Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 Three years ago, I wrote about how quickly deconditioning can occur with elite athletes. Jaylen Brown is certainly in the "elite athlete" category. At 6'6", he carries 223 pounds with only 5.1% body fat. Look at the above photo. There is only about 11 pounfs fat in his entire frame . When we ordinary folks are told to pinch an inch (25 millimeters) or less in the abdominal area, caliper measurements on Jaylen's mid-section would show low single digit-millimeter numbers. Brown looks like he weighs less than he actually does . He is that solid, and he has remarkable quickness when he turns on the after-burners. As a comparison, the great Reggie Lewis , at 6'7", only weighed 195 pounds. And Jayson Tatum , at 6'8", comes in at 210 pounds. Jaylen uses his physique and strength to his advantage on his drives to the hoop. Here's a quote from Brown following being drafted by the Celtics: “NBA is a faster pace, faster tempo, so it’s a lot of tran...

 First-year Celtics Head Coach, Joe Mazzulla, has turned his players loose. And it's working. Boston (for the time being) may have eased up a bit on the defensive end (#14 Defensive Rating) , but they are Numero Uno in Offensive Rating - tops in the NBA. And by the way, what really counts are the wins, and The Green possess the best record in the League (13-3) and the top Net Rating (7.7). Who ever thought this would happen? The Celtics have shooters galore - move the ball around - take care of it - and are so damn unselfish   finding the right play. Previously a turnover machine, Boston now ranks second in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.0) and first in True Shooting Percentage (61.9%). There is nothing better for basketball fans than to have their team with a strong winning record and play entertaining ball at the same time. The Green are a joy to observe and are on a roll. Can it continue? Who knows, but let's live in the present. Boston beat the Pelicans last n...

 No, The Wolverine doesn't have a glass eye , but rather, there are still fragments of glass embedded in his right hand from when he punched a picture frame in 2018 ( per CelticsBlog's Keith P. Smith ):  Following the game (Celtics-Pelicans), Marcus Smart was spotted rubbing and flexing his right hand. When asked if his hand was sore, Smart revealed he still has glass in his hand from punching a picture frame in 2018. Smart also said at times he has trouble finding feeling in the hand because of the glass. That makes his 12-assist night even that much more remarkable. It appears the picture-punching days are over and we see Marcus orchestrating the offense with precision and control . He seems to be doing that in his personal life also.  Smart's late mom, Camellia , used to tell him, "Calm your ass down" . Looks like he has done that. The following from one of my previous articles: But Marcus said it best recently. He views basketball as the  calm center of a vio...

 It took 69 points from The Jay Team to take out the weak Pelicans and get back to a (barely) winning (26-25) record . We at CelticsSentinel have broached the Celtics weak bench  and Ime Udoka's decision to not "play the kids" . With the NBA trade deadline on the horizon (11 days away), we are looking for intelligent, knowledgeable (and courteous) feedback from our readers. This is your time to vent. The following is from Brian Fleming, a long-time, devoted Celtics fan with whom I have communicated over the past years. "The (Celtics) bench remains a disaster and the coach has no idea how to use it better. For young players, Langford can't stay healthy and he was drafted for offense, but when he plays, he's nothing more than a defensive specialist. Nesmith was drafted for his shooting and scoring prowess. He doesn't play, and when he does, he can't seem to shoot. Grant Williams isn't a bust where he was drafted, but he's nothing more than a m...

     Here are some numbers 12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal. 5 of 9 from the field and 2 of 5 from three, and that's in only 25 minutes . Plus he filled in at center for RWill, can you take a guess?! Who earned our prestigious award??      That's right, it's Al Horford , Mr. Calm and Collective, aka the Silent Warrior! Congrats on taking home the Celtics Sentinel Citation Award Winner! Your impact on this team is unquantifiable and we love you in green white! Congrats!        Al is a key piece to this seasons team's ability to find ways to win . His effort and example are something each guy in that locker room should be following. We are gonna need a health Al come playoff time, and yes, I said playoff time! This team will make the playoffs and make us proud. 

       1st Quarter       Pelicans with a strong start, didn't the Celtics have issues last season with early games? So far it isn't looking very good right now. Al with a drive and hammer dunk, can that ignite and wake up this Celtics team today? Way to many threes already for my taste. So far it's the Pelicans dictating pace of play.     JRich is a winner, I for one do not want the Celtics trading him away. He makes winning plays, and he does it on both ends of the floor. His basketball IQ is right there with his talent. This could be the steal of the off season for the Celtics. He can be a key contributor off the bench for this team down the stretch.           2nd Quarter       Nesmith and Pritchard in already, man do I wish Ime used these two guys more. Both guys have the ability to shoot, and both take pride on D. Hustling is in their basketball DNA. They both proved last season ...

Danny Ainge is not known for taking a step or two back, or punting, when there is a chance to make a major score. But that is exactly what he is doing in this first-half of a tumultuous 2020-21 season. Agree on all of those points. I will add "not to take weak teams lightly". But Brad keeping the youngsters in at critical points (as in, end of close games) is fine with me in the first half of the season. No killer instinct yet in this crew. https://t.co/rMZQZHWTZE — Tom Lane (@CelticsSentinel) February 21, 2021 We know all the negatives of the season, and particularly last night's 120-115 OT loss to the Pelicans. Taking weaker teams likely. Not holding on to big leads - as in "24-point-lead" vs. New Orleans. Not having what Ainge terms "urgency" to win every game.  But putting the young guys into tight situations this early in the season is exactly what Danny and Brad Stevens need to do. We saw it last night when both rookie Aaron Nesmith and Rob Will...

Is it ever going to end? It seems a day doesn't go by that some NBA writer or analyst proposes a trade that would send Marcus Smart out of Boston. Unless Danny Ainge envisions a deal he simply can't refuse, Marcus sticks in Beantown. Please never trade Marcus Smart, thank you pic.twitter.com/kYfADjzKy8 — Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) September 12, 2020 I doubt there are many NBA teams out there that would not love to have this determined-and-ferocious defender on its roster. But at what price? I sincerely doubt that Ainge would be offered any player or players with enough value to justify Smart's departure from Boston. Marcus just does what needs to be done to win games. This season, with Kemba Walker out to start the season, Smart has averaged career-highs in minutes (32.3 MPG), points (13.6 PPG), assists (6.2 APG) and steals (1.9 SPG). He constantly leads the League in floor burns, and many fans feel that, with him in the game, any contest is winnable. Why do Celtics fans ...

The Boston Celtics broke their 3-game skid with a convincing 140-105 victory over the injury-depleted New Orleans Pelicans last night. Here are some lessons-learned from that one game. A day off is just what the team needed After losing all three its last three games, Celtics coach Brad Stevens gave the boys a day off. They needed it, and the break was well-timed. The Pels were without three key players. Don't get too high on the win. Jrue Holiday, Derrick Favors and JJ Redick were among the missing (injuries) for New Orleans. Just as the Guys in Green shouldn't have sunk too low on the 3-game losing streak, getting too high on this victory would be a mistake. Ball movement wins games for Boston This was just too pretty. That's the ball movement that's been missing these last few games pic.twitter.com/z8qiRols61 — Adam Taylor (@AdamTaylorNBA) January 12, 2020 When the ball moves like it did last night, it seems that the Celtics are close to unbeatable. Call it yout...

It was roughly a year ago that I wrote about the necessity of moving Marcus Smart into the starting unit . The Celtics were off to a rough start for the season, and I argued that Smart's intensity was needed right out of the gate. It didn't take Brad Stevens long to make the adjustment. Marcus started at shooting guard on November 26, 2018 versus the Pelicans, with Boston taking the game by the convincing score of 124-107. Marcus Smart is only the 5th player in the past three seasons to play 40 minutes for Brad Stevens in a regular-season, non-overtime game. And it was a message to the Celtics about the intensity needed to turn things around. https://t.co/UPNOLHIoit — Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) November 27, 2018 Jaylen Brown has been out of action with an illness but may return tonight against the Charlotte Hornets. I present two arguments for him coming off the bench. The first is that the Celtics are blessed this season with a bevy of scoring machines. The Celtics ...

Danny Ainge's first major trade netted superstar Kevin Garnett from the Minnesota Timberwolves for Al Jefferson, two draft picks and a bunch of role players . That trade resulted in a Championship in 2008 - and contention for a few more. In Trader Danny's next move, he went against Red Auerbach's trend of retaining veteran players for their entire careers. He traded Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Nets for what turned out to be four high draft picks. Three of those picks brought Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum into the Celtics fold, and the fourth pick was used to pry Kyrie Irving away from the Cleveland Cavaliers. It’s only right pic.twitter.com/tPp6ykaEVR — Forever Green ☘️ (@ForeverGreen_) February 16, 2019 The above tweet from @ForeverGreen is brilliant. I needed to find a way to use it. Note the blood flowing out of the first three offices and Danny about to enter that of the New Orleans Pelicans in his quest for Anthony Davis . Ainge has come o...

I always had a hiring rule as a supervisor in various venues. Do not hire the guy that is always out sick or injured! He is either fragile and injury-prone - has a low immunity or he is a malingerer . It doesn't matter . In any case, he won't be coming into work often . Is that what we see with the Pelicans Anthony Davis ? Davis left the game last night against the Thunder with a shoulder injury and did not return . Initial reports are that it is merely a shoulder contusion , but further tests may reveal otherwise. Anthony Davis will not return to the game due to a left shoulder injury, according to the Pelicans. — Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) February 15, 2019 AD has missed 14 of New Orleans' 59 games so far this season, and his first four years in the League showed 60, 67, 68 and 61 games-played . He has missed a hell of a lot of games. And he may miss more. Pels Coach Alvin Gentry has truly had it. He called the entire AD saga a "dumpster fire" . ...

As my readers know well, I have repeatedly broached the Marcus Smart-as-starter argument . The 124-107 win over the Pelicans last night was only one game, but it was a delight. Marcus started the game - played a team-high 39 minutes - and was absolutely instrumental in the victory. My argument was always that Smart ignites his team right out of the gate . He is not a scorer and may never be. Doesn't matter! The other starters, Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, Jayson Tatum and Marcus Morris all scored 19 or more points . Marcus notched eight points on 3-of-8 from the field and 2-of-5 on treys. He handed out five assists with only one turnover and played stellar defense. Marcus Smart has directly or indirectly caused like all of the Pels’ turnovers and mistakes — Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) November 27, 2018 It doesn't get any better than this block by Marcus Smart. Wow. pic.twitter.com/Pdm3ft4zFN — Dime (@DimeUPROXX) November 27, 2018 Will this starting lineup...