Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

C's with another tough road game, this time in the city of brotherly love. I would expect to see a team that's foaming at the mouth after their loss to the TWolves. Generally the great teams don't take too kindly to losing. I want to see a statement win and a team locked in on D. We get the return of Derrick White after the birth of his second child. Truly one of life's greater blessings.  1st Quarter 🏀 C's can't find the basket early on... Not the start I expected. Too many threes, yet we get JT to the rack with a two handed JAM! His driving ability has become spectacular! The way he uses his body and skill set is a true sign of his maturity.  Stick Tap to the Celtics defense in the first quarter. The offense is still pretty sluggish tonight. JB needs to continue to attack the rim because his shot is off right now. JTs court vision is second to none lately. He always finds the right guy! C's despite a choppy start have found themselves with the lead.  Toni...

 We can make a strong argument that Boston's starting-5 of Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, Holiday and White is tops in the League. But after six games, production drops off precipitously after that. The starting quintet are all logging 30-minures-or-more , and the next three off the bench (Horford, Pritchard and Hauser) are averaging 24, 19 and 19 minutes, respectively . The alarm comes with the bench scoring. The starters all average double-digits in points , with Jrue Holiday putting up the fewest at 13.7 PPG. Sam Hauser is the 6th-leading point guy at 7.3 PPG , followed by Al Horford at 5.3 PPG and Payton Pritchard at 3.7 PPG. That ain't going to cut it, either in the regular season and certainly not in the post-season. Unless there is a little-used gem on the bench just waiting for his shot, Brad Stevens may have to acquire another proven veteran, perhaps from the buyout market. I ndiana's (and former Celtic) Daniel Theis would be a decent addition. Stay tuned.

  Celtics are coming off a nice win in Brooklyn. Despite missing Derrick White the C's ended up playing very well. Porzingis, Brown, Holiday and Tatum scored in double digits. This team is going to be very difficult to beat. I expect most of my writings to be based off wins.  C's are taking on the T Wolves tonight and these Dawgs are defensively oriented. C's will have to be locked in on both ends. I expect a close game but a Celtics win. C's will start the Jays, Al, Porzingis and Jrue.  First Quarter 🏀 Early on the C's are turning defense into offense...two DUNKS! Al Horford continues to make winning plays, securing the offensive rebound. That's what you love to see from one of your tenured veterans. Porzingis is deadly from three! JB just climbed over Gobert and JAMMED IT HOME! Literally took the air out of the Target Center.  Tonight's going to be a rock fight...punches and counter punches are being thrown by both teams. JB is heating up! He seems locked...

 It may sound like I am picking on Luke Kornet , but I am not. Admittedly, I detest the "Kornet Contest" , but I think he generally does a good job as the Celtics third-string center. The issue I have is that, should 37-year-old Al Horford start to wear down - or Kristaps Porzingis ends up on the injury list - relying on the undrafted big man with limited skills to come through in big minutes could be a nightmare. Kornet did put up solid numbers in only 15 minutes in the win over the Nets (11 points, 7 boards), and that extrapolates to 26 points and 17 rebounds on a per-36-minutes basis. That is the point! Brad Stevens may have to work on a better third option for that center spot. A trade for the disgruntled Daniel Theis might not be appealing to Stevens moneywise, but if a buyout from Indiana occurs, the door may be open. But for now, let's assume (hope?) that Luke's Nets performance was not a fluke , and Boston fans will see more of it in the near future.

What can we say as Celtics fans. Throughout most of our Celtics lives we have watched some excellent players. I'm pretty positive I can say that I've seen almost if not all of Jayson Christopher Tatums 10,000 points. I was lucky enough to be at the game when Paul Pierce scored his 20,000 NBA points. What made it even more special was it was with my dad. Pretty crazy both Pierce and Tatums milestones came on free throws.  Tatums game has grown each and every year since he hit the NBA. This year he looks like an MVP. He does everything on the floor. Offensively he's loaded, and defensively he's getting stronger. This kid could be one of the greatest Celtics players of all time. That's saying quite a lot given this franchises history of greatness.  All he needs is a title... Preferably multiple ones. Bleed Green! Celtic Pride!  

  NBA TV analyst, Carlos Boozer , was the first I heard bring to our attention the amazing footwork that Jayson Tatum has developed. Boozer is right on. Tatum may end up at the all-time Celtics scorer, but he puts the ball in the hoop in so many ways. His footwork may already be in the league of Kevin McHale and Al Jefferson . But Boozer also stressed the beautiful 3-point shot displayed by Tatum. It is a joy to behold. Jayson is on a roll this season - as is his team. He has the tools and seasoning to rise to a true leadership role this season and lead his crew to Banner 18. All worries about the team's synergy with the arrival of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday have been dispelled . This team looks potent.

 The Celtics Al Horford is going to have to be more stable and reserved out there on the court. His reputation as a show-off needs to end . Of course, I am not serious. Are there any NBA players more stable-and-reserved than Al? If so, not many. In Boston victory over the Nets last night, the technical foul assessed on him for allegedly "hanging on the rim" was ludicrous.  The last thing Horford wanted to do following his dunk off a perfect lob was to quickly come down on the foot of another player and risk an injury. There was no showboating or celebration to it . His hang time was brief and functional. What prompted the tech? We may never know, but the call was detrimental to the game and demeaning to one of the classiest individuals to ever play for the Boston Celtics.