Curt Schilling Is The Equal Of John Smoltz & Belongs In The Hall Of Fame

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On January 22, 2019, the 2019 Baseball Hall Of Fame class announcement occured. Curt Schilling did not matriculate. From here it is obvious that Schilling is the equal of John Smoltz. While Smoltz sailed in on his first chance in 2015, Schilling is still waiting. Why is that?

Schilling & Smoltz

The bare bones tell the story.Here are Curt Schilling‘s and John Smoltz‘s career numbers:

Wins/Losses/Saves/Games/Starts/Innings/Strikeouts/WHIP/ERA/WAR

Schilling 216/146/22/569/467/3261/3116/1.137/3.46/79.6

Smoltz 213/155/154/723/481/3473/3084/1.176/3.33/69.1

Smoltz has more games and saves, and a lower ERA. Schilling has more strikeouts and walked less, which resulted in a lower WHIP. WAR is an attempt by the Sabermetric community to equate the value of players across eras, teams, ballparks, etc. Schilling outclasses Smoltz there.

Curt Schilling played for the Philadelphia Phillies for eight and a half years. Other than the first year or two of Schilling’s time with them, the Phillies were a doormat in the National League. By contrast, Smoltz was part of one of the greatest collection of starting pitchers of all time, the perennially contending Atlanta Braves of the 1990’s. Smoltz was blessed to have fellow Hall of Famers Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux in the same rotation. Consequently, that team famously went to the MLB Postseason every year from 1991 to 1999, yet only won one World Series.

Postseason Dominance

These guys are Titans of the playoffs. This is because they both stepped up when the bright lights came on. Smoltz goes from a 3.33 career ERA and 1.176 WHIP, to a 2.67 ERA and 1.144 WHIP in the playoffs. Schilling goes from a career 3.46 ERA and 1.137 WHIP, to a 2.23 ERA and .968 WHIP. Smoltz has one career Complete Game in the postseason, Schilling has four. Smoltz is 15-4 in the postseason, Schilling 11-2.

John Smoltz’s most iconic performance is Game 7 of the 1991 World Series. Smoltz was out-dueled by fellow Hall of Famer Jack Morris in a 1-0 extra innings loss. Curt Schilling had his bloody sock in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees. That was on the road to the Red Sox first World Series win in 86 years in 2004. And Schilling’s teams did something Smoltz’s teams never could: beat the Yankees. That’s why Schilling has three World Series Championships to Smoltz’s one.

The Real Difference.

John Smoltz received 87.92% of the vote his first time on the ballot in 2015 (75% of the vote is needed to be elected to the baseball Hall of Fame by the writers). Meanwhile, Schilling’s percentages have wavered since his first time on the ballot in 2013: 38.2, 35.43, 45.62, 58.5, 50.3, 57.5, and 64.7 last year. This is a very strange pattern. Most of the time, players start low and gradually increase over time. Schilling’s numbers have wavered from year to year.

While John Smoltz is busy being an advocate for the shoulder safety of young kids, and announcing postseason games on all the big networks, Curt Schilling is seen as a social pariah. Schilling had a failed software company in Providence after taking tax breaks from Rhode Island, talked about voting Bush during the 2004 Presidential election while in Democrat country, and had some poor taste on social media.

In short, John Smoltz is seen as a choir boy, Schilling a bad seed.

The Hall of Fame is not the Hall of Good People

The Hall of Fame is a museum chronicling the history of baseball. For many years the baseball writers and players were drinking buddies. The writers celebrated the players. This was a result of the Black Sox scandal in 1919, and the concentrated effort by all involved to rehabilitate baseball’s image in American society.

In 1970, Jim Bouton‘s book Ball Four came out, and blew the lid off the narrative that baseball players are heroes. Bouton details rampant drinking, womanizing, ballplayers sneaking around looking through bathroom windows to see women showering, and PED use by Hall of Fame players. Since then, stories about cocaine use, gambling and PED use have disabused most of us from the notion that ballplayers are anything but fellow humans.

Thanks to Ryan Thibodaux’s meticulous Hall of Fame vote tracking sheet, we can see the details of the vote for 2019. Schilling received 64.7%, but only 41.2% on private ballots. In 2018, Schilling received 25.8% fewer votes on private verse public ballots. This year it was 23.5% less. Schilling still has a massive mountain to climb to reach the Hall of Fame.

Hopefully the writers will get off their high horses and see the truth: Curt Schilling belongs.

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Stanley Cup Rematch – Nearly Fifty Years in the Making

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The lasting image of the 1970 Stanley Cup was the iconic photo of Bobby Orr flying through the
air after scoring the winning overtime goal that clinched the series and brought the Cup back to
Boston. Bobby Orr was, and remains, the greatest hockey player ever to grace the ice in Boston
and arguably the best ever to don a pair of skates. All Orr needed was a cape to complete the
picture now known simply as, The Goal. The betting odds on the Bruins back then were
certainly higher than the -150 the best online sportsbooks, found over at Sportsbook Review,
are dealing on the 2019 Boston edition.
An interesting footnote to that series sweep is that the Blues used three goalies, due to Jacque
Plante taking a screaming drive off the stick of Freddie Stanfield, which was subsequently
deflected, and split Plante’s mask down the middle. Plante was knocked out of the game and
never seen again in the series, being replaced by the overwhelmed Ernie Wakely. It wouldn’t
take long for St. Louis coach Scotty Bowman to give Shaky Wakely the hook and replace him in
Games 3 and 4 with Glenn Hall, who was in the sunset of his brilliant career.
But now here we are again, and the Big Bad Bruins of 1970 are now in their golden years while
some are, unfortunately, on the other side of the grass. This 2019 iteration is favored to win
this rematch so long in the making but predicting a series sweep may be a bit optimistic. The
Blues are resilient, gritty, and feature a solid corps of blueliners capable of shutting down even
the best offenses. In addition, the Blues are not afraid of playing in hostile territory as
evidenced by their 7-2 road mark during the playoffs and were 21-13-7 on the highway during
the regular season.
But what St. Louis doesn’t have is a steel curtain in the crease, and as good as rookie Jordan
Binnington has been playing, he’s not been nearly as dominating as Boston’s Tuukka Rask. The
Boston netminder has won his last seven games and boasts a sizzling 1.84 goals against average
complemented by a .942 save percentage over his 17 postseason starts. He has also recorded
two shutouts and is the leading candidate to take home the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to
the most valuable player during the playoffs.
In deference to the stat geeks out there, the Bruins lead the Blues over the course of the
postseason in all four of the major categories. Boston is scoring 3.35 goals per game versus 3.00
for the Blues, 1.94 GAA vs. 2.52 GAA, 34 percent power play success vs. 19.3, and an 86.3 kill
rate on penalties versus 78 percent for St. Louis.
Despite all the good omens for Boston, there has been speculation from some of the “hot-
takers” out there who make a living on contrived, contrarian opinions. And in that vein, their
narrative speaks to the exorbitant length of time away the Bruins have had from live
competition due to their expedient expulsion of the Carolina Hurricanes from the Eastern

Conference Finals. But this team is different, and there will be no malaise when the puck is
dropped on Monday night. These teams split their two regular season games with Boston
taking the first 5-2 followed a month later by the Blues avenging their loss in a 2-1 shootout
victory. There will be no shootouts in this series and when the dust settles, Boston will be
hoisting the Stanley Cup on June 3 rd , in front of a dejected St. Louis crowd frantically searching
for the exit doors of the Enterprise Center. That’s right, just like the last time, 49 years ago, the Bruins will sweep and another championship will come to Titletown.

How Big is Esports Streaming?

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Esports is not just about playing video games, it’s about streaming and watching esports streams as well. When enthusiastic games are not playing their favorite video games, they spend hours on streaming websites, watching the pros play and learning tricks from them. According to NJ Games and their infographic named “The Rise of Esports,” the three most popular esports streaming services today are Twitch, YouTube, and Mixer.

At the moment, Twitch is the biggest one of the three, as well as one of the biggest video streaming services in the world, in general. Its future already looked promising in 2014, when Amazon decided to buy it for $970 million in cash. Today, Twitch accounts for 1.8% of all Internet traffic and 43% of all live-streaming traffic. That’s even more than YouTube!

Moreover, after one month online, Twitch already had 8 million users and today has 55 million unique users, which is a huge growth in a short period of time. These users are quite active as well, as they spend more than 100 minutes per day on average on the website.

The second-largest streaming service is YouTube, which generates a lot of revenue from esports streaming as well. In 2018, the number of monthly active esports streamers on YouTube live has increased by 36.6%. Even though there are no indications that YouTube will catch up with Twitch, it’s streaming activity will certainly continue to grow. In the first quarter of 2017, YouTube generated almost $1 million just on total tip volume.

Finally, Mixer is another big player on the esports streaming scene, even though it is far from reaching the success of Twitch and YouTube. Mixer was bought by Microsoft in 2016 for $5 million when it had around 100,000 users. Mixer has the lowest latency compared to the other two services, so the only thing it lacks for success is better marketing.

If you’re interested in learning more about esports streaming and esports in general, check out the NJ Games infographic below.

NBA Draft: Who the C’s Should target at #14

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The Celtics possesses one lottery pick, at the 14th selection this year. Most times the end of the lottery has not yielded great players in the league. However, players like Tim Hardaway and Clyde Drexler have been great value at 14 for other teams. With that note, here are 5 players the Celtics should target in this upcoming NBA Draft.

Fall’s size and length could raise his stock more than some think.

5. Tacko Fall, C, UCF

Tacko Fall is by no means a complete player. He still has some work to do on his game to become more well-rounded. Its his size that has scouts drooling over his potential. Standing at 7’7″ with an 8’2″ wingspan makes him tower over any player. His long, thin arms allow him to attack the rim with ease, as well as make spectacular defensive plays. With Horford likely to return to Boston, he can be a great mentor to help develop Fall into a quality pick.

Williams brings experience and two-way ability to the table

4. Grant Williams, PF/C, Tennessee

Grant Williams is one of the NBA Draft’s safest choices. Although a hot-and-cold shooter from deep, Williams is mostly a complete prospect. The two-time SEC Player of the year is everything you want from a stretch big. A reliable offensive game inside the ark and the athleticism to guard multiple position. Williams also is more seasoned than most prospects in this draft, having played three seasons of college ball.

The NBA Draft brings many young prospects, including White

3. Coby White, PG, North Carolina

The Celtics targeting the PG position in the NBA Draft is a close to sure thing as you will get. But who could they pick? White would be the best fit for the Celtics. He plays hard and can space the floor effectively. White is young and most likely wiil not be ready to start right away, but if the Celtics can pair him with a veteran they’d be well-set for the future.

Langford’s ability to score makes him an intriguing prospect

2. Romeo Langford, SG, Indiana

Romeo Langford is one of the NBA Draft’s biggest question marks. He’s an offensive dynamo and can shoot from deep at an above average clip. He can be streaky sometimes, but he adjusts and distributes the ball once he realizes this. His defense is his biggest problem. Inconsistent effort and the inability to keep up with certain types of players have hurt his draft stock. Luckily for Langford, Marcus Smart could help develop his defensive skills. Overall, if the Celtics can bear the defensive problems, Langford could be the steal of the Draft.

Reddish is a solid player with untapped potential

1. Cameron Reddish, SG/SF, Duke

Reddish is the ideal prospect for the Celtics. The NBA Draft’s forgotten Duke prospect has all the tools needed. An offensive threat and solid defender, Cam Reddish is framed as the prototypical ‘sixth man’. The one knock on him is that he does everything good, but nothing great. This could be attributed to the fact he played with the two top prospects in this draft. Overall, if Reddish is there at #14, I’d be shocked if Danny Ainge didn’t pick him.

What Can Bruce Arena Bring to the New England Revolution?

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The New England Revolution announced the arrival of Bruce Arena as their new Head Coach and Sporting Director, with the former US National team boss having also been linked with moves to Columbus Crew and Scotland. With former English Premier League goalkeeper Brad Friedel having been unable to turn around New England’s performances during his brief stint in charge at the Gillette Stadium, Arena arrives knowing full well the task facing him.

The Revolution currently sit second from bottom in the Eastern Conference standings, with just three wins to their name from their opening 14 MLS matches so far this year. Arena has so far lead New England to a 3-0 friendly defeat against English giants Chelsea, before claiming a credible goalless draw on the road against the Montreal Impact.

However, with a home tie against DC United finishing with a tie, Arena will be keen to claim his first three points for the Revs as soon as possible. With the odds on a New England victory having increased due to their poor start to the season a tough match against L.A. might not provide hope with the best betting apps on the globe place New England as the underdog – but tracking those bookmakers alongside US brands might see the team’s odds coverage and real time ability rise as the season progress.

A Fresh Start for the Revs

Arena has a long history in the MLS, however the former New York Red Bulls and LA Galaxy man is likely to want to do things his way following his dual appointment. While the Kraft Sports Group has given New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick such freedom, it remains to be seen as to what restrictions Arena will be forced to work under. However, one thing that is for sure is that Robert Kraft will be hoping that Arena can solve higher management issues with the team, with many at the Revs feeling as though the time has come for the businessman to sell up.

Arena is likely to look to make changes when it comes to scouting, with their current roster meaning that it comes as little surprise that they are struggling on the field. The Revs have invested relatively little in comparison to their rivals, with their failed attempt to sign DR Congo international Paul-Jose M’Poku during the off season optimising their errors.

Arena’s MLS Record

Arena has won a record five MLS Cups as a coach, with his greatest success coming with the LA Galaxy. The 67-year-old has also won both the Eastern and Western Conferences on three separate occasions, however some have questioned if his coaching style is now outdated. With the Revs being in grave danger of being left behind both on and off the field, Arena will have to use all of his tricks to get New England firing again. However, having left his role with the US national team following their failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, his reputation is once again on the line, in what could be the final chapter of his coaching career. Can Arena get the better of his rivals in a league that has a more international flavor to it? Only time will tell.

Boston Bruins

GAME ONE: STANLEY CUP FINALS| Boston Bruins vs. St Louis Blues

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The buzz is real down Causeway Street and if you didn’t know by now, the Boston Bruins are in the Stanley Cup Finals. Both teams have endured quite a few obstacles this season: Bruins persevering through a stretch of injuries, and the Blues coming from dead last to being Western Conference Champions. The two best teams are in the Finals and whoever wins, deserves to win. This is going to be a tough one, folks.

GAMEDAY NOTES

Coach Bruce Cassidy recently confirmed that Captain Zdeno Chara, David Krejci, and Brad Marchand will be in the lineup tonight. Yesterday many players participated in Media Day, answering questions and posed for pictures before final preparations for tonight’s game.

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Tonight will mark 49 years since the Boston Bruins swept the Blues in 1970, and tonight Boston knows that they are facing a very tough St. Louis team. For a few players this mark their third time being in this position: Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, David Krejci, Brad Marchand, and Tuukka Rask:

“I’m very thankful to be in this opportunity and to compete for a Cup. I think in a way its different, where I’ve matured and I’ve come to realize that it’s not easy to get to this point and make the most of it.”

Bruins Center Patrice Bergeron

With an 11-day lay-off, the Bruins have kept their legs fresh, but ultimately it’s always tough to mimic an actual Playoff game. Fans were able to enjoy a scrimmage this past Thursday, as well as show support and raise money toward the Boston Bruins Foundation.

From Last to First

The St. Louis Blues have completely turned their season around to reach the Finals for the first time since 1970. In the final 45 games of the regular season the Blues have posted a 30-10-5 record, and ended with 99 points. One of the biggest components of the St. Louis success is rookie goaltender, and former Providence player, Jordan Binnington. After taking over in January, the 25-year-old posted a 24-5-1 record with a 1.89 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage.

This will be the Blues third time in their franchise history to reach the Stanley Cup finals. Unfortunately each time they’ve made to this point they were swept; twice by the Montreal Canadiens and once by Boston.

Boston Bruins
(Photo Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports)

Matching Up

The Bruins and St. Louis met twice during the regular season and split the series, with Boston winning 5-2 on January 17th and losing 2-1 in a shootout on February 23. In the past, Boston has won the Cup each time they’ve met the Blues in the Playoffs (1970 and 1972). St. Louis and Boston are no strangers when facing each other in a championship round and luckily the edge is given to Boston. Aside from the Stanley Cup, Boston has faced and won against St. Louis in the NBA Finals (1957-W, 1958-L, 1960-W and 1961-W), the Super Bowl (2002-W), and have split the World Series (1946-L, 1967-L, 2004-W, 2013-W).

Expect this series to be very physical and low-scoring, with Boston looking to outskate to get past a big-bodied Blues defense. Either team will need to take advantage of special teams when given the opportunity. Both goaltenders are playing hot lately, and each team has had a chance to rest. Coach Bruce Cassidy stated recently:

“I think they’re very similar to us, the way they play, forechecking yeah… they play pretty North-South, use all four lines, fourth line particular gets a lot of assignments like ours… think they’re a bit of our twin, so to speak…I see a lot of similarities.”

WHEN TO WATCH: Tonight at 8:00 PM

WHERE TO WATCH: NBC

STANLEY CUP FINAL SCHEDULE:

Game 1: Monday, May 27 at 8 p.m. (TD Garden, Boston, MA) – NBC

Game 2: Wednesday, May 29 at 8 p.m. (TD Garden, Boston, MA) – NBCSN

Game 3: Saturday, June 1 at 8 p.m. (Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO) – NBCSN

Game 4: Monday, June 3 at 8 p.m. (Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO) – NBC

Game 5: Thursday, June 6 at 8 p.m. (TD Garden, Boston, MA) – NBC*

Game 6: Sunday, June 9 at 8 p.m. (Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO) – NBC*

Game 7: Wednesday, June 12 at 8 p.m. (TD Garden, Boston, MA) – NBC*

*IF NECESSARY

Follow me on Twitter @pastagrl88

The Red Sox Prospect Who’s Hitting .400

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If you’re a baseball fan, you know what hitting .400 means. It is an almost impossible feat, one that is unlikely to ever be repeated in the Majors ever again. It’s always interesting to watch guys like Cody Bellinger who get off to these hot starts. They keep the average above .400 into May and everyone starts to get excited. When realistically, sustaining that is unfathomable.

So with Jarren Duran hitting .403 through his first 45 games in high-A Salem, people are starting to notice.

Duran is a 7th rounder from the draft that happened less than 12 months ago. It has been incredible to watch him absolutely tear through A-ball in this past year. He’s had 464 at-bats since being drafted, he’s had hits in 174 of those. That’s a .375 average, which is crazy.

What’s even more crazy is his torrid start to the 2019 campaign. Obviously Duran is too good to still be in Salem. In all honesty, he should have already moved on from the team and up to Portland. For the time being he’s in Salem, and he is having fun.

Early returns appear to have this draft pick as a steal for Dombrowski and the Red Sox. His elevated age of 22 gives him the motivation to progress through the minors at a quicker rate. Even when he does make it to Portland this year, he’s still not getting to Boston until September of 2020 at the earliest. That makes him 24 when he makes his debut, no spring chicken.

Duran has never been much of a power hitter, and even with an OBP of .466, his OPS currently sits just over 1.000, due to the lack of power (two home runs in 204 plate appearances). This doesn’t make him any less valuable, but it would certainly make him a candidate to be a future leadoff hitter.

Jarren is a natural outfielder, but also has the ability to slide in and play second base. He’s mostly manned centerfield in Salem this season, and appears to be handling it pretty well, having yet to make an error.

The timing should work out very well, should Duran continue to progress the way he has. Jackie Bradley Jr. is under team control for a couple more seasons, and by the time they have to make a decision on JBJ, they should have a grasp on whether Duran can be his successor or not.

With Bradley Jr. struggling offensively the way he has this year, I think it’s in the Red Sox best interest to start pushing Duran as hard as he wants to go to see if they can really accelerate his progress through the minor league system.

For a team that has struggled to keep its draftees, and has a notably weak farm system, it’s nice to see that our front office is being smart about the draft picks after the first couple rounds, and finding guys that can be developed into major league players. Just like Jarren Duran is going to do.

Sports People Who Changed The History

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Athletes not only improve their bodies, but they also can change history. Football players aren’t an exception. They are more than examples of society, and they are more than idols for thousands of fans around the continent. Here are sportspersons who transformed sports

Sports people who changed the history

There are many examples of soccer stars who affected the most famous game in the best ways. Sports people changed the perception of fans for decades, and some are truly the icons of football.

Stanley Matthews

British legend was one of the earliest football stars who earned his status and reputation by demonstrating amazing and terrific skills on the field. He also managed to avoid yellow and cards throughout his whole career. Furthermore, Sir Stanley Matthews ended his career at the age of 50.

Pele

Hard to imagine Brazilians who have never heard of Pele. He is an idol of Brazilian history since the last century. Despite that football is the game number one in Brazil, Pele changed the perceptions of many generations globally. He still keeps the all-time career goals record (1281 goals).

Diego Maradona

While Brazilian fans were crazy about Pele, their fans-rivals from Argentina accepted only one player – Maradona. Alongside with Pele, he was named as the FIFA Player of the 20th Century. Then and now, Maradona is a classic definition of #10.

Johan Cruyff

The Dutch Master is the best forward in the history of Hollandian football, and his playstyle became a textbook for many generations since. Johan Cruyff had a perfect combination of the feints, speed, and technical attributes. He invented a ‘Cruyff’s turn’ and later became a very successful coach. Like all premium betting users, he always knew the taste of victory.

George Weah

The best African player – is George Weah. His achievements and career was the best example for all African young people from Morocco to Tanzania, from Liberia to Uganda. The unique play style with perfect skills was a key factor of George Weah’s success. He continues to promote football and related things in Africa, and many fans can even try sport betting tanzania to enjoy the game.

Zinedine Zidane

He is a perfect example of the athlete who proved to be the best player and the best coach in the same game. His astonishing dribbling skills and smart decisions on the field could turn the game in a flash. He demonstrates outstanding manager skills with Real Madrid, which led Los Blancos to win three Champions League titles in a row and their fans to earn more on sports betting online.

Christian Ronaldo & Lionel Messi

This sweet couple continues to shock the world with their unbelievable techniques, goals, and results. Unlike Maradona and Pele, who didn’t play at the same time, these two are truly the greatest players in modern football history. We can witness the battle of two evil geniuses, and they do everything to add more titles and victories for their clubs. They continue changing the game in the best way.

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Bruins/Blues: The Rematch

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The dust has settled in the NHL and the Boston Bruins are going to the Stanley Cup Final. They’ll be playing the St. Louis Blues in a rematch of the 1970 Stanley Cup Final. This is St. Louis’s first trip back since that game. Meanwhile, this is Boston’s first Finals appearance since they lost in Game 6 to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013. That was the infamous game in which Tuukka Rask gave up two goals in 17 seconds. It was a heart-wrenching succession that Bruins fans have had to live with ever since. To this day my Chicago friends will still bring it up just to get under my skin. But this isn’t 2013, and this isn’t the same Tuukka Rask.

The Great Wall of Rask

Rask has played great all season, going 27-13-5 in 46 games played with a GAA of 2.48 for a .912 save percentage. In the playoffs he’s now 12-5 with a 1.84 GAA and .942 save percentage. In other words, thus far, Tuukka Rask has been a brick wall. He’s provided an energetic spark of confidence for the rest of the team and it shows. The “Perfect Line” of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak have been just that lately, though it took some time to get there. In the first round against Toronto, Coach Bruce Cassidy was switching Pastrnak back and forth between lines, trying to get him into a rhythm and get him productive again. Thankfully, Rask’s performance in net allowed the time for such tinkering, and ultimately it has paid off.

Photo by USA Today Sports

Time Off

Game 1 is set for Monday, May 27, at 8 pm EST. By the time the final series of the season begins, the Bruins will have had an eleven day break. There’s always a concern of a hot team cooling with that much time off. In fact, this post season every team coming off a sweep has lost the following series. That’s not a stat that bodes well for the Black and Gold, but this team is different. Instead, this time off will give Captain Zdeno Chara some time to heal (he sat during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final with an undisclosed injury), and give Tukka Rask a bit of well-earned rest.

Photo by Amy Irvin

Boston’s not the only team with a break, however. The Blues will have had five days off before they take the ice in Game 1. Bruins Coach Cassidy has stated that he met with the New England Patriots to discuss techniques for handling a long break before playing a championship game. He refused to disclose what was said, but if anyone had proper advice for this situation it would be the Patriots. With that experience in their corner, all four lines coming alive, and the stellar play of Tuukka Rask of late, the Boston Bruins could well be on their way to hoist the Cup once again. Boston doesn’t have names like Orr, Esposito, Sanderson, or Cheevers this time, but they have Bergeron, Marchand, Pastrnak, and Rask. Perhaps the Big Bad Bruins are back and the rematch ends with the same result.

Celtics: 3 Ways the C’s can improve the PG position this coming season

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The Boston Celtics’ up-and-down season came to a close in a 4-1 series loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Terry Rozier appeared on ESPN’ First Take to say he was leaving the Celtics because of what he sacrificed. Kyrie Irving seems to be already out the door. It is now the time we must ask what the Celtics long-term plan is at the point guard position. Believe it or not, they’re in a much better position to improve this position than you think.

Celtics star Gordon Hayward is a viable ballhandler in a Brad Stevens system

1. Make Gordon Hayward the PG

Gordon Hayward and Brad Stevens history is well documented, and it seemed at a few points this year that Stevens wanted the system to flow through Gordon. He’s not the same wing player he was before the ankle injury. However, he is still a good ball-handler and reliable shooter. Hayward is very experienced in Brad Stevens’ system thanks to his college experience. Hayward would be able to act as an extension of Brad Stevens due to this knowledge, and help the Celtics’ young core acclimate to the system. In the ever-evolving position-less NBA, Hayward seems like the perfect fit at the 1 in Stevens system. This also puts Hayward in a position to succeed and live up to his superstar-level contract.

Celtics and Patty Mills are an ideal match

2. Trade for a low-cost veteran PG

The Celtics are a relatively young team who don’t have a defined leader (unless you count Horford). Younger, more talented players have been driving out veterans and leaving great value out on the trade block. It’s important to note that these are low-cost guys, not high paid Free Agents, that are covered here. Guys like Patty Mills, Ricky Rubio, and Jeff Teague have been around the league for a while. These guys are quality players when surrounded by talent. The relatively low trading cost creates great value. Patty Mills presents the best value and fit for the Celtics. He is a reliable scoring threat and is referred to as a ‘team player’ by his peers. Mills is exactly the type of guard the C’s need following Kyrie’s imminent departure.

Ja Morant is regarded by many as the most talented PG in the draft

3. Trade up in the draft for Ja Morant

Celtics fans have been very happy recently with general manager Danny Ainge’s wheeling and dealing trades. They have brought Boston a surplus of draft picks and quality players. Ja Morant is projected to be the #2 pick to the Grizzlies and the draft. The Celtics best first-round pick currently sits at #14. Boston has a multitude of quality bench guys that are expendable. The C’s also have a stockpile of picks (one of those pics being Memphis’ own pick next year). They have all the resources to make the move for the talented young PG. Morant averaged 24.3 PPG, 10.0 APG, and 5.0 RPG. He’s the first player to average 20+ points and 10+ assists since the assist became a stat in the 1980’s. Morant makes the most sense for the Celtics because he’d mesh with the young core they built already. He’d give the C’s a bright future to look forward to.