Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 Now it starts. It is NBA All-Star weekend as I write this, and some inferior teams have their focus on losing enough games to "earn" a high lottery pick . Danny Ainge , never one to previously tank as Head Honcho of the Boston Celtics, and his Utah Jazz took a half-million-dollar  hit for failing to play his stars in the final period of two close games. Unnecessarily resting star players has been a major issue in the League this season, and Adam Silver has decided to make teams pay for such a practice. Silver stated that such behavior "undermines the foundation of NBA compeition" . That may be so, but what may eventually be undermined might be the popularity of the League itself - and the massive amount of money it acquires.  The blatent "losing to gain a high draft position" needs to stop , but large fines are hardly felt by the offending teams. Resting star players to avoid injuries is one thing, but benching them after overstating the seriousness ...

 Derrick White's recent block party versus the Utah Jazz brought back memories of Dennis Johnson - and not only because the two players are tied for most blocks by a non-center (7 blocks) . Both players hover(ed) around 6'4" - play(ed) both PG and SG - and excel(led) at both ends of the court. Below are stats for White this season and DJ from his final Championship season with Boston (1986): White: 18.3 PPG - 4.3 RPG - 5.2 APG - 1.4 SPG - 1.5 BPG - .398 FG - .344 3s - .875 FT Johnson: 15.6 PPG - 3.4 RPG - 5.8 APG - 1.4 SPG - 0.4 BPG - .455 FG - .143 3s - .818 FT I personally hold the late Dennis Johnson in high esteem and have been delighted to see Derrick White step in so well in the absence of Jayson Tatum . And another thing I like about the comparison is that neither player showboats out on the court. They are known for making winning plays without the celibratory flashes seen too often in the NBA.

  Danny Ainge's buddy - and former teammate - Kevin McHale once called the past head honcho for Boston "one cold-blooded character" . Certainly, at least a portion of that tag was earned when Ainge traded Antoine Walker, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Isaiah Thomas in three separate transactions. But bringing Leon Powe back to the team in the front office showed a warmer side of "Trader Danny" - and now we see that he has signed Isaiah Thomas to the Utah Jazz G-League affiliate , Salt Lake City Stars. The now-35-year-old point guard is still desperately trying to latch onto a roster spot with an NBA team, and his stint with the Stars may be the showcase he needs. IT's size (generously listed at 5'9") and age are against him . But he can still score the ball in bunches - and is an able passer. In the past, he has used his lack of size to his advantage , going under-and-around defenders to hit from anywhere on the court. He scored 32 points in h...

 In the 2022 NBA Finals versus the Warriors , the Boston Celtics went 9-deep with players logging double-digit minutes. That ninth man, Daniel Theis is no longer on the roster, and Malcolm Brogdon has been added.. Golden State went 8-deep (double-digit minutes), and this season they without one-of-the-eight, Gary Payton II . Assuming The Green are back in the post-season fight once again, how does their playoff rotation look?  Jayson Tatum Jaylen Brown Marcus Smart Rob Williams Al Horford Derrick White Malcolm Brogdon After these seven players, things get murky for the Celtics. Trade rumors centered on Boston often involve an additional big man, and that makes sense right now - but it would have to be a big that will get to play significant minutes in the post season. The trend thus far has been that Payton Pritchard either plays few minutes - or never sees the floor - if Smart, White and Brogdon are all healthy. Grant Williams? He only averaged 17 minutes, 4.2 points a...

 And maybe they shouldn't perish. I consider Kelly Olynyk as a "poor man's Nikola Jokic", a skilled, big  import that that can do most things well on the court. Olynyk will never be a star in the NBA, but he has size (6'11") - can score in close and from distance (11.5 PPG) - rebound the ball (5.0 RPG) - and get the ball to his teammates (3.3 APG) .\ In last night's loss to Phoenix, Boston had trouble containing the Suns' "big 3" of DeAndre Ayuton, Jock Landale and Dario Saric down low. The shot charts from the game san be seen in the tweet: Shot chart on the left is via Suns' Ayton (6'11") Landale (6'11") & Saric (6'10"). On the right, Celtics' Horford, Williams III and Kornet. Rebounds? Suns' "big" 3- 30, Celtics "big" 3 - 17. Size mattered in Boston's loss. pic.twitter.com/VZbHVv5IR1 — Tom Lane (@CelticsSentinel) February 4, 2023  The Canadian center/forward may neve...

 The look in the NBA has changed a bit since Danny Ainge drafted Kelly Olynyk 13th-overall in the 2013 draft. Players from out-of-the-USA like Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic combine size and skills -and only average athleticism - to constantly be high on the MVP Ladder. Well, the 6'11" Canadian-born Olynyk has the size and skills and could fit in nicely for a second stint in Beantown. He may not be the fiercest defender, but this season in UItah he is hitting 50% from the field, 40% from the hinterlands and 83% from the free throw line. In only 28 minutes/game, he adds 4.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He won't be making any potential MVP list, but the 31-year-old C/F  may be just what the Celtics need for the second-half of the season and playoffs. Kelly is set to earn $12.8 million this season and $12.2 million in 2023-24 - with only $3 million of that guaranteed. Would Ainge part with the guy he chose over Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2013? In a rebui...

 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...

 You remember him - Right? Danny Ainge, the former Head Honcho of the Boston Celtics . Well, blame him for the Celtics 132-123 overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. "Trader Danny" went immediately into rebuild mode when he left the reins of the Celtics in the hands of Brad Stevens and headed back to Utah. Ainge traded 3-time All-Star, Donovan Mitchell , to Cleveland in exchange for players and future draft picks - the Cavs' first-rounders in 2025, 2027 and 2029, plus pick swaps in 2026 and 2028. The idea, of course, was for the Utah Jazz to tank and for the Cavaliers to have trouble integrating Mitchell into the fold. Guess What! It isn't working out that way - at least not yet. Utah's pre-season ranking via ESPN was 28th and their Week #2 ranking was at #13 with a 3-1 record. As of today, they stand 4th in the West Standings with a 4-2 record.  Following the loss to the Cavs, Boston sits in 4th place in the East Standings (3-2 record) , one notch behin...

  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.

     A game after enjoying a healthy full roster, we are missing Jaylen Brown . It being Star Wars night in Utah, Do or do not - there is no try. Do it tonight fellas, the force is with you!        1st Quarter        Where's the Defense?       In a very slow start, as per usual for this team, the defensive intensity was not there . The Jazz were making sweet music to start hitting threes all over. When you play upper tier teams you can't come out lazy on D . Let's see if they can remember how they win, and that's with intense hard working D.        Al Horford Is the ultimate pro        Al is the ultimate pro, and he's keeping the Celtics in the game . Whether he's making a key rebound or nailing his shots, he's always ahead of the curve. Even his screen game is spot on. His play tonight shows how truly special he is to the Celtics success. He may be 35 but he's playing lik...

Are we surprised that the Boston Celtics are dead-last in the NBA for point-margin in the fourth quarter? Yes, dead-last! That is 30th out of 30 teams! It became evident once again in Boston's 117-109 loss to the Utah Jazz. View NBA.com's Kyle Hightower's article headline below : Jazz pull away from Celtics in fourth The Celtics average point-margin in the fourth quarter thus far stands at minus-2.1 . The Suns, Lakers and Raptors share the number-one spot at plus-2.1.  How about last night , you may ask. The Green had a 4th-quarter margin of minus-8.0. They scored 30 4th-quarter points to Utah's 38. This trend does not bode well for the Celtics post-season. What are the Celtics missing? I will keep this simple. Part of the answer is that they are obviously missing Mister Fourth Quarter, otherwise known as Isaiah Thomas . Yes, I realize IT is not the complete cure , but why do we not see him back on the parquet ( per Boston.com's Brian Robb from the 2016-17 season...

I know what you're thinking! But no, it's not about Theis' 15 points and 5-of-8 beyond the arc in the Celtics 122-108 loss to the Utah Jazz last night. He simply fits this Celtics team like a glove. At 6'8", he may be undersized at the center spot on most teams, but not with The Green. Currently at the age of 28, he will never be a stud in the NBA, but on a team that already has two young stars, he doesn't need to be. This season, he is averaging 9.3 PPG and 5.1 RPG in only 23.5 minutes per game, down slightly from 24.1 MPG last season. He is hitting 60% of his field goals and 42% of his 3-pointers. He leads fellow-big, Tristan Thompson, in points, assists, steals, blocks, FG%, 3-point% and FT%. One of my many hopes is Celtics center, Daniel Theis keeps getting better. Despite the benefits for him & his team, his last name just fits: "Theis is Ice", "Theis Tea" "Roll the dice on Theis", "Theis Iced the game", "Th...

Let me start by stating that Gordon Hayward was not brought to Boston to be the Celtics' savior. Nor was Dennis Johnson in 1983. They were both signed by the Celtics to make the team better, not to be the main focus. Let me compare Dennis' average stats over two Championship seasons in Boston (1984, 1986) with Gordon's numbers from this season. Dennis: 14.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.3 SPG Gordon: 16.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 4.4 APG, 0.8 SPG Not a lot of difference, is there? Surprisingly, DJ's stats in his stint with the Seattle Supersonics were also very similar to what he produced with the Celtics, even in his Championship 1978-79 season in Seattle when he was named Finals MVP. And Gordon's numbers in Boston are very close to those he put up in Utah. The point is that Johnson and Hayward took the route of modifying their games to fit the vital team concept, in Boston and their previous venues. Gordon Hayward underrated playmaker. pic.twitter.com/DxLmQuUtuG — Celtão (...

The Utah Jazz are reportedly ready to sign G Leaguer, Rayjon Tucker, to their roster, while waiving veteran forward, Jeff Green. Green has played for seven teams in his 11-season career and has generally been labeled as an underachiever. Could the Celtics be planning to trade...for a wing? https://t.co/eDswnY0LAK — The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 24, 2019 If the Boston Celtics are truly looking to add another wing to their squad, Jeff should not be a choice. Who gets waived? Vincent Poirier? I think not. Utah is waiving forward Jeff Green, league sources tell me and @Tjonesonthenba . — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 24, 2019 Utah is finalizing a multi-year deal with Bucks G-League forward Rayjon Tucker, league sources tell ESPN. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 24, 2019 The rumblings surrounding Green's impending departure from Utah include the rumor that he may be a locker room nuisance - and that the Los Angeles Lakers may try to ...

The Boston Celtics are clearly missing a vital ingredient for a successful NBA team with legitimate Title hopes - and former Celtic Jae Crowder knows what it is. The Celtics lack toughness - the determination to do the grit and grind - in plain talk, to do the dirty work. Boston currently sits in 5th place in the Eastern Conference, behind Toronto, Milwaukee, Indiana and Philadelphia . The team is under-performing expectations. The Celtics have the number-one Defensive Rating in the League, but a woeful 27th-place in Offensive rating. Their offense often sputters, but that is not their only failing ( per Boston Herald's Steve Bulpett ): “Obviously they have a lot of offensive players that can really score the ball. But you have to have guys that do their dirty work. Marcus (Smart) can’t do it all by himself,” he (Crowder) said of former teammate and still friend Marcus Smart. “You’ve all got to buy into it, I feel like. And that’s one of the problems they’re going throu...