Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

  Hey! Why not? The loss of Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday and Luke Kornet means Joe Mazzulla has to find 63 points (per game), 25 rebounds and 12 assists somewhere. So why not acquire Ben Simmons if his price is right for Boston's cost-cutting financial situation. He won't be 30 years old for another year, and he has averaged 13 points, seven rebounds and seven assists per game for his career.  Ben is not a shooter, even from the foul line . But he does almost everything else well , including defense . Wikipedia lists him as a point guard/power forward. He is versatile .  No, he won't be chucking up 3-pointers, but his ball handling, passing skills and transition offense will create scoring opportunities for others. Mazzulla just may be relying on his troops to force turnovers via tough defense, and it just happens that Simmons has a career average of 1.5 steals per game . Ben Simmons badly needs a redemptive season, and he has some skills that c...

 I was eating lunch when the call came in of an unkown "problem" at a gravel pit . Once in the pit, I spotted several heavy hauler trucks and their drivers -  who all were pointing to a distant location where a front-end loader sat unattended. I knew this was not going to be good. None of the drivers wanted to be near the site of the "problem". Once by the loader, I knew why . The dead body and the round wet spot on one of the enormous tires told part of the story. The man's head had been totally crushed by the machine , and his brains were strewed on the ground. Upon locating the loader operator, he told me that the deceased t ruck driver had jumped onto the loader in order to indicate what type of gravel he wanted to transport. As bad luck would have it, a tree started to fall in their direction from the top of the embankment. The loader operator quickly swerved his machine to try to protect the truck driver from harm. It failed . The truck driver, who...

      Where were you when you heard the tragic news. That spring with my birthday I bought my first jersey. That jersey was the number 35 with Lewis on the back. That summer we were in Disney. We had gotten into the car and heard the news on the radio. I was devastated and honestly couldn't believe it. The next guy of the Celtics had passed away from heart complications. Thirty two years later and it still brings me sadness. I feel lucky enough to have watched Reggie play and block the great Michael Jordan 4 times in one game.       I wonder how things would have went if Reggie was healthy. The Celtics could have built the team around him. He and Dee Brown could have been a heck of a duo. Plus imagine the guys they could have drafted to compliment him. I truly feel Reggie would have kept the Celtics away from those dark years. Maybe we never have to deal with Rick Pitino ruining our franchise. I bet Reggies numbers would be amongst the top of the Celti...

 If you think you have an interesting story - maybe you do, but a veteran cop has many, many more. I spent 20-plus years as a cop, retiring as Lieutenant, and this is one of the many incidents that my brain cannot dispose of. The father came to the police station, reporting he had found his son dead . He was clearly distraught but lucid. My partner and I went with the father to the young man's home and found him deceased on his bed. It was a clear suicide - but an unusual one. The son had put a rope noose around his neck and tied the other end to the headboard of the bed . And he apparently worked his body towards the foot of the bed - thereby tightening the noose - which led to his death. The young man's dad told us that his son owned a handgun and did a lot of target shooting. We found the gun which was an expensive, Colt .45 ACP target pistol. The question arose - why did the son not take his life with the pistol . His dad answered that his offspring loved that weapon s...

 Remember Hank Finkel , the tall guy that tried to replace Bill Russell after Russ retired. Finkel did his best to fill the gap bwtween Big Bill's retirement and Dave Cowens' arrival in Beantown, but other than size (7-feet) and a decent ability to rebound the ball, his limited production in the 1969=70 season drew undeserved criticism from the Boston faithful. To be kind, Hank's athleticism left something to be desired. Now comes Georges Niang , sent to Boston in a trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis packing. And the Finkel Flak has started . Jaylen Brown and Georges Niang were both given a technical foul after Niang appeared to grab Brown's leg from the bench. pic.twitter.com/rBwelUVROZ — ESPN (@espn) May 14, 2023 Is the leg-grabbing incident involving Jaylen Brown /the initiator of the whining? Could be, but as with "High Henry" Finkel, some fans may see Niang as poor compensation for the loss of Porzingis . That is not his fault.  In the mid-70s, as a...

 I have recently written about Marcus Smart reportedly signing with the Lakers after being waived by the Wizards. Now I am concerned about his return to Boston this coming season in a Lakers uniform. I actually don't expect Celtics fans to boo Marcus Smart https://t.co/RmZwtJPsPK — Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) July 23, 2025 I agree with Noa Dalzell . Smart has his fans and critics in Beantown, but he gave his all when here. That should suffice for any Bostonian that may have thoughts of  jeering "The Wolverine" when he takes to the parquet. The sometimes-bitter Celtics-Lakers rivalry is at the core of this question. Why did Smart sign with the Lakers? Was it animosity towards Brad Stevens for the trade - or how it was handled ? Or does he see a good fit there for himself? Did Brad Stevens even approach him? I have no idea, but I am behind this guy that gave so much and got traded prior to his team achieving Banner 18 without him. Will Celtics fans boo Marcus Smart ...

 According to Shams Charania , former-Celtic, Marcus Smart , is about to be bought out by the Wizards and sign a 2-year, $11 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. Good Lord, get me through this. Marcus Smart and Carson Thomas Lane My readers know quite well the affection I hold for "The Wolverine" - alias Marcus Smart. That affection goes beyond what Marcus did for my family after my great grandson was orphaned after the death of his mom. BREAKING: Marcus Smart has agreed to a contract buyout with the Washington Wizards and intends to sign a two-year, $11 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers after clearing waivers, sources tell ESPN. A return to a grand stage for the 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. pic.twitter.com/8g9Bxzz11E — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 19, 2025 Let me go on record here. I do not hate the Lakers. But for decades, they were the team that were the major block to the Celtics taking more NBA Titles . Just think back to the Russell-led Bo...