Welcome back to the Celtics season tipoff Countdown!
Each day, we’ll give a review of news surrounding the Celtics. We’ll also look back in history to see what happened on today’s date in team history (August 7th). To round out the day’s post, we’ll give you stats and fun facts related to the number of days remaining before the first game (69 today). Let’s get to it!
Recent Team News
Greg Monroe officially left the team and signed in Toronto. The center agreed to a one-year, $2.2 million deal to join the Raptors next season. He was signed back in March using the Disabled Player Exception for the remainder of the season. He played in 26 games with Boston, averaging 10 points and six rebounds over 19 minutes per game. He’ll join another East north of the border.
Monroe is signing a one-year, $2.2M deal with Toronto, league sources said. The veteran center is joining a contender in the Eastern Conference. https://t.co/oLrtvPV6IQ
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 6, 2018
On This Date
August 7, 2017: News breaks that the Celtics are on the list of Kyrie Irving’s preferred trade destinations. The rumors send Boston fans into calamity.
Stats (2017-18)
- The Celtics had two players on the roster last year that stood 6’9: center Daniel Theis and forward Marcus Morris.
Fun Facts
- During the 1969 season, the Celtics beat the Lakers in seven games to win the NBA Finals. In Bill Russell’s final year as player-coach, the underdog Celtics snuck into the playoffs and made it to the championship against the heavily favored Los Angeles squad. The power trio of Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, and Elgin Baylor fell to Russell’s team that included Sam Jones, John Havlicek, and Don Nelson. Jerry West won the finals MVP in the series; he remains the only player ever to win the award while being on the losing team. Russell and Jones both retired afterwards and the team underwent a brief rebuild.
The 1969 Celtics team. (Via NBA.com)
That concludes today’s Countdown to Celtics Tipoff. Make sure to be back here tomorrow as the clock continues to tick towards the 2018-19 season!