Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 Boston may not have the sun and warmth of Los Angeles - or the bright lights of New York - but the city's status as a preferred destination for free-agent veterans may be quite elevated. It's not simply that the Celtics won the Finals against Dallas - or that the Title window is very wide open. The Celtics franchise as a whole has earned a ton of respect , from the bench crew - to the starters - to the coaching staff, execs and ownership. Wic Grousbeck was willing to spend the cash, while Brad Stevens was determined to build a squad on both talent and high character. And let's not forget Joe Mazzulla . He is one-of-a-kind - often a bit of a wise guy (which I like) - but he got the job done. One more word on character. This team played like a T-E-A-M! Any vet that comes on board would need to fit in with what has been built. That requires character. Lebron James would not fit that profile. Could be an interesting off-season.

 We read and hear repeatedly that this Celtics team is not what Boston fans saw last season - meaning not only are their new important additions - but this version of T he Green is not expected to wilt against the once-again eighth-seeded Miami Heat. The addition of Kristaps Porzingis gives Boston a third major piece on offense and defense. Jrue Holiday and Derrick White add toughness on the defensive end, coupled with the ability to score big points on any given night. Last night, the Heat - minus Jimmy "Playoff Machine" Butler and "Scary" Terry Rozier - eliminated the Chicago Bulls from the post-season. The Miami crew are major underdogs versus Boston, but as the Celtics saw last year, anything can happen in the playoffs . It all starts tomorrow (Sunday, 1:00 PM ET) in Beantown. Butler is not expected back for a couple of weeks, but any thoughts by The Green that this will be a cakewalk could be disastrous. Owner, Wic Grousbeck , chastised his boys when they...

Guest article by "The Sports Machine with Slim" The 4 year/ $135 million extension for Jrue Holiday comes as a bit of a surprise to T he Sports Machine with Slim .  Why now? That is the first question I asked upon hearing the news. There are only 3 games left in the regular season. Why not just wait until the season is over and then give him the extension? Maybe the Celtics brass were afraid that Jrue would have a ridiculously good playoff run and then be in position to demand a much more expensive contract?  That seems unlikely. On this team, it will be hard for Jrue to stand out with huge numbers offensively. There are just too many scoring options. Maybe the Celtics leadership team needed this long to make sure they knew Jrue is a hard worker and a good teammate? I guess that's possible - but they weren't able to tell that a month or two ago? That gives me some concern, because it has been obvious to anyone watching the Celtics this year that Jrue Holiday is a st...

 I hate sad endings to movies! That kind of finish to a film often prompts me to not watch it a second time. Now to the horror show that happened when the Boston Celtics took on the Miami Heat in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals . After going down 0-3 while owning home court, there was a part of me that wished The Green would also lose Game-4 - and the series - just to end the pain. Upon learning that Owner, Wic Grousbeck , chewed out his team following Game-3 - and Boston taking the next three games to even the series - all I could think of was - "They had it all the time. But where the Hell was it!" Wic was right. His boys lacked testosterone. Thursday's 143-110 trouncing of the Terry Rozier-strengthened Heat did little to convince me that the present version of The Green can take it all in the post-season, but admittedly, this crew has looked nearly-omnipotent quite often - with occasional lapses along the way. So I am back watching my team , and writing about the...

Wic Grousbeck: "Play with some balls" did not mean "play the next game with multiple basketballs".  Brad Stevens has firmly stated that coach Joe Mazzulla will remain as Celtics head coach, and he wants Jaylen Brown to stay in Boston. Stevens also inferred that Joe did make decisions that he would like to have back - and this present crew needs to focus on dedicated play for a full 48 minutes every game , particularly in the playoffs. So it appears that changes to the present roster will be minor tweaks only. It was Brad's way of getting across that both coach and players need to make changes , but the present roster is capable of accomplishing magnificent things. Former NBA star, Tracy McGrady seems to agree with that stand: Boston's Brad Stevens said today that Joe Mazzulla will remain the Celtics' head coach, but what about Jaylen Brown? Boston's future with Brown is a bit more complicated, but Tracy McGrady has strong feelings on what the Cel...

  The Bradley-Beal-to-Boston talk just won't stop . Adding his $36.4 million salary for 2022-23 to the Celtics already-tax-bound budget might sound ridiculous, but dive into it a bit. Beal has a Player Option for the upcoming season - has been with the Washington Wizards for his entire career - has ZERO Title rings - and has already earned $178 million in the NBA. He is buddies with the Celtics Jayson Tatum , and Boston took Golden State to six Finals contests. The Green, particularly with the addition of another star, would be prime contenders for the 2023 Championship. Wic Grousbeck seems ready to pay a significant luxury tax bill, but it is doubtful if he would agree to shelling out $36-42 Million to get Beal in Boston, but here's the kicker. How much money does a person need? Contentment in life usually rises with addition money - to a point, after which extra loot may do much for the ego, but little for quality of life. Will Bradley Beal take a significant pay cut ...

The Celtics Danny Ainge always liked the idea of acquiring this kid and finally did via trade (big surprise?) in 2006. Sebastian Telfair was finally a member of the Celtics. It didn't last long. Telfair was arrested in New York in April of 2007 for gun possession and Boston took quick action (via Wikipedia): On April 24, 2007, Celtics managing partner Wyc Grousbeck announced that Telfair's nameplate on his Celtics locker had been removed and did not expect him back for the 2007–08 season. Telfair was a high school legend. According to many, he was destined to be an NBA star. He never was. He played for seven NBA teams, one of them (Minnesota) twice. Ainge made sure that Telfair was part of the trade package that brought superstar, Kevin Garnett, to Boston in July of 2007. The bad news for Sebastian continues. He was just sentenced to three-and-one-half years in prison on another gun-possession charge out of New York. His in-court meltdown is difficult to watch. NBA Sebas...