Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 I mean it! The only valid, lasting takeaway from the Celtics 123-107 loss to Golden State is that any Finals rematch between the two opposite-coast rivals will be damn exciting . Sure, we can talk about the Splash Brothers, Curry and Thompson , outdueling the Jay Team, Jayson and Jaylen. It can be argued that Steph Curry is all-but-unguarable . And it was obvious that Boston was forcing thedir offense from the start, finishing with a mere 17 assists to Golden State's 26. The Celtics board work was weak, grabbing only 39 rebounds to the Warriors' 53 . And Tatum's off night (6-of-21 FG, 2-of-9 3s, 4-of-7 FT) came at a bad time. And Klay Thompson ...., etc. And how about Golden State raising Bill Russell's number-6 to the rafters prior to the game. It backfired for Boston! The act may have served to only piss off the Warriors with remembrances of additional Championships that could have been added to their Title Chest. All of this amounts to little. I love the way b...

  1st Quarter ☘️ Despite a slow start the Cs are fighting like Rocky in movie one! Yet unlike Rocky they are playing a tad bit tight.  JB seems locked in tonight! Yet overall C's are playing into Warriors hands. C's need to push their will on Warriors. Come on now!  Tonight feels like last year's finals..... Label me as annoyed as the C's trail 33-25. Tell Steph Curry to go fly a kite. I'm ticked off! C's need to wake up! 2nd Quarter 🍀🍀 If the C's keep playing like this, they are gonna get rolled. What the heck is going on??? This is truly irritating to watch tonight.  Malcolm Brogdon has been the only bright spot tonight. I'm disgusted right now. What a horrid game to start. Tonight is the night to prove the pain you felt last year. Yet you are not doing ANYTHING!  Marcus seems to be quietly making his way into positive plays. In all reality it's time for the Jays to step up.  Cs only trail by five but it feels like forever! We need to see them lo...

 What does tonight's game actually mean for these Boston Celtics?! I'll tell you what I think it means. I believe tonight means a lot to this group. It doesn't fix the ending of last season. What it does is prove this group is on the right track. Most of this season they have shown they are locked in.  Remember the game vs Toronto if this were last season we probably fold and give up. The refs were one sided, we couldn't shoot and yet they came out in that third and forced their will on the Raptors. End result was a win, that's growth!  The Warriors may be at 500, but they are defending champs. They still have Steph Curry and the memory of that finals loss lingers. I do not expect any let up tonight. The C's will be balls to the wall all game! Tatum and Brown are out to prove the Warriors are just another step in a season leading to Banner 18.  In losing you learn who you are, you improve and use that loss as fuel. These Celtics are in a different zone and it...

  The Boston Celtics are flawed. Yes, it's true . But that single flaw may be about to be attenuated.  The Green are ranked 26th in the NBA in offensive rebounding - averaging a mere 8.3 per game . But is that really an issue? According to USAToday's Jeff Zillgitt , part of the reason for the low ranking in that category is that Boston does not miss many shots. They currently are ranked 4th in the League in field goal accuracy (49.3%) and first in 3-point percentage (40.0%). Regardless, help may be on the way in the healthy body of one Robert Williams III . Last season, the super-athletic C/F took down 9.6 rebounds per game, with 3.9 of them on the offensive boards . Rob is a difference maker out there, and offensive boards are part of that. And one more thing on Williams III's return. He shot 73.6% from the field last season , so he won't be hurting Boston's high-ranking in that category anytime soon.

  A little bit ahead of schedule? Is this too soon for C's fans? Should he rest a bit more? Has he been out long enough?!  No matter how you slice it, we very well could be watching RWill tomorrow night on ABC! As if the C's needed another boost to get up for this game. In all reality this Celtics team is hyped for tomorrow's game. Expect one of their best games of the year.  Bleed Green! Celtic Pride! 

 Yes, it's true. Long chided for his reckless putting up of reckless shots - NBA.com ranks Marcus Smart number-7 in shooting percentage (53.3%) in Crunch Time - which is "when the score is within five points in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime".  How can this be? Has anyone checked up on this? I am being sarcastic. The Wolverine is hitting a career-high 45% of his field goal attempts this season - and apparently his accuracy rises significantly with the game on the line . Smart's critics will not like this article.   Smart's heroics in the fourth quarter are nothing new - although Clutch-Time-Marklsmanship may be. Years ago, former Celtics, Chauncey Billups , wrote something about Marcus' winning plays: Y'all say what u want about Marcus Smart but that kid makes winning plays every game in the 4th. — Chauncey Billups (@1MrBigShot) May 22, 2017 In a close win over the Kings in 2019, I previously wrote about Smart's heroics lat...

 The quick answer to my title question is - Yes, I believe so. I must admit that Luke Kornet has surprised me - somewhat. My fear was that Joe Mazzulla may never give him a shot at significant minutes - or Joe would use him as a 7'2" 3-point threat . Instead, Kornet is averaging 13.7 minutes per game and is displaying more of an old-school type of center play. In 21 gamnes thuis far this season, he has attempted a mere six treys and made two of them. He is averaging 5.0 points/game and hitting 71% from the field and a remarkable 15-of-16 from the free throw line.  On defense, Luke moves his feet much better than I anticipated and almost always seems to be in the right spot - both on offense and defense. In limited minutes, he is averaging 1.0 blocks per game . We already know what Rob Williams can do. He also avoids 3-point attempts (which I view as a positive) - and like Kornet - blocks shots, intimidates others, and gets great position for lobs and offensive boards. Ro...