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 12th). 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 (64 today). Let’s get to it!
Recent Team News
Former Celtic Isaiah Thomas caught a lot of attention today for comments made on an Instagram Live video. In the viral clip, he started out by saying “Sac (Sacramento), LA, and Boston was all love.” He then, however, went on to claim, “Cleveland was a s—hole. I can see why Bron left. Again.” The clip drew outrage from many around the NBA, and Thomas later apologized for the comments he made in a tweet that he sent shortly after the video surfaced.
I apologize for my choice of words about Cleveland. I was on my live playing around. They don’t show you everything for a reason smh. Right after that I clarified what I said…. All love to everybody who had love for me in Cleveland.
August 12, 1969: The Celtics were sold for a price of six million dollars to a new owner. At the time, it was the largest ever sale of a sports team.
August 12, 1976: Antoine Walker is born. The Celtics selected Walker sixth overall in the 1996 draft. He played for the franchise for eight years from 1996-2004, and a short stint in 2005. In his time with the Celtics, he averaged 20.6 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists.
Via CNN
Stats (2017-18)
Jaylen Brown shot 64% from the free throw line. On the season, he converted 150 of 233 shots from the charity stripe.
Via CelticsBlog
Fun Facts
The Celtics continued their dynastic run by adding another championship to their trophy case in 1964. The team secured their 7th title, going 59-21 on the season under coach Red Auerbach. They defeated the San Fransisco Warriors in five games to win the trophy.
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!
On July 24, 2018, Darrelle Revis officially retired as a Jet. He even posed in front of a real Revis Island at his farewell. So far, both Revis and star corner, Stephon Gilmore, played one full season for New England. So it bodes the question, with all due respect to both players, who played better for the Patriots?
Darrelle Revis stands in front of an island on his retirement day
REVIS’ 2014 STINT WITH NEW ENGLAND
On March 12, 2014, Darrelle Revis had signed one year contract worth 12 million dollars with the New England Patriots. The Pats had paired him with ex-Seahawk, Brandon Browner, in the secondary. Revis had amassed 2 interceptions, 16 passes defended, 47 tackles, and 1 forced fumble (Pro Football Reference). He allowed 532 yards through the air against him throughout the season (NESN).
His playoff performance was outstanding. After having 2 pass interference calls defending Steve Smith, he had only allowed 1 completion in the AFC Championship and Superbowl combined. Darrelle Revis greatly contributed to New England getting their fourth ring.
Photo Credit: Patriots Gab
GILMORE’S 2017 SEASON WITH THE PATRIOTS
On March 9, 2017, the New England Patriots signed Stephon Gilmore to a 5-year contract worth 65 million dollars. The Gilmore/Butler duo was supposed to be one of the best in the NFL, only it didn’t turn out that way. Butler had a down year, allowing a 103.3 passer rating in coverage and earned himself an 81.0 PFF grade.
Gilmore himself had a rough start to the season, a large part due to the lack of communication. He picked his game up and really shined in the second half of the season, clearly proving himself as the best cornerback on the roster. Gilmore finished 2017 with 2 interceptions, 50 combined tackles, and 9 passes defended.
His biggest play of the season was in the AFC Championship. We all know what I’m talking about. It’s fourth down, Blake Bortles steps up in the pocket and throws it deep. Stephon Gilmore in coverage leaps up and tips it away. He sealed the deal for the Patriots and allowed them to go to their third Superbowl in four years. Unfortunately, he was basically the only bright spot on a horrendous Superbowl defense without Malcolm Butler.
Photo Credit: Heavy.com
CONCLUSION
Both cornerbacks ended up being great signings for the Patriots. As of right now, Revis did play better for the Patriots. Although he had fewer tackles, he was more efficient in coverage and ended up getting a ring
Gilmore had an up-and-down year with little help from his teammates. However, he will continue his strong showings from the later part of the season, and I have a feeling this conclusion won’t remain the same next year.
The NBA finally released the regular season schedule!
At 4 p.m. ET on Friday, the league revealed the full regular season schedule for all 32 teams. Here, we’ll take a look at trends and patterns to take a look at, and also important or exciting games to look out for. Let’s get started.
Patterns/Stretches/Things to note
The league continues to decrease back-to-back games. The Celtics only play 13% of their games on such terms this year. There continue to be no stretches of four games in five nights, and this year the league eliminated the possibility of eight games in 12 days.
The Celtics will play 27 of their 82 games this year on national TV. NBATV will televise 12 of their games, tied for the most with the Warriors. This is an uptick from last year’s 25 nationally televised games.
Boston will play 37 games on the weekend. The most they’ll play in one month will be 15 games, which occurs in three separate months.
Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Boston gets lucky this season- they don’t have a super long road trip this year. The longest stretch of games they’ll play away from home is five. They’ll leave home on the 2nd of November and return on the 13th. In that span, they’ll face the Pacers, Nuggets, Suns, Jazz, and Trailblazers. The team’s longest home stretch is also five, from January 21-30.
The NBA didn’t load up one part of the Celtics schedule- it’s pretty fair, with the tough competitions balanced out with easier ones throughout the year. They won’t face Houston, Golden State, or Los Angeles until the end of December.
Games to Watch For
October 16: First game of the year, against Philly. The teams will reignite their rivalry in Boston.
October 19: A visit to Toronto to face the Raptors. They get a shot at the new-look franchise.
November 9: Gordon Hayward makes his return to Utah as Boston faces the Jazz.
November 30: The first contest against the Cavs, post-LeBron, in Boston.
December 25: A Christmas day matchup against the 76ers at the TD Garden.
December 27: The first game against a true contender, against the Rockets in Houston.
January 26: A marquee matchup as the Warriors come to town to face the Celtics.
February 7: LeBron comes to Boston for the first time as a Los Angeles Laker.
March 5: The Celtics travel to face the Warriors on the road.
March 9: Boston moves down the state of California and takes on the Lakers at Staples.
March 18: Isaiah Thomas returns to town in a Nuggets uniform.
April 9: Boston closes out the season against the Wizards in DC.
Via NBCS Boston
The Celtics are going to have a fun season this year. Mark your calendars: the season’s coming up fast!
The NBA season is less than 3 months away from tip-off. The Boston Celtics are ready to roll again after falling short to reach the NBA Finals last season. After a great offseason by not trading away assets, signing back Marcus Smart, drafting Robert Williams and a successful summer by Irving, Hayward, and Theis, the Celtics are ready to retake the throne of the East. This team is one of the deepest and talented rosters in the NBA, capable of dethroning the Golden State Warriors.
These X-factors won’t play tons of minutes during this season, but if the injury bug hits this team again, it will be their time to show the basketball world what they are capable of.
Here are the Celtics X-factors for the 2018-2019 season:
Brad Wanamaker
Brad Wanamaker is a huge question mark for fans who haven’t watched him play. After spending time playing professionally in Europe, Wanamaker has finally got the chance to showcase his skills among the best basketball players. He’s got the size, combo guard skills who is excellent defensively which is a perfect fit for this team. With Larkin gone, Wanamaker will take his spot and hopefully his role as a spark when needed.
Daniel Theis
Daniel Theis shocked the whole Celtics nation last season by providing a spark with his defensive hustle and, timely offense, unfortunately, his excellent rookie year was cut short because of a knee injury he sustained during the regular season. Now that he’s healthy again, he’s ready to show excellence even in limited minutes.
Jabari Bird
After a fantastic summer league showing, Jabari Bird finally got the attention of the Celtics front office and replaced Nader on the roster. He definitely showed great strides with his summer league performance. Although he’s not expected to play 15-20 minutes per game, his time will come especially if Boston’s guards are injured and Brad Stevens won’t hesitate to pull him off the bench.
Semi Ojeleye
Semi Ojeleye is definitely a steal for this team. He showed everyone last season that he can guard and lock down superstars like Giannis Antetokounmpo which this team needs for them to conquer the East and hopefully the NBA. Ojeleye will definitely have that role similar to James Posey during 07-08 season that leads to banner 17. With his shooting prowess behind the arc and physical gifts, he will undoubtedly play a huge role next season.
Guershon Yabusele
Guerschon Yabusele is definitely a fan favorite because of his bench reactions and dab every time he hits a 3 point shot. He has definitely lost some weight compared to last season and showed vast improvement in the past summer league. He can positively contribute offensively and defensively as a stretch four or five for the next season, but with everyone healthy, he won’t have too much playing time.
Mookie Betts hit for the cycle on Thursday night, becoming the 21st player in Red Sox history to complete the feat. Needing a home run in the ninth, Betts fouled off a very hittable pitch and seemed to realize he had missed one. He made up for it, cracking a no doubter over the left field wall to collect his cycle. So who were the 20 players before him to get the cycle?
The Early Days
Buck Freeman was the first player to hit for the cycle in franchise history. Known as the Boston Americans when Freeman completed the cycle, Freeman accomplished the feat on June 21, 1903. He did so in a 12-7 Boston victory over the Cleveland Blues, or Cleveland Naps, depending upon where you look. The Cleveland franchise had acquired superstar Nap Lajoie the previous season and were beginning to be called the “Naps” after him.
Patsy Dougherty accomplished the feat not much more than a month after Freeman. Dougherty’s cycle came on July 29, 1903 against the New York Highlanders. Dougherty was in his second Major League season, one in which he led the American League with 195 base hits.
Tris Speaker hit for the cycle on June 9, 1912, becoming the first player to do so after the franchise became known as the Red Sox. One of the greatest center fielders of all-time, Speaker drove in three runs in a 9-2 victory over the St. Louis Browns that day. His batting average at the conclusion of the game was .405, and he went on to win the MVP Award that season.
Roy Carlyle hit for the cycle on July 21, 1925 in a 6-3 win over the White Sox. Carlyle hit his double and triple off future Hall of Famer Red Faber, and his home run off another Hall of Famer in Chief Bender. Carlyle only played two seasons despite batting .312 due to his horrible defense.
Moose Solters hit for the cycle in an 8-6 loss to the Tigers on August 19, 1934. Solters had a good rookie season that year but was sent to St. Louis the following season. Moose’s cycle came against General Crowder; got to love the old baseball names.
The 1940’s
Joe Cronin was the Red Sox player/manager when he hit for the cycle on August 2, 1940. Cronin was one of two Red Sox to drive in four runs and one of three to homer in a 12-9 victory over the Tigers. Cronin’s number four is retired by the Boston Red Sox.
Leon Culberson was a rookie for the Red Sox when he hit for the cycle on July 3, 1943. Batting leadoff, Culberson had the four hits plus a walk. His home run was an inside-the-park home run in the eighth inning of a 12-4 win over the Cleveland Indians.
Bobby Doerr’s cycle came in the second game of a doubleheader with the Browns on May 17, 1944. The Red Sox had won game one 5-1 but would actually lose the second game despite Doerr’s cycle by a score of 12-8. Doerr drove in two runs and scored three. He is a Red Sox Hall of Famer, a Major League Baseball Hall of Famer, has his number retired by the team and is the greatest second baseman in franchise history.
Bob Johnson hit for the cycle on July 6, 1944, less than two months after Bobby Doerr’s cycle. In fact, Doerr also had four hits in this game, hitting a double and a triple, but settling for two singles. Bob Johnson completed the cycle and scored four runs in the Red Sox 13-3 win over the Tigers.
Ted Williams hit for the only cycle of his career on July 21, 1946. Williams picked up three hits in a 5-0 win over the Browns during the day. In the nightcap, Williams hit his way around the bases, hitting for the cycle in a 7-4 win. Williams contributed seven hits during the doubleheader sweep.
Bobby Doerr is still the only player in franchise history to hit for the cycle twice. He accomplished it a second time nearly three year after the first, on May 13, 1947. The Red Sox pulverized the White Sox that day 19-6. Doerr hit for the cycle and Ted Williams homered twice in the destruction.
The Cycles Slow Down
Lu Clinton achieved the feat in a 15 inning game on July 13, 1962. Don’t worry; Clinton had already accomplished the feat before extra innings. He tacked on another single in the 15th inning, his fifth hit of the game which scored Carl Yastrzemski for the winning run. Clinton drove in four runs and scored four runs in the 11-10 Red Sox win.
Carl Yastrzemski hit for the cycle on May 14, 1965 in a 12-8 loss in 10 innings to the Tigers. Yaz homered in each of the first two innings, starting the night off with a bang. He finished the game 5-5 with five runs batted in, but didn’t have much help.
Bob Watson became the first player to hit for the cycle in both the National League and American League on September 15, 1979. Watson completed the feat in the ninth inning with a two-run homer as the Red Sox beat the Orioles 10-2 at Memorial Stadium. Watson batted .337 with 13 home runs in a partial season with the Red Sox that season before joining the Yankees as a free agent in the offseason. As Vice President of Major League Baseball, he would draw some attention of having a negative bias towards the Red Sox.
The 1980’s
Fred Lynn hit for the cycle against the Twins on May 13, 1980, becoming the second Red Sox player to hit for the cycle on May 13th. Lynn tripled home Rick Burleson in the bottom of the eighth to complete the cycle. It was one of four runs driven in by Lynn during the Red Sox 10-5 victory.
Dwight Evans sealed his cycle with a dramatic flourish on June 28, 1984. Tied at six with the Mariners, Dwight Evans came up with two men on base and two outs in the bottom of the 11th. He hit a walk-off three-run homer off Ed Nunez to win the game 9-6. One of the more underrated players in the game, Dewey is currently the greatest right fielder in franchise history.
Rich Gedman performed the feat on September 18, 1985. It’s not every day a catcher completes the cycle, let alone gets a triple. Gedman did just that however in a 13-1 defeat of the Blue Jays. Gedman’s triple came with the bases loaded in the fourth inning to put the Sox ahead 8-0. He drove in seven runs total in the game. Wade Boggs also had four hits as the Sox socked 18 of them on the day.
Mike Greenwell cycled on September 14, 1988. The Red Sox needed it, squeaking past the Orioles 4-3. The MVP candidate went 4-4 and scored three of the Red Sox runs. He homered in the second, then scored after his ground-rule double in the fourth. Leading off the sixth, Greenwell tripled on a misplayed fly ball and scored to put the Red Sox ahead.
The Last Twenty-Five Years
Scott Cooper hit for his at Kaufmann Stadium as part of a 22-11 rout of the Royals. In just the eighth game of the 1994 season, on April 12, Cooper went 5-6 with 5 RBI, doubling twice in the cycle. Read about the game and watch the video of his cycle here.
John Valentin homered in the first, tripled in the third, singled in the fourth and doubled in the sixth, all off Joe Magrane. The Red Sox beat the White Sox 7-4 on June 6, 1996. Valentin was 4-4 as he didn’t receive any other at-bats. Take a look.
Brock Holt became the first Red Sox to hit for the cycle in nearly two decades on June 16, 2015. Holt batted leadoff that day, getting three of his hits off Atlanta starter Julio Teheran. He tripled in the eighth off Sugar Ray Marimon to complete the achievement. The Red Sox beat the Braves 9-4.
Mookie Betts accomplished the feat just the other night, and it was seemingly just a matter of time. The Red Sox lost the game, but it is always fun to see someone on the hometown team attain this. Mookie’s homer in the ninth gave us joy during a loss.
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 11th). 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 (65 today). Let’s get to it!
Recent Team News
The NBA finally released the full schedule for the upcoming season. We knew the details of three of the team’s games, and now we know of the remaining 79. The schedule is pretty decent, with the handful of difficult games mixed in nicely among easier contests. The team will also get a lot of national attention, as they’ll have 27 games on national television this season. You can check out the full breakdown of the Celtics schedule here.
On This Date
August 11, 2017: The Celtics sign Jabari Bird to a two-way contract. Bird, who was the 56th pick in that year’s draft, appeared in 18 games last season. In that span, he averaged nine minutes per game, three points, and 1.5 rebounds. After a strong Summer League showing this year, he inked a multiyear deal to remain with the team.
Stats (2017-18)
Semi Ojeleye made a total of 65 field goals, out of 188 attempted. He averaged 35% shooting this season.
Via the Boston Globe
Fun Facts
Another year, another championship for the Celtics in 1965. Led by Red Auerbach, the team cruised to their 8th NBA title. They defeated the Lakers in five games. Bill Russell anchored the team during their run. The team was named one of the ten greatest teams in NBA history.
The number 65 has never yet been worn by a Boston player.
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!
After a heartbreaking super bowl and crazy offseason, Patriots’ football is finally back with some preseason action vs the Redskins.
First Half
In the first defensive drive, the Patriots forced a punt. Stephon Gilmore was completed on twice, one of them being conservative in a zone and the other he was turned out on a comebacker. Patrick Chung made a tackle on a run, and he dId a great job coming down to the box on a run down. Chung was also the one to cause the punt by making a stop on third and seven. After Riley McCarron returned a punt, the Patriots went 3-and-out.
A run to Gillislee and throw to Hollister did not go far and a go route to Phillip Dorsett was incomplete on third and long. After a good return on a Ryan Allen punt, the Redskins cashed in on an opportunity to score. Stephon Gilmore was burned for a big gain. Then, Kyle Van Noy was burned by a running back on third and eleven to allow the first touchdown. The Patriots went 3 and out again, with a short Gillislee run, a coverage sack, and a throw over the middle to Dorsett that he could not haul in.
Courtesy of Washington Post
First Half Continued
JC Jackson made a tackle on a ten yard in route. Deatrich Wise Jr. got pressure, but McCoy dumped it off to a fullback. A few plays later, Keion Crossen made a big hit. The Pats were able to execute the “bend but don’t break” play, and the Redskins led 10-0. Jeremy Hill had a good run to start the next drive, but nothing happened after and they punted again.
JC Jackson could not break up a precision pass. Then, pressure by Derek Rivers and a deflection by Crossan caused a punt. Jeremy Hill had another good run up the middle, showing much more explosiveness than Mike Gillislee. However, a drop by Chris Hogan forced yet another punt. Keion Crossen looked silly and the tackling was awful as Sims got a big gain. The Redskins cashed in on a bootleg TD a few plays later. The Patriots’ offense finally got some points when Devin Lucien got wide open for two plays. Then, Stephen Gostkowski converted on a 52-yard field goal. The Redskins led 17-3 at the end of the first half.
Second Half
The Patriots started off the third quarter with a clock-consuming drive. Brian Hoyer connected with Cordarrelle Patterson on third down and Mike Gillislee had some nice runs, including two fourth-down conversions. Jeremy Hill evaded a tackler on third down to extend the drive. Finally, he punched it in from the one to cut the deficit to seven.
The Redskins went three and out on the next drive due to a holding penalty that lead to third and long. The Patriots had a couple nice runs to start the third and final drive of the third. After three, the Redskins led the Patriots by a score of 17-10.
Ralph Webb, an undrafted free agent got some carries and had some good runs including a third-down conversion. Cordarrelle Patterson made an impressive juggling nineteen-yard catch to get the Pats on the fringe of the end zone. Webb finished off the drive on a seven-yard run. Then, he made a catch on a two-yard conversion to give the Patriots an 18-17 lead.
Courtesy of Pats Pulpit
Second Half Continued
After a penalty, the Redskins went 3 and out again. On the next drive, Danny Etling and Mike Gillislee had a bad exchange and the Redskins recovered the fumble. The Patriots forced a fumble in return and Gino Grissom brought it back to the one yard line. Ralph Webb walked into the end zone for his second score of the game. Bill Belichick went for two again, and Ralph Webb punched it in. Dustin Hopkins hit the upright on the following drive and the Patriots maintained a 26-17 lead. It would prove to be the final score.
The Boston Red Sox in 2018 are a machine. It seems as if they can do no wrong, even though some may point out there are (few) vulnerabilities in this team. However, there is one thing missing from this team, and has been since David Ortiz’s departure. The Red Sox are missing a true voice of leadership. Who could fill the void – Xander Bogaerts, Dustin Pedroia, or another candidate?
The Red Sox are running rampant on opposing teams. They are young, athletic, and their talent is proving to be almost unmatched every time they step on the diamond. Their inevitable trip into the postseason is backed by having two of the best players in baseball, and a record that is currently seven wins better than the defending World Series champions. A certain presence has always been absent since David Ortiz left and even though the Sox replaced the power presence with JD Martinez, something is still missing. A clubhouse leader is almost as important as anything else; think of it as a 10th position, at times.
Tek: The Last Captain
The last official captain for the Red Sox was the beloved Jason Varitek, who spent his entire career with the club and won two World Series titles in the process. He proudly donned the “C” over his heart on his jersey from the historic 2004 season until his retirement in 2011. He was one of three captains in baseball at the time of the appointment, along with Derek Jeter and Paul Konerko. This is a tradition that Red Sox nation would love to see continued, and this is the perfect time to do exactly that.
Courtesy of the Boston Herald
Looking Ahead
Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr, Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, Andrew Benintendi and Christian Vazquez are the faces of the team today. This is a new generation of players that will be around for a long time – an untouched core that has been through nearly everything together, comparable to the “Core Four” the Yankees had years ago. Even then, Derek Jeter was appointed captain and took this extra role about as serious as he did his shortstop post.
The shortstop position is seen as the captain of the infield, even by MLB itself. It is the most athletically demanding position and the most pivotal when it comes to calling plays or defensive shifts. Now, I understand that Jason Varitek was a catcher and the catcher may take the role of calling plays or shifts as well. However, with the platoon of Christian Vazquez, Sandy Leon and (as of late) Blake Swihart, there is too much inconsistency in appearances. The captain of the team needs to be someone on the field every game, as long as they are healthy.
Why Not Dustin?
This leads us down another rabbit hole: many people will be saying “Well the team has Dustin Pedroia!” Not so fast, buddy. Dustin Pedroia is the longest tenured player on the Red Sox roster currently, true. However, he has downplayed this role multiple times. Dustin has the mentality of the team having more than one voice, and leading together towards success. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with this mentality, but it can’t last forever. This team will eventually go through rough patches, being this season or after. Having a multitude of voices without one to settle the clubhouse could be worrisome.
Dustin Pedroia has even pointed to Xander being the one to bring up the clubhouse’s spirits most of the time.
“I was sitting in the [batting] cage by myself and I was hurting, and Bogey comes in — he’s the happiest kid ever — and he said, ‘Hey, what’s wrong?'” Pedroia said. “I’m like, ‘Man, Bogey, I don’t know if I can. I mean, I’m going to be fine to play, but I hope they throw it right down the middle. You know what I mean? And he goes, ‘Oh man, you’re gonna be fine.’ And I go, ‘Bogey, see that’s what I’m talking about. There are some days when I come in and I need you and we all need each other. So it’s OK to be that guy. Let it come out.’
Bogaerts is the Perfect Candidate
Xander Bogaerts came up late in the 2013 regular season before helping the team win a World Series. He was a breath of fresh air for a team that needed some young, refreshing talent. As far as this core goes, he was second only to Jackie Bradley to come up in the same season. Xander has more of a liking in Boston and a “been there, done that” identity with this club. He’s won a championship, lost in the playoffs, made pivotal plays, and has been on the wrong side of success. As quick as Xander has turned into a young veteran of the club, it’s time to reward him. Being that he is still only 25 years old with 5 years of experience under his belt, he is very relatable to his young teammates.
Mookie, Benintendi and the others can learn a lot about what it’s like to play in a World Series game. Xander is the perfect candidate to impart that knowledge.
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 9th). 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 (66 today). Let’s get to it!
Recent Team News
The NBA released more schedule news, revealing that the Celtics will play their second game of the season on October 19 against the Toronto Raptors. The team will take a trip north of the border to match up with the new-look Raps, who are now Kawhi Leonard’s team. Boston now knows the details of three of their games: this one, the opening night matchup, and the Christmas Day matchup, the latter two of which will be against the 76ers in Boston.
In other news, Cedric Maxwell turned heads with a comment on Celtics Beat podcast. He said that Kevin Garnett “was the best all-around player the Celtics ever had”. While Garnett was a great player, it feels like he’s overlooking other Boston greats in Bill Russell and Larry Bird.
On This Date
August 10, 1960: Celtics guard Carlos Clark is born. The guard played from 1983-1985 with the organization and won a championship as part of the 1984 team. He was waived in 1986 and went overseas to continue his career.
Stats (2017-18)
Semi Ojeleye’s three-point attempt rate was 66 percent. This means that 66 percent of Ojeleye’s total field goals attempted were from beyond the arc.
Fun Facts
In 1966, the Celtics continued their magical run of championships by defeating the Lakers in the NBA Finals.
Scot Pollard remains the only Celtic to ever don the number 66.
Boston listed Jabari Bird’s height at 6 foot 6 last year.
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!
With the NFL preseason getting underway tonight, the Patriots released some contract news on the 41 year old quarterback. Tom Brady’s contract was not extended past the 2019 season. Brady, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, will have “a variety of performance-based incentives to bring him closer to market.” The deal will be completed by Friday.
He’s Top Ten In Highest Paid QB’S In The League
Tom Brady, after winning the MVP last season, was scheduled to make $15 million this season, $14 million of which in base salary and another $1 million in a roster bonus. Brady will now earn an additional $5 million in 2018, making the maximum $20 million. That would put him at tenth in the league as the highest paid quarterback. Brady is now tied with Blake Bortles of Jacksonville.
Brady will not be making as much as Jimmy Garoppolo, who singed a 5 year, $137 million dollar contract with the San Francisco 49ers this offseason. With no years added past 2019, Brady will likely be retiring at the end of the 2019 season.
The Contract Is To Appease Brady
This contract had to come from the Krafts, who did this to appease Brady for just a bit longer. All of the talk of family time and skipping OTA’s this offseason was unusual for the star quarterback. Brady also has had a light training camp thus far. He has not taken a lot of reps and looks shaky, according to multiple reporters.
Brady is not expected to play when the Patriots take on the Washington Redskins tonight. For the final time, Brady will have to earn his money and show he’s still elite in the league. The talent he has is subpar, but Eric Decker has the potential to help.
Get Ready For A Danny Etling-Josh McDaniels 2020 Season
Overall, the succession plan was all set; they could’ve kept both quarterbacks. They would’ve let Brady ride off into the sunset after 2019 and had Jimmy Garoppolo and McDaniels for the next decade. Instead, that’s all wishful thinking now, as Brady is done in 2019 and handing over the reigns to Danny Etling.
