Tag Archives: Boston Celtics

Why Kevin Durant should sign with Celtics

Kevin Durant is set to be the marquee free agent this summer. With Golden State having helped him win two titles, it’s time for KD to cement his legacy elsewhere. Many believe he may be headed to Brooklyn or the Knicks to lead them to the promised land. However, the one place Durant should really go to is Boston. Here’s why;

Durant and OKC blew a 3-1 lead in the 2017 WCF

1. He Needs to win somewhere else

Kevin Durant is most infamous for jumping ship to the Warriors from the Oklahoma City Thunder. KD has yet to reach a Finals, let alone win one, without the help of an established dynasty. Boston hasn’t reached an NBA Final since 2010, almost a decade. These two can accomplish great things together and rewrite both their legacies.

2. He was almost here before

Before Kevin Durant made his choice to join the Golden State Warriors, he was almost a Celtic. Many Boston athletes like Julian Edelman were all-in on recruitment. Durant saw plenty enough to have the team on the table, so why not go back? He’d be an immediate superstar and is still wanted by the front office of the C’s.

Anthony Davis has been linked to multiple teams, including the Celtics

3. Anthony Davis

The Celtics are one of the many teams linked to Anthony Davis, and have the resources to go out and get him. Durant has played next to many great stars, and always performs better because of it. If the Celtics can make AD in Boston in a reality, than Kevin Durant would be hard-pressed to say no if Boston makes an offer. A KD-AD pairing would be nigh-unstoppable in this NBA and give Boston some much-needed star power.

4. The perfect pair to change their legacy

The Boston Celtics found themselves the only team in their city not in the finals this year. On top of that, Kyrie Irving seems as good as gone, and shows Boston has a hard time winning with big stars. Kevin Durant took the easy road to winning, but wants to rebuild his legacy. If Boston can make it work with Durant, and KD can lift the Celtics to the Finals, then both could be restored. Boston would have success with a star player again and erase the Kyrie saga. Kevin Durant would win with a team that needed him and prove he didn’t need Golden State to win.

Boston Celtics: Free Agent Targets

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The Void at Point Guard

Insiders around the NBA don’t expect Kyrie Irving to be playing for the Boston Celtics in 2019-2020. The Celtics could lose one of the best players in the league, but they’ll also lose their point guard. Assuming the Celtics don’t address their point guard issues in the draft, they’ll look to free agency.

It’s hard to imagine Aaron Baynes not exercising his $5.5 million ($5.5M) option, and restructuring Baynes’ contract seems unlikely. Al Horford is due $30.1M via a player option this season. and becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2020-2021 at age 34. If Horford earns that $301.1M, but another team signs Terry Rozier, the Celtics salary cap will still approach $99.9M. The Celtics would have just over $9M in cap space, and $23M in “soft cap” space, before hitting the luxury tax. It would be difficult for Boston to sign a marquee point guard while retaining roster depth with that kind of money. Horford restructuring his contract would not be difficult.

Rozier Celtics — Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving, left, smiles as he hugs teammate Terry Rozier (12) during a game in 2017. Both point guards are expected to sign with other teams for the 2019-2020 season. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)

Restructuring Al Horford

The Boston Celtics could restructure Horford to a 4-year $100M contract that paid $20M in 2019-2020. This hypothetical contract would pay Horford $23.5M, $27.5M and $29M, respectively, until 2022-2023. The salary cap will rise as Horford approaches 38 years of age by contract’s end. That restructured contract would free up an additional $10M in 2019-2020, affording the Celtics the requisite cap space.

This hypothetical contract would also count for $23.5M against the 2020-2021 salary cap. Combined with Gordon Hayward’s $34.1M, Marcus Smart’s $12.9M, Jason Tatum’s non-guaranteed $9.9M club option and Jaylen Brown’s $8.6M qualifying offer, the 2020-2021 salary cap would sit at $89.5M. Considering the NBA salary cap increases to $118M in 2020-2021, the Celtics would have $28.5M in cap space. The luxury tax threshold increases to $143M that season, meaning Boston could theoretically have upwards of $54M in cap space. That money will cover any free agent signed in 2019-2020, draft picks, a veteran minimum contract and extension space for Tatum and Brown.

The Boston Celtics will need to restructure Al Horford’s contract moving forward if the Celtics plan to sign any marquee free agents, or even offer extensions to existing players such as Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Free Agent Point Guards

The market happens to be rife with point guards, some of which would fit the Celtics roster and salary cap. There are 18 unrestricted, and one restricted, free agent point guards available this off season. I believe six of them would be perfect fits for the Celtics. Kemba Walker, an All-NBA selection, will command the most money. Ricky Rubio made $13.75M in 2018-2019 and will likely command somewhere ~150% of that salary in 2019-2020. Patrick Beverly and D’Angelo Russell both made ~$5.8M in 2018-2019, but Russell’s salary will be drastically different in 2019-2020. Elfrid Payton and Emmanuel Mudiay provide the most flexibility, but the most uncertainty. Mudiay’s $5.8M qualifying offer would cost the New York Knicks nearly $13M against their cap.

Considering the money likely required to secure Walker and Russell, combined with Russell’s documented immaturity, I would pass on both. One could also make the same financial argument for Rubio, whose production likely won’t match his salary. Mudiay is a nice player, but not much of an upgrade over Boston’s current options. Besides, Mudiay could be retained by the New York Knicks. I argue here for the free agent signings of Beverly and Payton. Patrick Beverly would provide the defensive veteran presence and playoff experience Brad Stevens would appreciate. Elfrid Payton, 25, averaged 10.6 ppg, 5.2 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 1.0 steal per game for the New Orleans Pelicans. Those contracts would likely cost the Celtics ~$20M per season going forward, freeing up the requisite cap space for depth. The Boston Celtics need to make moves at point guard and I believe I’ve outlined the perfect plan.

Boston Celtics: Potential 2019-2020 Roster

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Power Through Draft Picks

For the past several seasons the Boston Celtics have been in a position of power. The Celtics “Big Three” of the late oughts were parlayed into an abundance of first round picks by GM Danny Ainge. One of those picks was traded for Kyrie Irving, who instantly propelled the Celtics to the next level. When Irving’s late season injury kept him out of the 2017-2018 playoffs, the young Boston core stepped up. The future looked bright for the Boston Celtics.

Unfortunately, the Kyrie Irving situation may not have worked in Boston, but the bigger question is: Will any big free agent acquisition end up working out for the Celtics? The situation doesn’t look as promising with Irving reportedly wanting out of Boston, which would hurt the Celtics trade prospects. Losing Kyrie would also make it difficult to lure another marquee player who might be reluctant to take on Irving’s 2017-2019 role. Players also seem to be keying in on a city’s marketability, and even the weather. There’s a reason we only seem to hear about New York or Los Angeles as potential landing spots for superstar free agents.

The situation between the Boston Celtics and All-NBA point guard Kyrie Irving didn’t exactly go as Celtics fans would have hoped the past two seasons. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

A Realistic Future

Imagine a scenario in which the Celtics lose Kyrie Irving next season. Let’s also assume Al Horford and Aaron Baynes pick up their 2019-2020 player options. Finally, we’ll assume the Celtics retain Terry Rozier through their unmatched qualifying offer via Rozier’s restricted free agency. These three scenarios are not only plausible, but possible. The roster might look familiar, but the salary cap situation might surprise you.

Six roster spots on the Boston Celtics are contractually-bound. Those six players – Gordon Hayward, Jason Tatum, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Guerschon Yabusele and Robert Williams – account for over $64 million, or 59% of the salary cap. If we add Horford and Baynes’ player options the salary cap climbs to over $100 million, or 92% of the salary cap. Finally, Rozier’s qualifying offer is nearly $4.3 million, however, the cap number would be nearly $9.2 million. Rozier’s contract would put the Boston Celtics salary cap over $109.9 million; the NBA salary cap is $109 million.

A Reasonable Roster

It’s clear after crunching the numbers the Celtics will be over the salary cap. The good news is the luxury tax is $132 million in 2019-2020, so ownership has the flexibility to sign their draft picks and perhaps take on a veteran minimum contract.

With the money essentially allocated the question becomes who actually fills out the Celtics roster in 2019-2020? With positions like shooting guard (Jaylen Brown), small forward (Gordon Hayward; Jason Tatum) and power forward/center (Al Horford; Aaron Baynes) set, the focus becomes point guard. Justin Mantegani wrote a great piece for Boston Sports Extra highlighting the need at point guard and possible solutions.

The Celtics are set at positions like small forward, center and shooting guard, begging the question: Who will play point guard for Boston?

The Need For Depth

Questions about the point guard position are pressing, no pun intended, but even more pressing is Boston’s depth. As it stands according to the aforementioned scenario, the Celtics would enter the 2019-2020 season with Smart and Baynes as their only reliable veteran bench players. The rest would comprise of Guerschon Yabusele, Robert Williams and the Celtics’ 2019 draft picks. Perhaps, instead of concentrating on landing marquee superstars, the focus should be acquiring veterans to help the Celtics young core.

The Celtics have budding young stars in Tatum and Brown. The team has veteran All-Stars in Hayward and Horford, and the heart of the team in Marcus Smart. Boston even has raw potential in Yabusele and Williams, not to mention their incoming draft picks. The biggest issue for the Celtics is depth, especially at the point guard position. With Boston’s star point guard Kyrie Irving all but gone, that’s where the focus needs to be.

The Celtics Are Just Getting Started

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The Celtics are not finished. Everyone and their Podcast partner is writing them off. Boston sports radio is dancing over their graves. The team is at rock bottom, down 3-1 to the Greek Freak and a band of also-rans playing over their heads. But just like last year’s Patriots, rock bottom is where they strip out all the noise and bring it back to team basketball.

Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving hasn’t forgotten how to play basketball. His talk isn’t for everyone, but it’s just talk. Between the lines this guy is a certified basketball genius, he’s just been a little sidetracked.

On Basketball Reference there is a stat called Game Score (GmSc). Like WAR in baseball, it’s a stat that tries to take everything into context. It’s not the be all end all, but it’s a nice umbrella of everything a basketball player is doing on the court. Over the 2016 playoffs Kyrie averaged 18.2 per game. Over the 2017 playoffs Kyrie averaged 18.1 per game. That is consistency over 39 games like you read about.

Right now Kyrie is averaging 15.8 in the 8 playoff games for the Celtics. That is not Kyrie Irving. But he had a similar eight game stretch in 2017, averaging 15.9 over the first eight games. Yes, Cleveland lost in the finals that year, but Kyrie went on to average 19.8 over the remaining 10 games.

Even the great Steph Curry looks less than sometimes. For example, he went 4-14 from 3 in his last playoff game. But people aren’t shoveling dirt on his playoffs. Forget the body language and ‘effort’ police. Kyrie Irving is not perfect, but he’s one of the best players in the NBA and a noted playoff performer. Count on a dominating performance in Game 5 and going forward.

Brad Stevens

Remember when Brad Stevens was the next great coach in the NBA? It wasn’t that long ago. And it wasn’t a flash in the pan. He grew to that level over years, not one great year.

Somewhere along the way he lost his voice this year. The team did not give an all out level all the time like they have in past years. This team did not meet the lofty expectations placed in them at the beginning of the year. Hey, they went to the Eastern Conference Finals without their best player. Of course there were high expectations. But ego, it seems, has gotten the better of them to this point.

But what can cut through all the noise of ego? Getting thumped on your home floor in the playoffs, pushing you to the brink of elimination, getting called out nation wide. When the players are reeling and wondering how they got here who can they turn to? Brad Stevens, the man with a plan. And when the players follow the plan of Brad Stevens, great things happen.

Stevens is being bashed for not throwing his players under the bus right now. That is building trust. Look for the players to start playing the Stevens game, team basketball, the best of the Celtics, in Game 5 and moving forward.

Bucks Over Their Heads

Giannis Antetokounmpo is a certified NBA Super Star. He’s so great his same now rolls off the tongue. But he is one man. Khris Middleton is pretty good.

But 33 year old George Hill averaged a 6.6 Game Score for the Cavs in the playoff last year. Verse the Celtics in the last two games? 15.75. Overall for this playoffs? 10. George Hill’s cameo as bad Kyrie is just that, a two game cameo.

Pat Connaughton turned into current George Hill the last two games with an 11.2 average Game Score. His total playoff average is 4.4. Give the 26 year old the benefit of the doubt and this year his average is 8.5 in the playoffs. He’s played the last two 30% better than that. It won’t last.

Some would say these Bucks are on a roll. From here it’s an aberration with a current expiration date.

Poking Marcus Smart

It is advisable to rile up Marcus Smart? Antetokounmpo thinks not.

Giannis absolutely roasted Marcus Smart https://t.co/NAUo5aiSQz
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) May 7, 2019

A motivated Marcus Smart is almost as important as a healthy Marcus Smart. Expect good things from Marcus Smart in Game 5 and going forward.

The Bucks are playing over their heads, the Celtics are playing poorly. Getting humiliated was just what the Celtics needed to turn things around. Get ready for a different series starting tomorrow night.

Photo via AP/Charles Krupa

Celtics Will Reveal Themselves Against Milwaukee

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Celtics fans have been confounded throughout the season because the team they cheer for has
been, at times, very good but mostly just good enough. If someone told you before the season
began that the Shamrocks would be the No. 4 seed in the East when the playoffs commenced,
you would have to believe that your local entry either underachieved or was ravaged by
injuries. Did Hayward’s leg not heal? Did the long grind that is the NBA season, take its toll on
Kyrie again – only in December instead of March? How about the young guns, Tatum, Brown, or
Terry? Maybe Big Al got beat up in the paint and beaten down in the homestretch?
Injuries would have at least given fans a reason to forgive and forget but the lack of cohesion
and team chemistry has been nothing short of stunning, considering last season’s gutsy run into
the conference finals without their two resident superstars. However, sports is a what have you
done for me lately kind of business and right now you can’t complain about the results. Boston
is fresh off of a series sweep of the Indiana Pacers and even the most jaded cynic would be
hard-pressed to complain. But now the rubber hits the road as the Celtics prepare for the beast
of the East, the Milwaukee Bucks. Some of the best betting websites found all in one place at
Sportsbook Review, are dealing the Bucks as 7 ½ point Game 1 favorites and -270/+230 series
chalk over the lads in green. Now we will find out what this team is truly made of, and whether
or not all of this talent on paper will bear fruit in April, May, and dare we say June?
Enjoy basking in the afterglow of Boston’s 110-106 series-clinching win over the Pacers because
the road will be quite a bit bumpier from here on out. But why not revel in Gordon Haywood’s
20-point performance and cheer another unsung hero effort by Marcus Morris? Kyrie only got
14 but played solid defense and got back in transition. Things are looking up, right? Kyrie told us
the playoffs would change everything, the Celts would flip a switch, and right now it’s hard to
doubt him. The Celtics’ superstar was also complimentary of Hayward.
“I knew there was going to be a spark off the bench. (On Sunday) and that person was Gordon
Hayward,” All-Star guard Kyrie Irving said. “This is his city. I’m glad he had a chance to put on a
performance like that in a closeout game.”
Jayson Tatum echoed Irving’s sentiments regarding the playoff Celtics versus the regular season
Celtics. “We’re clicking at the right time. We look like the team everybody thought we would be
at the beginning of the season. It took some ups and downs for us to get here, but I like the way
we look.”

It’s hard not to like the way the C’s look because a sweep is indeed a rare occurrence. However,
it’s just business as usual when it comes to Kyrie Irving. Between his tenure in Cleveland and his
stint in Boston, Irving is a mind-boggling 16-0 in his four first-round series’. Don’t forget, he
didn’t dress last year when the Celtics knocked off the Bucks in seven games, thus his record
remains pristine. Irving is, of course, just one piece of the puzzle and the Celtics will need a
complete team effort if they are to get by what many believe is their biggest adversary in the
postseason. Time will tell and so too will Boston’s defense. Shutting down the Greek Freak,
Giannis Antetokounmpo, won’t be easy but this team has the ability to do just that…don’t they?

Celtics Can Rock but Will They Roll?

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The Celtics won ugly in their first playoff game against the Pacers, but it’s preferable to losing ugly. Just ask Indiana. Boston proved they can get up off the mat after being knocked down and play physical if that’s what needed. Well, a little muscle never hurt any team and that’s what the doctor ordered when they defeated Indiana 84-74, in what could only be described as a game between two offenses that were nothing short of offensive.

If you were to peruse the best online sportsbooks over at Sportsbook Review, you would find that one of the very best among them, Intertops , was dealing the C’s as 7 ½ point favorites in Game 1 with a total of about 210, depending on what time you went shopping for numbers. Imagine that, the oddsmakers believed these teams would combine for somewhere in the vicinity of 210 points when in fact, they managed only 158 between them. If you’re combing the internet for early numbers on Wednesday’s Game 2 then look no further than SBR Odds, where Intertops is once again installing the Celtics as 7 ½ point home chalk, however, the total has dropped markedly to 203 in that game.

If you’re a glass-half-full kind of guy then you can take solace in the fact that the Green deserved their victory, despite their offense’s horrendous shooting, because the defense suffocated the Pacers in the second half, limiting Indiana to just 29 points. However, for those of us who are far more skeptical, the Celtics shot a dismal 36 percent and had a whopping 20 turnovers. And in addition, the Pacers had themselves to blame as much as any defensive wizardry from Boston, as they continually missed open shots without a Celtics’ defender to be found. That’s not to say the C’s didn’t play very good defense, but the narrative has been hyperbolic because the Pacers shot a dreadful 33 percent yet committed seven fewer turnovers than Boston.

Okay, so we know the boys in green can rock with a physical team like the Pacers, but can they roll through this first-round and contend against a far more talented opponent? If you’re not sure, then join the club. It’s tough to tell what this team is really all about. We know Kyrie is a superstar because he routinely plays like one but what about the other max contract guy, Gordon Hayward? Yes, we’ve seen glimpses of greatness, but it’s been about as often as a full moon and impossible to predict. What we can give Hayward credit for is accepting his reduced role on the bench without responding like a diva whose name has been removed from the marquee.

But the real problem this season has been Jaylen Brown and it was evident again on Sunday afternoon. Head coach Brad Stevens started Brown in place of the injured Marcus Smart, but he was quickly supplanted by Marcus Morris and Gordon Hayward. Morris went on to bucket 20 points while Hayward ended the night with 10 but Brown was a dismal 1-of-5 from the field for two points in 28 minutes of action. Talk about ugly.

Brad Stevens had this to say about the Game 1 victory, “Those guys guarded their butts off. That game looked like a 1980s playoff game in a lot of ways with the score. But it’s tough. Those guys are physical. …We have a lot to get better at.”

Indeed, the Celtics do need to get better and if they expect to win when scoring under a hundred points then they should think again. Prior to Sunday’s victory, the C’s had not won a game this season when scoring less than triple digits. We know the Celtics can beat a struggling team without its leading scorer (Victor Oladipo) but had they met any other Eastern Conference playoff opponent on Sunday, besides perhaps the Detroit Pistons, Boston would be down a game, and not up one. Hopefully, the offense wakes up in Game 2 and we’re talking about a series sweep but until then, it’s anybody’s guess with this team.

Celtics Fooling Themselves

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The Celtics will snap their four-game losing streak tonight in Cleveland because if they don’t, then their postseason won’t last much longer than a cup of coffee against Philadelphia (or Indiana) in the first round. The oddsmakers over at one of the best online sportsbooks in the industry, 5Dimes, is dealing Boston as a 5 ½ point road favorite over one of the worst teams in the league, and the same one that prevented them from advancing to the NBA Finals last season. Of course, that was then, and this is now, with LeBron taking his talents to LA while the Celtics are looking more and more like a group of guys out to get theirs, with little regard of the endgame which is winning a title.

Are you getting a bit tuckered out of this all too predictable Celtics’ soap opera? This rollercoaster of a season has featured glimpses of greatness but far too often, months of malaise mired in mediocrity. Don’t ever get your hopes to high with this team because they will break your heart quicker than you can say, “Kyrie is leaving Boston.” And Kyrie will leave because he now realizes that his one wish, to dribble out of LeBron’s shadow and bask in the glow of a white-hot spotlight all his own, isn’t as easy as he once thought. In retrospect, he had a pretty good gig being Scottie Pippen to LeBron’s Michael Jordan, and winning a world title in Cleveland. He didn’t have to be the man because he wasn’t the man, he was just a damn good sidekick. Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it, is a phrase Kyrie Irving knows all to well.

But perhaps the irony and absurdity of this entire season is the Celtics players somehow concocting this alternate reality that things will all come together the moment the postseason commences. Just read a few of these quotes and try not to arch your eyebrows or scratch your head.

Marcus Smart: “We got a lot of guys back, and we’re all trying to figure out exactly what everybody’s favorite things to do and what spots that everybody excels at and make sure we get everybody in the right position. We’re still fooling with it. But I see great progress, and I’m excited, I’m ecstatic, and I’m happy with what we’re doing.

Kyrie Irving: “You can’t worry about the standings now. It’s too late in the season. I mean, obviously the four or five spot, but one and two is pretty much locked up, 1-2-3. So, as long we get there. I can’t wait for all this other B.S. about the regular season and keep getting better and talking over and over and over again about what we can do to keep getting better in the regular season. I just want to be at the highest level playing. I mean, that’s what I’m here for.”

In the C’s first game in the month of March, a 107-96 win over the Wizards, Marcus Smart lauded the defensive efforts of Jaylen Brown and said, “Ridiculous. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Jaylen play defense like that. He looked like me out there, diving for balls and things like that. We need Jaylen to do that every day. He has the athletic ability to do it. He has the potential to be a great two-way player so, once he finally gets that down it will be hard for anybody to keep him off the court.”

Unfortunately for the Celtics, Jaylen Brown is not fond of routinely getting floors burns on his knees, and a flash here, and a sparkle there, of hustle isn’t enough. Over the last four games the Celtics have lost to three very good teams in Denver, Philadelphia, and San Antonio with a setback to the less than stellar Charlotte Hornets sandwiched in between for good measure. But we know the script by now, Boston will bully a bad team tonight and thump the Cavaliers which will woo those who bleed Green back on the bandwagon. But the rest of us are not only leery, but weary as well, of a team that seems to care less about winning than we do.

Can the Celtics Claim the East?

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The Celtics got a taste of what it’s like to face a legitimate Western Conference power clicking on all cylinders when they bowed to the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. If you had clicked on over to Sportsbook Review prior to the game and check out a Sportsbetting.ag review, it would have told you why Sportsbetting.ag is one of the preeminent online sportsbooks in the industry, as well as letting you know that they had Boston favored by four points against one of the best in the West. It proved to be a glorious opportunity to bet with your mind and not with your heart as Denver not only covered the number but won the game outright by the score of 114-105.

Once again, the Celtics build us up just to tear us down. Preceding that contest, the Green had won five of six, starting with an enormous blowout of the Golden State Warriors but then, just as quickly as they started this roll, it came to a screeching halt with a lackluster fourth-quarter effort where they were outscored by nine points, the precise margin of victory for Denver. Boston is now half a game behind Indiana for the fourth spot in the East and 2 ½ games behind the 76ers for the No. 3 seed. This column is being written prior to their tango in the City of Brotherly Love tonight so be prepared for a Thursday morning where the sky is the limit – or at least a conference championship – or gloom, doom, and a big ol’ broom right out of the playoffs once they begin.

Watching the Celtics and investing your heart, soul, and maybe even a few bucks over at Sportsbetting.ag, has been like being married to Sybil, a woman with 16 distinct personalities. Although the Shamrocks may not be quite that complicated, they are difficult to love especially when they continually let you down. We expect the big games, the 30 plus point scoring nights from Kyrie, and the blossoming of a superstar in Jayson Tatum. Yet there are evenings, like Monday night, when Tatum plays more like a star-struck kid when he scored just eight points on 3-of-12 shooting over the course of 36 minutes of action.

Another young gun, Jaylen Brown, is simply not the player he was last year, despite glimmers of excellence that occur all too infrequently. Terry Rozier continues to struggle in a backup role, after a stellar postseason last year in place of Irving, with visions of increased playing time and a much fatter paycheck somewhere else next season. Gordon Hayward, who was in concussion protocol for the game against Denver and therefore gets no grief for that loss, has been coming around but hasn’t quite made the bend. At least Hayward doesn’t grouse about being demoted from a starter to a role player, but then again, he is being paid over $30 million to ride the pine so let’s not get too carried away with him being a “team first” kind of guy.

So who are the Boston Celtics? Well, as much as we may hate to say it, they are what their record says they are, which is a very good, although not elite, team. Boston is a tough out for any team in the league, but they are not good enough to derail a juggernaut over the course of a seven-game series. They are better than Indiana, this we know. And if you were to base your opinion on how dominant they have been against the 76ers this season, winning all three meetings this season and owning a 13-3 straight up mark over the last three years including playoffs, then it would be fair to say they are better than Philadelphia.

But tonight will tell the tale because this is a game the Celtics absolutely need if they have any shot at ascending to the No. 3 spot and displacing the Sixers. If they win, or lose narrowly, there’s hope for them in the postseason, but if they get blown out then don’t make any reservations for a road trip to the Oracle Arena in June. Let’s kick back, grab a cold one, and continue to be vexed by a team that we love but doesn’t seem to love us back quite often enough.

Rollercoaster Season Continues for the Celtics

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One day it’s the Good Ship Lollipop and the next it’s the Titanic. That pretty much sums up the year the Shamrocks have had despite the fact that they remain one of the beasts in the East. Unfortunately, they’re not quite as ferocious as we all believed they would be prior to the start of the season. As a matter of fact, if you were to click on over to Sportsbook Review, you could read a Bovada review detailing why Bovada is one of the preeminent online sportsbooks in the industry and one that was dealing Boston as a favorite to win the Eastern Conference this season. But much has changed since October and it appears all of the major threats have added to their arsenals except the Celtics.

After winning nine of 10 from mid-January through early February, the Green proceeded to undo most of that momentum by dropping six of eight. Then they won four of five, including a dominating victory over the world champion Golden State Warriors at the Oracle Arena. The Celtics were quickly closing the gap on the 76ers and Pacers for the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference before the Monday night massacre in LA. The best online sportsbooks like Bovada may have hung them as slight road favorites but they played like dogs – and not underdogs, mind you. It was a 25-point drubbing by a good, although unspectacular, Clippers club. Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the loss was Kyrie Irving’s postgame comments heaping praise, and I mean mounds of praise, on Clippers’ head coach Doc Rivers, formerly of the Celtics. Here’s just a snippet.

“It’s so easy to play for a guy that’s been a player in this league,” Irving said. “He’s won a championship and he’s done unbelievable things in this league for his players while giving them confidence to go out there and be who they are. Lou (Williams) signed an extension for a reason, and that’s Doc. He puts those guys in position, gives them the freedom and keeps them encouraged throughout the whole game — especially when they’re at home.”

Kyrie went even further but you don’t have to be an ardent disciple of Freud to figure this one out. In essence, Irving was praising Rivers while taking a tacit swipe at his own coach. Brad Stevens was never a player “in this league”, has never won an NBA championship, and apparently is not inspiring confidence in his players, ala Doc Rivers. Kyrie Irving’s personality mirrors the Celtics’ performance this season. One day he says all the wrong things and gets killed in the press while the next day he’s contrite, mature, and somewhat resembles the leader he so desperately wanted to be when he signed with the Celtics, and withdrew from LeBron’s immense shadow in Cleveland.

The Celtics are like the weather in New England – if you don’t like it, just give it a day or two and it will change. Boston still has 14 games remaining on their schedule and trail the Sixers and Pacers by only 1 ½ games for the third playoff spot. Of those 14 games, there are five that could be classified as dangerous. Dates against Denver (home), Philadelphia (road), San Antonio (home), and a home and away against Indiana could prove to be landmines. If they were to lose those but win the other nine, that would give them a winning percentage of .642 which is an uptick over their current .603. That would probably land them in the No. 4 spot over Philly but a pair of losses against the Pacers would more than likely solidify Indiana’s third seed if they continue to play at their current pace. There will be more trials and travails with this edition of the Boston Celtics so we must weather the storm, keep calm, and carry on.

Celtics’ Season Turning Into a Soap Opera

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Oh my, where do we start? First and foremost, we have the Can’t Miss Kid, Brad Stevens, a man
who could do no wrong in this town since he was tapped to be the head coach of the Boston
Celtics in July of 2013 (has it really been that long?). Last season Stevens was considered a front
runner for NBA Coach of the Year but lost to Dwane Casey who was subsequently fired from the
Raptors – if that gives you any indication how tenuous a head coaching job in the NBA is and
how capricious the whims of ownership. But the Celtics have now lost five of six, and for those
who like to bet a few bucks to make it interesting, the Green has failed to cover the number in
four of those six contests. Speaking of covering, if you click over to Sportsbook Review, you can
read a Bookmaker review detailing all the features of the industry’s leading sportsbook and
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Brad Stevens is dealing with more than X’s and O’s at this point which is unchartered territory
for the 42-year-old Indiana native. If the Celtics were a soap opera, the leading man would be
Kyrie Irving because he brings enough drama to fill an hour of programming each day. When
Irving was wooed to Boston, he made a claim that he wanted to remain a Celtic for life and one
day have his jersey retired to the rafters. In Cleveland, he was the Scottie Pippen to LeBron’s
Michael Jordan and he wanted out of the shadows and into the spotlight all by himself.
Be careful what you wish for Kyrie, because not everyone is cut out to fill that role and assume
a leadership position, which allows you to bask in the afterglow of success but demands you
answer to the rabid Boston media throng when things go south. Unfortunately for Kyrie, he was
well-equipped for the former but grossly unprepared for the latter. Boston ain’t Cleveland
when it comes to the fans’ passion for the Celtics, and for that matter the Patriots, Red Sox and
Bruins. It is a fanatical base that demands every spoken word uttered by a superstar be
evaluated, analyzed, and scrutinized by the local television, radio, and print media pundits who
are all too willing to oblige.
Despite the season’s rocky moments, of which there have been far more than anticipated, the
focus was clearly on some of the young guns who performed so admirably in the postseason
without Irving, and of course Gordon Hayward, last year. Jaylen Brown has been the object of
much consternation as his effort has been questioned after going from a starring role last
season to a role player this season. Terry Rozier seems to have his best games when he is
replacing a sidelined Irving and can prove his worth as a full-time starter for any team willing to
pony up the big bucks for his services next year. Gordon Hayward came back as a starter after
suffering a Theismanesque leg snap in the first game of the 2017 season. He did not perform
like the All-Star he was in Utah and has been primarily relegated to the bench. Unlike some of

his teammates, Gordon has not voiced any dissatisfaction with Steven’s move because to do so
would be to ignore the obvious – he’s just not that max contract guy the C’s signed two years
ago. Not yet anyway.
But the drama surrounding the potential blockbuster deal involving Anthony Davis in the
coming offseason has offended the senses of those who are rumored to be trade bait. Jayson
Tatum is one, as is Jaylen Brown amongst others. Apparently, the young guns never got the
memo that basketball at the professional level is a business, and loyalty is but a whimsical
notion that is abruptly dismissed once a GM realizes he can trade his flashy BMW in for a lusty
Lambo. But Kyrie Irving is the key to the deal because if he decides to take his talents elsewhere
after the season, then the devastating one-two punch of Davis and Irving would be no more.
Based on the reported disconnect that Irving has had with his teammates, outside of Tatum,
since early February when New York was mentioned as a possible landing spot for the superstar
next season, Boston may no longer have Kyrie to kick around anymore.