Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 It was Celtics versus Warriors - Bill Russell against Wilt Chamberlain . But one incident stole the show. Sam fouled Wilt - hard -  and Chamberlain thought the hit was over the hill and went after Boston's shooting guard. Wilt was pissed! He hated getting fouled because that meant he probably had to go to the foul line. Chamberlain was a menace on offense close to the hoop, but he shot better from the field (.540) than from the foul line (.511). What fans may have been watching was an early version of "Hack-a-Shaq", a strategy to foul Shaquille O'Neal and send him to his personal torture chamber, the foul line.  I can picture Coach Red Auerbach possibly telling his guys, "When you foul Chamberlain, make sure he doesn't score. Send him to the foul line. He can't hit shit from there."  The confrontation came down to a "David-vs.-Goliath" scenerio, and Sam's only weapon was a wooden photographer's stool . It slowed the giant'...

 I'm talking about the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers . The Lakers camp has been favored by NBA stars for decades , with the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Shaquille O'Neal and Lebron James ending up there. The sun, warmth, bright lights and chances for off-court stardom beckoned. And both Shaq and Lebron also played for the Miami Heat . The warmth, beaches and night life were calling. And I almost forgot they played together for Cleveland, forgoing the warmth and beaches for a bit. Well, it's 2024, and both teams have been eliminated from the post-season, and I love it . The Lakers won't acquire their Banner 18 prior to the Boston Celtics doing the same, and apparently the sun and nightlife of Miami wasn't enough to cure the ailments of Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier . The current Celtics team doesn't have any classic "Ring Shoppers" in the fold. No member of The Green is known for constantly seeking supposed greener pastures.  Ok...

How long is Danny Ainge going to continue without an on-court leader? I have written repeatedly on this subject, and now I have some backup. On this morning's NBA TV broadcast, Shaquille O'Neal was asked what is wrong with the Boston Celtics. His response follows: "This game we play - the simpler you make it, the easier it becomes. They (Celtics) have to identify whose team it is. They have to identify who the second punch is." When asked who that leader may be, Shaq hesitated briefly and then mentioned Jayson Tatum as that guy. Candace Parke r blamed the COVID pandemic as the main cause of Boston's woes, while Dwayne Wade stated the team has no "identity" .  O'Neal's comment about "simplicity" was a bit obscure, but he may have been talking about Brad Stevens perhaps overly-complex defensive and offensive schemes . If that was his point, I agree. Overthinking can lead to confusion . But Shaq's statement on the need for an o...

The Brooklyn Nets Big-Fou r of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, James Harden and (soon-to-be-Net) Blake Griffin own a combined 33 Title rings and are considered favorites by many analysts to walk away with the 2021 Championship. But wait a minute. The 2003-04 Los Angeles Lakers also had a Big-4 and history shows a total of 56 rings for the elite quartet who were favored to take the 2004 Title but fell to a much (on paper) weaker Pistons crew. That Lakers group included Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone and Gary Payton . They were heavily favored over Detroit with a lineup of C hauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace and Tayshaun Prince . But injuries and discord abounded within the Lakers organization , while the Pistons played team ball and tough defense - walking away with the prize  (per Wikipedia): During the 2003 off-season, superstar guard  Kobe Bryant  had been accused of  sexual assault  in  Colorado . Media attention surrounding the cas...

My previous article on the Top 5 NBA players of all-time drew a lot of controversy, and I expect this one will do the same. I am solid and unmovable on my choices at the guard and forward slots - Larry Bird and Lebron James take the two front court positions, while Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan occupy the guards slots. 2001 MVP Shaq was the best center I have ever seen in th league. He was literally unstoppable I remember thinking there was no way his team could lose because he COULD NOT BE STOPPED except by fouling him. Such a tough decision to take Shaq over Kareem but he gets the edge... — Matty Vegas (@MattyVegas22) February 21, 2021 Younger responders will often tend to go with more-recent stars, and that showed in the Twitter posts. The major question seems to "center" around the five spot. The names of Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O"Neal all showed up in the discussion. I find it hard to argue with those that pick Wilt, Sha...

On this morning's broadcast of "Open Court" on NBA TV, the question was raised, "Is there is another place (other than Madison Square Garden) in line as being the place to watch an NBA basketball game?" The Open Court crew were broaching New York's Madison Square Garden as the "Mecca of NBA basketball". One member of the cast spoke right up in favor of Boston and the Celtics fans. Shaq's comments follow: Shaquille O'Neal: : "New York and Boston have very similar fans. They (Boston fans) have knowledge of the game and they're die-hard fans. They may give up during the season if the season isn't going well, but they always fall back on next year. ' Okay, you got us this year, but we'll be better next year. Got a couple of draft picks coming - gonna make a couple trades'." O'Neal got a good taste of the City of Boston and the Celtics as an opponent and as as a member of the team during the 2010-11 season when ...

Red Auerbach was known for acquiring All-Star players who were nearing the end of their careers. Here are some of the most-notable additions that the wily legend brought to Boston. Shaquille O'Neal Shaq was picked up by the Celtics in 2010 on a 2-year, vet-minimum contract totaling $2.8 million. An assortment on injuries limited the 15-Time All-Star to 37 games, in which he averaged 9.2 PPG and 4.8 RPG. Boston traded center Kendrick Perkins in February, partially in the hope that O'Neal would overcome his injuries and return to form. That never happened, and Shaq retired from the NBA at the conclusion of the season. Dave Bing The 6'3" Bing played most of his career with the Detroit Pistons and totaled seven All-Star appearances. He played his final NBA season in 1977-78 with the Celtics, averaging 13.6 PPG, 2.7 RPG and 3.8 APG. After retiring from the League, Dave transformed himself into a successful business owner, political activist - and finally was elected May...

On this morning's NBA TV broadcast, the question was raised concerning the Eastern Conference team that would give the Philadelphia 76'ers the tougher battle - the Miami Heat or the Boston Celtics. Analyst, and former star for the Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade, answered in the following manner: You want to go to Miami. They've (Philadelphia) had some success in Miami in the playoffs. You don't want to go to Boston. Why would you? Shaquille O'Neal chose the Heat as the tougher opponent for the 76'ers, indicating "They (Celtics) don't have a big". Candace Parker took the middle road, stating that both Miami and Boston would be tough to handle in the playoffs, citing "the way Brad Stevens makes adjustments in the playoffs" as a positive factor for the Celtics. Actually, contrary to what Shaq had to say, Boston does have a legitimate big man in the guise of the German import, Daniel Theis. Daniel may not measure up to O'Neal's 7'1...