Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

  Tacko Fall went undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft and Tremont Waters went in the second round, 51st overall. Tacko, at 7'5" and Tremont at 5'10" had a tough climb from the start, particularly with Boston Celtics. Coach, Brad Stevens,  having a clear preference for mid-sized wings, and that restriction alone meant neither player would last long in Beantown. Tacko was simply too big and slow for today's NBA game, whereas he may have had a much-easier time making it a few decades ago. Conversely, Waters, at 175 pounds, faced constant mismatches defending bigger players. Wish he Tacko) played somewhere between 1980 and 2000. Would've had a successful and impactful career! — Frosty Bias (@frostybias) September 1, 2021 That, unfortunately for Tacko and Tremont, is the long-and-short of it - too much of an uphill climb with size-related issues. Fall is off to join the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Waters remains a free agent. Best wishes go with both of them 

  Tacko Fall was simply a victim of time and place . The lovable, 7'5" big man seemed to be in the wrong era - and Boston was not the ideal landing spot for him. But he will be missed. I’m very happy for Tacko. I hope he gets some consistent minutes! — Frosty Bias (@frostybias) September 1, 2021 Gong undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft, Danny Ainge gave Tacko a shot as a two-way player, but he proved too slow for Brad Stevens' switching defensive schemes , and his lack of a shot from any distance meant he would not last in Beantown. The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal with 7-foot-5 center Tacko Fall, agents Bill Duffy and Justin Haynes of @BDA_Sports told @TheAthletic @Stadium . Fall played his first two NBA seasons in Boston. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 1, 2021 So the Senegalese native   will get a second shot at playing time in Cleveland. We can expect a warm welcome for him upon his return to TD Garden with the Cavalie...

. That was Danny Ainge's statement back when the Celtics stood with a 14-14 record - "Our roster is obviously not very good" .After last night's 106-96 trouncing of Boston by the Philadelphia 76'ers, I finally have to agree with the Celtics boss. If my readers have a problem with the term, trouncing , let me bring up the 20 turnovers by The Green, in addition to the fact they seemed to struggle even when they held a slight lead in the contest. Mind you, we are talking "roster-as-constituted" and "team" here - not the individual players. Hell, there are three present and past All-Stars in the mix.  As one who rarely blames losses on the referees , it has become obvious that they simply don't know yet how to call the plays when the 76'ers big man, Joel Embiid, takes it to the hoop. He is so big and strong, it often appears that his defender is exerting more force than Joel - when exactly the opposite is true.  Brad Stevens putting Luk...

Prior to the season, the Celtics Rob Williams projected that he would take a "great jump" in his third season with Boston. But it appears that coach Brad Stevens may be holding him back. Rob Williams has always been known as a leaper, but this season he plans to take a different type of jump on the court. https://t.co/efEX5HdEG5 — Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 8, 2020 In last night's 110-106 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Rob saw only 13 minutes of floor time. How did he do? He scored  six points on 3-of-3 from the field, while hauling down seven (7) rebounds, four of which were of the offensive glass.  He added one assist, one steal and one block, while committing only one turnover and racking up a single foul. I took the time to project what that may have meant had he been on the floor for 36 minutes: 17 points - 19 boards - 3 assists - 3 steals, 3 blocks - 3 turnovers - 3 fouls Yes, I know my 36-minute projection is pure fantasy! Or is it? Here are Williams III...

Many unknowns surround the Celtics young-and-untapped talent pool. Think about this! We have started to see rookie Aaron Nesmith emerge in the past two games, both wins for Boston. In the two contests, Nesmith logged a combined 35 minutes and scored 20 points on 7-of-11 (64%) from the field and 6-of-10 from 3-point land (60%). The 14th-overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft  also managed seven rebounds over the 2-game span and received some accolades on his defensive effort. There may be more to Aaron's game than sniper-level marksmanship. Aaron Nesmith showing off his defensive skills. #Celtics @NBCSCeltics pic.twitter.com/IiXlCOcSpk — Celtics Updates (@allhailtacko) December 16, 2020 Fellow rookie, Payton Pritchard, is another story. He has looked poised (and been productive) since he first stepped on the parquet. Despite lacking elite athleticism, he is quick, decisive - and has terrific body control. He looks more like a 3-year vet than a raw, first-year guy taken late (26th) in...

  对于今晚对阵迈阿密热火队的比赛，波士顿凯尔特人队可能要穿上联盟最少的八名球员。在撰写本文时，The Green只有八名球员被列为“有空”比赛。他们是： Duìyú jīn wǎn duìzhèn mài'āmì rèhuǒ duì de bǐsài, bōshìdùn kǎi ěr tè rén duì kěnéng yào chuān shàng liánméng zuìshǎo de bā míng qiúyuán. Zài zhuànxiě běnwén shí,The Green zhǐyǒu bā míng qiúyuán bèi liè wèi “yǒu kòng” bǐsài. Tāmen shì: Carsen Edwards Tacko Fall Aaron Nesmith Payton Pritchard Marcus Smart Jeff Teague Daniel Theis Tremont Waters Jayson Tatum先前被报告因COVID协议而停用10-14天，现在被列为“可疑”。 Jaylen Brown和Semi Ojeleye和Javonte Green都被认为是“有问题的”。 Jayson Tatum xiānqián bèi bàogào yīn COVID xiéyì ér tíng yòng 10-14 tiān, xiànzài bèi liè wèi “kěyí”. Jaylen Brown hé Semi Ojeleye hé Javonte Green dōu bèi rènwéi shì “yǒu wèntí de”. 肯巴·沃克（Kemba Walker）和罗密欧·兰福德（Romeo Langford）在受伤恢复后仍处于闲置状态，而特里斯坦·汤普森（Tristan Thompson），罗布·威廉姆斯（Rob Williams）和格兰特·威廉姆斯（Grant Williams）仍通过COVID-19协议“出局”。 Kěn bā·wòkè (Kemba Walker) hé luōmì'ōu·lán fú dé (Romeo Langford) zài shòushāng huīfù hòu réng chǔyú xiánzhì zhuàngtài, ér tè lǐ sītǎn·tān...

 Muy bien, podría ser una situación básica para los Boston Celtics esta noche contra el rival Miami Heat. Con solo el mínimo de ocho jugadores de la Liga listados como "disponibles", podría significar que Tacko Time finalmente está aquí. El "Green Giant" ha visto algunos minutos aumentados en dos juegos en lo que va de temporada y, obviamente, ha estado trabajando en su juego. Sus faltas y pérdidas de balón están bajas. Es cierto que la muestra de este año es pequeña, pero la temporada pasada sus estadísticas por 36 minutos muestran 7.6 faltas y 3.3 pérdidas de balón. Esta temporada revelan 5.8 faltas y CERO pérdidas de balón. El rebote ofensivo de Tacko es una de las razones por las que Boston ocupa el tercer lugar en la NBA en rebotes ofensivos por juego (11.7 RPG). A pesar de no tener un atletismo de élite, es un protector de llanta fabuloso.  En una defensa de zona, sería un gran obstáculo para los oponentes que ingresan a su territorio.  En los dos juegos de Fa...

It very well could be a bare-bones situation for the Boston Celtics tonight against the rival Miami Heat. With only the League-minimum eight players listed as "available", it could mean Tacko Time is finally here. We all knew that Tacko would be very useful in the right system. (Zone D) It’s simply a shame that it took this long for Tacko to finally get some playing time during minutes that actually matter. — Celtics ☘️Canada🇨🇦 🏀 (@CelticsCanada) January 10, 2021 The "Green Giant" has seen some increased minutes in two games thus far this season, and he has obviously been working on his game. His fouls and turnovers are both down. Admittedly, this year's sample is small, but last season his per-36-minutes stats show 7.6 fouls and 3.3 turnovers. This season they reveal 5.8 fouls and ZERO turnovers.  Tacko's offensive rebounding is one reason Boston ranks third in the NBA in offensive rebounds per game (11.7 RPG). Despite not having elite athleticism, he i...

  Es könnte für die Boston Celtics eine Herausforderung sein, das Liga-Minimum von acht Spielern für das heutige Spiel gegen die Miami Heat anzuziehen. Zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt hat The Green nur acht Spieler, die für den Wettbewerb als "verfügbar" aufgeführt sind. Sie sind: Carsen Edwards Tacko Fall Aaron Nesmith Payton Pritchard Marcus Smart Jeff Teague Daniel Theis Tremont Waters Jayson Tatum, der zuvor für 10 bis 14 Tage wegen des COVID-Protokolls außer Betrieb war, wird jetzt als "zweifelhaft" aufgeführt. Jaylen Brown ist ebenso "fragwürdig" wie Semi Ojeleye und Javonte Green. Kemba Walker und Romeo Langford sind immer noch untätig, während sie sich von Verletzungen erholen, während Tristan Thompson, Rob Williams und Grant Williams über COVID-19-Protokolle immer noch "out" sind. Wie wäre es mit Miami? Meyers Leonard ist als "Spielzeitentscheidung" mit einer Nackenbelastung am Boden. Das scheint ihr einziges Opfer zu sein, aber mit COV...

8-player, League minimum may be a problem It may be a stretch for the Boston Celtics to dress the League-minimum of eight players for tonight's game against the Miami Heat. As of this writing, The Green have only eight players listed as "available" for the contest. They are: Carsen Edwards Tacko Fall Aaron Nesmith Payton Pritchard Marcus Smart Jeff Teague Daniel Theis Tremont Waters Jayson Tatum, previously reported out of action for 10-14 days for COVID protocol, is now listed as "doubtful". Jaylen Brown is down as "questionable", as are Semi Ojeleye and Javonte Green. Kemba Walker and Romeo Langford are still idle while they recover from injuries, while Tristan Thompson, Rob Williams and Grant Williams are still "out" via COVID-19 protocols. How about Miami? Meyers Leonard is down as "game time decision" with a neck strain. That seems to be their sole casualty, but with COVID lurking in the background, these decisions become virtu...

The Celtics blew a 28-point lead in this one but still managed to come away with the 116-107 victory over the Washington Wizards. The Jay Team starred as usual, with Jayson Tatum scoring a team-high 32 points and Jaylen Brown notching a double-double consisting of 27 points and 13 boards. With centers Tristan Thompson, Rob Williams and Grant Williams out for seven days due to COVID protocol, Daniel Theis had an efficient outing with a line of 10 points via 4-of-7 from the field and 1-of-1 from 3-point-territory. He added six rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block. Love this sequence. Tacko with the block - Smart gains control - quickly outlets long to Tatum for the fast break. Need more of that. https://t.co/7mYTFlrNpf — Tom Lane (@CelticsSentinel) January 9, 2021 The short-handed Celtics needed the subs to come through, and they did just that. The much-maligned Semi Ojeleye started at the power forward spot - logged 27 minutes - scored eight points - took down five rebounds ...

The Boston Celtics lost to Philadelphia last night, 108-99, but the defeat hardly matters. Brad Dtevens experimented big-time with his lineups, and here are my 10 takeaways from the contest: Payton Pritchard looked like he has been in the League for 3-or-4 years It wasn't just the rookie's stats that stood out (16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block) in only 22 minutes. He played like a veteran out there. At one point when he was at the free throw line, I saw that "nothing-is-going-to-stop-me" look that Dave Cowens aften displayed. This kid is a keeper. Brad Stevens is experimenting big-time in Exhibition Season We saw a lot of small-ball in last night/s game versus Philadelphia. At one juncture, Brad put out a quintet of Tremont Waters (5'10"), Carsen Edwards (5'11"), Pritchard (6'1"), Aaron Nesmith (6'6") and Grant Williams (6'6").   Jeff Teague proved himself to be a wise addition Teague scored a team-high 18 points ...

We may find out why Danny Ainge wants to hold on to Tacko I just never envisioned a 7'5", 331-lb. Senegalese giant to make the Celtics roster. But that is just what Elhadji Tacko Sereigne Diop Fall may accomplish. Tacko, as he is known to us, is once again on the Maine Red Claws G League roster, and he insists, as do his teammates, that he has upped his game. Coach Brad Stevens has a reputation for not favoring bigs that fall (no pun) into the "old-school" category - back-to-the-basket, can't hit the long ball - that kind of stuff. That describes Tacko, but the tag can change. Danny Ainge originally signed the "Green Giant" to an Exhibit 10 deal when he went un-drafted in 2019. A look at what his per-36-minute stats from his rookie campaign show: 25.1 PPG, 21.9 RPG, 5.9 BPG, 1.5 SPG and 78.6% accuracy from the field. His propensity for fouling (10.2 per 36 minutes) and being slow afoot were the major negatives in his game. Happy 25th Birthday to Celtics...

The NBA potentially is raising the number of players dressed for action in League games from 13 to 15. Rosters, thus far, remain at 15 players, but rules can change minute-to-minute in these times. Sources: The NBA Competition Committee has unanimously recommended to expand the active roster list from dressing 13 players to 15 for games in upcoming season. The Board of Governors are slated to meet Dec. 17 to approve the change. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 12, 2020 The Celtics currently have 17 players on their roster with #18 slated to be Amile Jefferson on an Exhibit 10 contract. Two of the 17 (Tacko Fall and Tremont Waters) are on 2-way deals. The Celtics G League affiliate Maine Red Claws will not be playing this season, but 2-way players can participate in 50 of the 72 regular-season games scheduled. The Maine Red Claws opted out of the season so any playing time they get will have to come from playing with the Celtics. — Christopher Landers (@armchairgminNH) Decembe...

With all of the trade rumors taking flight, the NBA news front is looking like Logan Airport. The latest buzz has the Pelicans Jrue Holiday coming to Boston for either Kemba Walker or Gordon Hayward. But frankly, Danny Ainge does not have to pull of the deal-of-the-decade to get his team back to the Finals. Flash back to the 2018 Eastern Finals when Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Al Horford and Terry Rozier gave the Cleveland Cavaliers all they could handle in the 7-game series.  Al and Terry are gone, as are Aron Baynes and Marcus Morris, but Daniel Theis and Kemba Walker are now on board. And the present Green Crew battled well in the Eastern Finals once again. Tweak #1 is: Aron Baynes needs to come back Baynes is a proven veteran that knows the Celtics system and brings toughness and physicality ( see tweak #2 ). He earned $5.5 million last season and is an unrestricted free agent. Celtics need more strength, toughness and physicality The 2019-20 version of the Celt...

In 2018, when writing about Celtics prospects in the upcoming NBA draft, I never seriously considered Robert Williams III as falling to Boston with the 27th pick. Most analysts projected him being plucked somewhere in the lottery. But he did plummet, mainly due to questions about his work ethic, and Danny Ainge took advantage of the opportunity. Now in his sophomore season with the Celtics, Williams is making significant contributions in the post-season, with Boston now in the Eastern Conference Finals versus the Miami Heat. Rob's physical attributes are undeniable and truly invade the freakish range. If he continues to advance his basketball IQ, star status is not out of the question. Rob's physical gifts start with his wingspan-to-height ratio. It is remarkable. He is 6'8" in height with a 7'6" wingspan. To put that into context, the average NBA player averages a wingspan (WS) 4-5 inches greater that his height. Williams' WS is 10" greater than...

After two DNP-CDs in Games One and Two of the Eastern Semis versus the Toronto Raptors, Celtics backup center, Enes Kanter logged a mere four minutes in Boston's 104-103 loss to the Raptors last night. He was not effective. Coach Brad Stevens inserted Kanter into the game to counter Toronto's zone defense. It backfired. Enes managed four points and one rebound in his limited minutes, but the Raptors offensive attack went right at him, starting at the 4:13 mark of the third quarter when Toronto guard, Fred VanVleet, drove into the lane and was fouled by Kanter. With Toronto consistently attacking the basket, Enes was slow in reacting. Then with less than one second remaining in the game and the Celtics leading 103-101, Stevens put Tacko Fall in to cover Kyle Lowry on the inbounds pass. the idea being that Fall's Wall of defensive coverage being roughly 10 feet by eight feet was sufficient to squash any chance of a successful inbounds pass and 3-pointer by the Raptors. T...

This block by Tacko Fall where he also gains possession of the ball reminds Celtics fans of what Bill Russell used to do. Russ constantly timed his jump - diverted the ball just enough to assure no score - and then gain control for an outlet pass to a teammate. The block by Tacko Fall in the video/tweet below is similar to Russ' rim protection. Block a shot - gain possession - get the outlet to a teammate for a fast break and score. In today's game, that could mean a difference of as many as five points - or even six - two points saved on the defensive end and possibly up to four more points on the offensive end if there is a score-and-foul beyond the arc. Wilt Chamberlain used to block shots and send the ball into the stands. Watch at least the first few seconds of the video on Bill Russell. This block by @tackofall99 looks like from NBA 2K: pic.twitter.com/HyDM29CAIn — Tomek Kordylewski (@Timi_093) February 1, 2020 Tacko is averaging 2.8 blocks per game for the G leagu...

One of the major surprises from the early fan All-Star voting is the Celtics Green Giant, Tacko Fall, coming in sixth in the Eastern Conference front-court vote. How can this be? He has only played in three games for the Celtics (all wins), logging a total of 11 minutes. Tacko Fall is 6th in the All-Star frontcourt votes in the Eastern Conference. He's played a total of 11 minutes... pic.twitter.com/8k7VKKkPlA — Yahoo Sports NBA (@YahooSportsNBA) January 2, 2020 First response from many fans might be, what is he doing there? More in-depth thought brings about the idea that the NBA All-Star game - even the entire weekend - is all about fun and entertainment. Fan voting is all about popularity. If there was a popularity vote based on the fan-favorite-per-minute-of-floor-time, Tacko would run away with the vote. Let's face it. He is a phenomenon. Since coming to Boston, he has been seen all over the city, often in the company of teammates Enes Kanter and Grant Williams. A...

It is not out of line to start thinking of a Tremont Waters-Tacko Fall tandem operating on the Celtics second unit down the road. The duo is tearing up the G League with their synergistic play. Waters has proven himself at the G League level as a prolific scorer and facilitator, and even at 5'10", that should translate to the Big League. Tacko is an absolute double-double machine, and if he can continue to hone his skills, he has a place in the NBA. ICYMI: We moved to 11-6 on the season with a 115-91 win over the @CPSkyhawks at home today. Tremont Waters led the team with 28 points and also added 8 assists. @tackofall99 had his 6th double double of the season with a 21 point and 18 rebound performance. #CrustaceanNation pic.twitter.com/YkZGIHJkX4 — Maine Red Claws (@maineredclaws) December 30, 2019 For the Red Claws, Waters is averaging 20.6 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 7.5 APG and 2.3 SPG. Tacko averages 14.2 PPG, 10.6 RPG and 2.5 BPG. One negative issue for Tacko is his assist-to-tur...