8th grade world history teacher Does that make sense? I think it makes sense — Mark Schindler (@MG_Schindler) January 29, 2023  Some may misinterpret that analysis, but not me. We are not looking at a loudmouth with child-like antics on the court . Malcolm is inwardly intense, professional and dedicated to the task at hand, but he hardly ever displays emotion. He and Payton Pritchard are very much alike in that sense. Now to the 6th-Man-of-the-Year battle . I won't bore you with the stats, but for bench players participating in 40-or-more games, his only competition is Benedict Mathurin or Russell W@estbrook . And for the past five game...

Mike D'Antoni's "experiment" employing his Deadly Duo of Russell Westbrook and James Harden to continually attack Boston's defense worked like a charm, giving the Houston Rockets the 116-105 win over the Celtics. Here are 10 takeaways from last night's contest. #1) Boston had no answer for Russell Westbrook and James Harden. The numbers don't tell it all, but here they are. Houston's Deadly Duo combined for 78 points, 18 boards and 12 assists. Westbrook was able to get to the rim repeatedly, either scoring or picking up a foul on most of his drives. The two guards shot a total of 31 free throws and made 27 of them. Westbrook, particularly, benefited from Mike D'Antoni's small-ball experiment. With no Rockets big man clogging the middle, he had his way with with any Boston defender trying to stop him. Harden and Westbrook get the calls & get to the line, #Celtics ' Marcus Smart gets mad - @ASherrodblakely https://t.co/eY7qUXClYH p...

The summer trade frenzy continues with Chris Paul and future draft picks going to the Houston Rockets for the Thunder's Russell Westbrook. Make no mistake - this one is big. The Rockets back court with two recent MVP candidates may now be the best in the NBA. ESPN story on blockbuster deal reuniting former MVP's Russell Westbrook and James Harden on the Houston Rockets -- with CP3 on his way to the Thunder. https://t.co/605aNR69IQ — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 12, 2019 CP3 is not expected to remain in Oklahoma City for much more than a cup of coffee, and Miami, or even Milwaukee, could be his next destination. This deal makes the Rockets a legitimate Title contender to go against other superstar pairings that have taken place in the West. They will now contend with the Clippers Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, in addition to the Lakers Lebron James and Anthony Davis. After the Rockets were eliminated this postseason, James Harden said he knew exactly what the team n...