Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

  The Athletic chose a panel of 43 writers, podcasters and editors to vote for their 25 top NBA players of the 21st century - a tough task, indeed. But they did it anyway, and it was gratifying, as a Celtics fan,  to find three members of The Green , both past and present, on that list . Kevin Garnett came in at #11 , and his MVP Award in 2004 , as a member of the Timberwoves , was mentioned in the article - but his 2008 Championship with Boston was somehow omitted . That omission sticks out because "The Big Ticket's" addition to the Celtics was the transaction that spurred the Title. Paul Pierce came in at #20 . As one would expect, "The Truth's" 2008 Title with Garnett, and his Finals MVP Trophy in the same year, got him into the list. Jayson Tatum was the "Third Celtic Picked" (at #23) , and he belongs . His Eastern Conference Finals MVP Award and 2024 Championship got him there.   Voting in such a poll appears to be highly subjective . ...

 Yes, I absolutely know that the Boston Celtics roster has been ravaged in an attempt to cut costs and hopefully get below the second (or even first) apron. But 29th seems quite pessimistic , particularly since the last slot is occupied by the Golden State Warriors with an "incomplete" ranking ( per The Athletic's David Aldridge ): The skinny:  The second apron ran like a scythe through the Celtics’ dreams of an extended run atop the East. While Boston awaits Jayson Tatum’s return, likely for the 2026-27 season, it will have to figure out who will ride with Tatum, Brown and (presumably) Derrick White going forward. Is Simons part of the retooling, or will he be flipped for more payers and picks? Garza isn’t without offensive talent, but he’s a couple of steps down, obviously, from KP. Gonzalez projects as a solid if not spectacular wing. It’s going to be bleak in Beantown for a minute. I totally realize that ranking NBA teams in the off-season is not an exact science . M...

  The Athletics "Bouncies" Awards are out for this season, and the Boston Celtics are tied to two of the awards.  Kristaps Porzingis: Runner-up for "Best Acquisition". That's the good news for Celtics fans. The bad news is that he lost the top award in this category to the Clippers James Harden . But Harden has apparently found his place in LA. The Clips are on a roll. But so are the Celtics, and Kristaps Porzingis has a lot to do with that.  Grant Williams: Runner-up for "Worst Acquisition" Being runner-up for Grant in this category is actually a good thing since no player wishes to be tagged as the "WORST' anything . The Wizards Jordan Poole takes top (bottom) place in this category.  The trade for Porzingis and the deal that sent Williams packing had their share of critics, but at the mid-point of the 2023-24 season, Brad Stevens' moves are looking damn good.

  The Athletics' Jay King broke down a number of points made by Brad Stevens in reference to the trade deadline - one of them being possibly adding another "big wing" , and that addition may come from within ( per Jay King ): For what will the Celtics be looking? Stevens said he would like to “see how we can find another big wing or so that can help us.” “And I think that could be from within,” Stevens said, “and I also think that we’ll continue to monitor free agency and trades.” Adding another big wing would make sense.  Sam Hauser  is the only bench wing consistently in the rotation. Though the Celtics won’t need much depth at that spot if they stay healthy and avoid foul trouble, they could use one more potential playoff option at the position just in case. Lamar Stevens just could be that guy. Of the lesser-used bench crew, his per-36-minutes stats (shown below) stick out. 17.4 PPG - 8.4 RPG - 3.6 APG - 2.4 SPG - 1.8 BPG - .545 FG - .333 on  3s I use "per-36...