Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 Celtics fans knew this game was going to be focused on the play of Boston's young guards when 6'4" Romeo Langford was penciled in as the starting center , and the back court consisted of 6'1" Payton Pitchard and 5'11" Carsen Edwards . Boston came away with the 85-83 win , but the rust was evident in the first minutes of the game, with The Green missing their first eight shots . Yam Madar was inserted, and that seemed to be the right move. Madar only played 17 minutes, but came away with eight points, two rebounds and two assists . He had a decent NBA debut. But the stars for Boston were Pritchard and Edwards. While fully understanding the limited importance of Summer League, I like this relatively-undersized duo. Payton's Pace is always on fast mode, but Edwards, once he gets the ball, just goes for it . His speed and strength were on display , and he finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists . At least for one game, he showed he is m...

            The 1992 Dream Team was one of if not the greatest assembly of basketball talent ever put on a basketball court. Imagine having a team full of Hall of Famers. Well, that was the case in 1992 Olympics and if you ask basketball fans, it was pure joy. The way in which they dominated in each and every game was masterful. Offensively and defensively was a doctorate level class in basketball .        Seeing Larry, Magic and Michael on the court as part of a team was something that will never be duplicated no matter how many super teams or other Olympic teams come together. Along with those greats the team consisted of Scottie Pippen, Clyde Drexler, John Stockton, Karl Malone, David Robinson, Chris Mullin, Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley and Christian Laettner .       This amazing collection of Hall of Famers won their games by an average of 44 points ! Talk about total domination by the greatest team ever a...

 Okay, here's your chance to voice your views on the Celtics Wolverine, Marcus Smart . Overpaid? Gunner? Trade him? Keep him? Cherish him? Here's what I wrote last December : In the final year of his $52 million/4 year deal (2021-22 season), Marcus will earn 13.8M. Really? Doing some quick math, each of the 30 teams (on numbers alone) might expect to have 1.7 players in the top-50. Boston has four. Out of a possible 450 total players in the NBA, Smart is rated as being better than 413 of them.  That right! ESPN rated Smart the 37th-best NBA player in the League at the time, earning a paltry $13.8 million for the 2021-22 season. Four Celtics are in the 11-50 range of ESPN’s NBA Top 100 rankings: Kemba Walker (No. 48), Marcus Smart (No. 37), Jaylen Brown (No. 32) and Jayson Tatum (No. 11). ( https://t.co/DlBDscB2WI ) — Chris Grenham (@chrisgrenham) December 9, 2020 Once again, from my December, 2020 article :   I see only two possibilities here. Marcus may be the most tra...

 So it just may be that Brad Stevens values Marcus Smart as much as his predecessor, Danny Ainge did. The word is that the Celtics are offering The Wolverine a 4-year/$77 million deal . The Celtics appear to be offering Smart the largest possible extension they can give him at the moment, per @Murf56 Here are some more details on the largest extension Smart could sign: Starts in 2022-23 4 years, $77m total $17.2m, $18.5m, $20m, $21.3m annual salaries https://t.co/rXwgtSX4zs — Ryan McDonough (@McDNBA) August 6, 2021 Marcus will never be a sharpshooter in the League, but he supplies the toughness - does the dirty work - defends like his life depends on it - and generally sets the tone for energy and intensity. Oh, and although not regarded as a true point guard, he led his team in assists last season, averaging 5.7 APG in the regular season and raising that number to 6.0 APG in the playoffs. He has spent more years with The Green than any one else on the team, and he needs to stay...

  Kemba Walker is going home! The Big Apple is getting a class act on and off the floor ( per New York Post's Zach Braziller ): “You get people from New York who are diehard Knicks fans and you get people who are fans of him (Kemba) because of him being from New York and the special player, person he is,” said Pratt, now an NBA agent. “Now those Knicks fans get to root for him on their team. It’s amazing.” Basketball fans know his big game moments at MSG in college.  As a Celtic Kemba always gave 100 percent while he was out there. When he signed here it was for money of course but also the legacy the Celtics organization has. From the start he knew his role of coming here to bring positivity and play the role of helping the Jays develop.       From his college career to the pros Kemba has been a winner and big time player. Throughout his career in Charlotte he was their go to player and leader. As Celtics fans remember, he always killed the Celtics and us...

 Brad Stevens' strategy is quite clear. Keep the Celtics very competitive this season while setting the financial stage for next off-season to make a solid push for Banner 18. The three new acquisitions (Kris Dunn, Josh Richardson, Enes Kanter) are all on expiring deals this coming season. Jabari Parker has a team option this season. Romeo Langford, Aaron Nesmith, Grant Williams, Payton Pritchard and Carsen Edwards all have "Team Option" attached to their 2022-23  contracts. Marcus Smart will be in the final year of his latest contract this season, and no information is coming out relative to an extension. This all equates to the Boston Celtics potentially having some real cap room this summer.  The free agent class for summer of '22 includes James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal - all having a player option. Julius Randle and Zach Lavine look to be unrestricted free agents. It appears that the Celtics are looking at that one-year perio...

         How many Celtics remember this Slam Dunk? How many of those same fans had these Reebok Pumps ? Now if you had the tee shirt to match then you were bringing it that's for sure. Dee Brown burst into the scene with this moment wearing the beloved green and white.        Dee spent his first NBA seasons with the Celtics. An athletic guard who could jump out of the gym but also had an offensive and defensive game to boot. He played an important role on those early 1990s teams and many thought he would compliment Reggie Lewis in the future. He had a nice jump shot and could get to the rim pretty effortlessly! Defensively he made you work and could rise up to block your shot. How many fans remember that block in the playoffs?!       In his final seasons as a Celtic he averaged 15 points a game. Eventually he was traded by the unnamed coach who also got rid of Chauncey Billups . He spent a few seasons in Toronto and...