Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

I just like to get the other side of the story. The Philadelphia 76'ers beat the Celtics 117-109 on Wednesday night, and a rematch comes this evening. A Philadelphia sports writer feels that the Wednesday contest was Philly's first game versus a legitimate Title contender, and he wasn't exactly enthralled with the win or the structure of his home team ( per Philadelphia Inquirer's David Murphy ): In an ideal world, the game that unfolded in front of his eyes will be the last of its kind, a showdown between two championship aspirants that revealed almost nothing about the future that awaits either team. In the visiting corner, the Boston Celtics, minus their best player. In the home corner, the Sixers, playing a seventh straight game without their full starting lineup. Murphy agrees with most of us in Boston that the Wednesday game, and outcome, was not representative of what CAN  occur with both teams having full active rosters. One region of concern for Philadelphia i...

The game was always winnable for the Boston Celtics, but Philadelphia walked away with the 117-109 win. Without Jayson Tatum, both Marcus Smart and Daniel Theis stepped up with 25 and 23 points, respectively, but it was Theis' performance that was a pleasant surprise. Theis versus 76'ers showed nice movement and toughness against Embiid. Had 23 points, 10 boards. Plus he was getting good position and perfect feeds from the guards. Daniel theis highlights vs Philadelphia 76ers! ( Jan 20, 2021) https://t.co/wxzwftLFHF via @YouTube pic.twitter.com/sLTf1vPHZe — Tom Lane (@CelticsSentinel) January 21, 2021 His 23 points came on 10-of-11 from the field and 1-of-1 on treys. His 10 rebounds gave him a double-double in only 27 minutes of action. Daniel gives up four inches and 40 pounds to Embiid, but he handled it well this time. Joel is big, strong and has a light shooting touch for someone of his size. To say he is a tough cover is an understatement. Daniel and former-Celtics star...

What to expect heading into the rivals' first matchups of the season this week It's pretty well documented that the current squads of the Celtics and 76ers aren't exactly buddy-buddy. This continues a storied rivalry between the two cities, with a long history of titans of our game matching up, such as Russell vs Chamberlain and Bird vs Dr. J. Now, we get the pleasure of watching Tatum and Brown take on Embiid and Simmons. The Celtics have had Philly's number the past few seasons, putting up a 15-6 record against them since Tatum's rookie season, which includes two smack downs in the playoffs (4-1 in the 17-18 season, and a 4-0 sweep in the bubble last season). You may remember the 17-18 series for Philly dropping confetti early (in a game that the Celtics won in OT), and Marcus Morris giving Embiid the "3-0" when the two started chirping at each other. These playoff losses lead to Embiid saying "This is not a rivalry... they always kick our ass"...

Celtics backup center, Rob Williams III , is out of action right now due to COVID-19 protocol, but upon his return he needs more time on the floor. We see glimpses of stardom in him, but even with what he has shown in limited minutes, he may end up as Boston's best choice at the center slot. His field goal percentage ranks second in the NBA (8 games or more, 16 MPG or more) at 77.4% , just behind DeAndre Jordan at 78.4% . His per-36-minutes stats show: 14.8 PPG, 14.3 RPG, 2.5 SPG, 3.3 BPG, 3.0 turnovers/game, 2.7 fouls/game A quick look at the NBA Defensive Dashboard numbers shows that he holds the top diff% (percentage points difference) of the Celtics' three major weapons at the 5-spot, Tristan Thompson, Daniel Theis and Williams III. Thompson has the worst diff% of the three with a differential of 10.2. Meaning in effect, Thompson allows opponents to shoot with much more accuracy than he does. Theis has a diff% of 2.9% , meaning he still allows opponents to shoot a high...

  No longtime Celtics fan can watch games this year without a somewhat heavy heart. For the last 50 plus years, we have been blessed as a franchise to have Tommy Heinsohn, Mr. Celtic himself, as a part of the organization. Whether it be as a player, coach, or commentator, Tommy has been an instrumental figure for the green, and his presence is missed on every broadcast. Nobody embodied what it meant to be a Celtic more than Tommy, and I know I miss his energy and ferocity every time Scal claims the refs "made the right call" against the Cs. While Tommy obviously belongs on the Mount Rushmore of Celtics, he is often overlooked in his place among the greats of NBA history. Looking back upon his life, one would be hard pressed to find someone with a bigger impact on NBA basketball than Mr. Celtic. For those who are unfamiliar, let's do a quick review. Tommy is one of 2 people to be inducted into the Hall of Fame as both a player and coach (the other being the indomitable Len...

I'm serious here. Last night's 105-75 drubbing of The Green by the struggling New York Knicks is not such a bad thing. A 'bad thing" would be the Celtics peaking so early in the season, only to decelerate as the post-season approached. With COVID stubbornly refusing to go away, we have no idea what this season's playoffs will look like - or even if they will be played at all. Home court advantage may have no meaning this year. Danny Ainge seems to be moderately-content with the crew he has, but floor time for the youngsters is paramount, as is ending the regular season with a sufficient record to make the playoffs. As a worst-case scenario, ending the season and barely qualifying for the playoffs - and starting the post-season against the top team in the Eastern Conference - when the troops are fresh - is not totally negative. The key here is to make the post season with a complete and healthy roster, in addition to having an 8-or-9-man rotation that is prepared wi...

Celtics rookie, Payton Pritchard, has landed at number-7 in Kia's Rookie Ladder , despite being the lowest draft selection (#26) of the top-10. 7. Payton Pritchard, Boston Celtics Season stats:  8.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.1 apg Pretty high rung for the lowest Draft selection (No. 26) on our ladder, but hitting game-winners (Jan. 6 vs. Miami) will do that It is far too early to label the 6'1" point guard as the steal of the draft, but there is plenty of time left for him to climb the ladder. Here are the standings: 1.) Hornets LeMelo Ball 2.) Warriors James Wiseman 3.) Kings Tyrese Haliburton 4.) Wolves Anthony Edwards 5.) Bulls Patrick Williams 6.) 76'ers Tyrese Maxey 7.) Celtics Payton Pritchard 8.) Wizards Deni Avdija 9.) Magics Cole Anthony 10.) Pistons Saddiq Bey What is noteworthy is that Pritchard beat out nine (9) lottery picks, including the Celtics lone lottery pick (Aaron Nesmith at #14) who did not appear on the latest Kia Rookie Ladder.  https://www.nba.com/news/k...