Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 Yes, ESPN's Tim Bontemps voted the Celtics signing of Al Horford in 2016 as their most-impactful free agent signing since 2010. And Bontemps makes a good case for the positive impact the "Dominican Gentleman" has had on the franchise. Boston Celtics Al Horford , 2016 Four years, $113 million It's easy to forget now, but in 2016 after Durant signed with the  Golden State Warriors , Horford was down to two choices to sign as a free agent: with the  Washington Wizards , or the Celtics. His decision to sign with Boston helped tip the balance of power in the East for years to come, as he has become a fixture of Boston's many deep playoff runs since then, while the Wizards failed to beat the Celtics in the second round in 2017 and haven't been back to the playoffs since.  -- Tim Bontemps Sending Horford back to Philly would be nasty work https://t.co/fNlQK5ms0F — Cameron Tabatabaie (@CTabatabaie) June 30, 2023 The Green may not have Banner 18 flying in the rafte...

 This attains (degrades to?) the level of absurd. Hardwood Houdini's Josh Cornelissen has broached the possibility of the Celtics signing Kyrie Irving in free agency. Danny Ainge's additions of Irving and Gordon Hayward  proved a disaster. Hayward had a season-ending injury minutes into his Celtics career, and Kyrie was a disruptive influence. The Celtics may still be recovering from that debacle. In Cornelissen's proposal, Brad Stevens picks up Irving on a sign-and-trade and sends Derrick White and Grant Williams (S&T). I am feeling ill! Let me see if I have this right. Boston picks up the "Logo Stomper" and all of his mental baggage - and sends away one of the most-likeable (and capable) Celtics players (White) - in addition to a guy that has the toughness lacking in some of his teammates (Grant). So Kyrie me no Irvings. Out of the question. Can't somebody just launch Kyrie into outer space with enough supplies to last past the trade deadline so h...

This is the correct title of my article from  June 13: Celtics need to focus on size, smarts and synergy in any transaction. I can only guess that Brad Stevens , with all of the hubbub of the impending draft, misread that title as something along these lines: Celtics need to focus on size, "Smart" and synergy in any transaction Brad added size in the form of 7'3" Kristaps Porzingas and traded away Marcus Smart. He obviously didn't read the article. So how about the "synergy" part? Well, Hardwood Houdini's Dylan Thomas has broached the possibility of a rift between Smart and Brown .  Though no direct information has surfaced about such a rift, there was clearly some discord on the court in the Eastern Finals versus the Miami Heat. Dropping the first three games with home court advantage - and then winning the next three (proving they had the ability to do so) - indicated something was not right within the ranks. So will the trade of Marcus lead t...

 My followers remember this well. My simple plea to the Celtics Carsen Edwards for a card to be sent to my grieving great grandson, Carson Thomas Lane . - who had recently lost his 25-year-old mother to Cystic Fibrosis.  The response was staggering . Carsen Edwards, Marcus Smart and the entire Celtics organization stepped up.  It all made a huge difference. Carson turns 11 years old today , and I love this kid. His teachers label him as a "leader" and "kind" to others. He tells me, "I love my life!" (Excuse me as I wipe away a few tears). I am humbly making another plea for a 19-year-old youngster - Damien Merchant . Like Carson, his mom died when he was very young , and his father all-but abandonned him soon thereafter. Ironically, and tragically, he suffered a horrific, life-threatening accident on Father's Day, June 18, 2023 . Damien is now in his ninth day of hospitalization at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon , New Hampshire and...

  Danilo Gallinari at 6'10", was supposed to  fill that "shooting with size"  role voiced by Danny Ainge two years ago. That is, until the Italian import tore his ACL prior to ever taking the court for Boston. Danny Ainge on 98.5 on what @Celtics need.... "I would say maybe shooting, with size. ... We could use shooting, we could use passing. But you always need defense. ... I think that shooting at the big position is something we haven't had." — Sean Deveney (@SeanDeveney) February 4, 2021 Now comes  7'3" Kristaps Porzingis to Beantown. Make no mistake, this guy can shoot the ball from anywhere - under the hoop, mid-range, beyond the arc - and from the charity stripe .  I vividly recall Dirk Nowitski's performance in the 2011 Finals versus Lebron James and the Miami Heat. No member of the Heat could stop the 7-foot German . He seemed to hit almost every shot, despite an injured hand. The Mavericks took the series, and Dirk took the Fi...

 I have always been a fan of Bob Ryan, but apparently, Bob is not a major fan of the Boston Celtics new addition, Kristaps Porzingas . Ryan made his dislike of the Porzingis acquisition on his podcast. Here are a few excerpts: "I'm not a fan of this guy (Porzingis)" "He's 7-3, going on 6-2" This guy is 7-3 and he plays small. He always plays small"\ "Why is he on his fourth team in seven years?" "The last thing I needed in my Celtics life is another guy cranking up big, stupid threes" So why the dislike? Is it Porzingis and the way he plays? Or is it the modern NBA game itself . Ryan goes way back to the 60's when Bill Russell manned the middle for Boston. And then it was Dave Cowens in the 70's and Robert Parish in the 80's.   Russ and Dave played before the trey came to the NBA, but neither fired from long distance, although Cowens occasionally threw up a long ball. When Parish arrived, the 3-point shot had ben instit...

 One lesson learned from 20-plus years in law enforcement is - Your life can change in a heartbeat, often in devastating fashion. Such was the case on Sunday, June 18, 2023 - which just happened to be Father's Day. My wife, Linda, and I were at home in Errol, New Hampshire that morning while a 2-man crew from Brad's Tree Service were grinding stumps in our front yard. All Hell broke loose as Brad Montague ran to our front door yelling, "Call 911. Call 911!" . The next thing I saw was Brad's worker, young Damien Merchant , l ying motionless next to our driveway . I raced to Damien's side as Linda called for an ambulance - and as Brad had wisely requested - a lifeflight helicopter . Damien had accidently walked past the stump grinder too closely, and the grinding wheel had latched onto his lower-left leg. The damage to his leg was profound . The "lesser" damage had been done to Damien's lower-left knee. There was a very-deep laceration, and the ...