Tag: Brad Stevens

Celtics Blow Another Game and Are Now One Loss Away from Elimination

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And just like that the Boston Celtics are one game away from elimination in the Eastern Conference Finals. One more underwhelming performance and the Celtics will be on the wrong end of a gentleman’s sweep. It’s infuriating to watch because before Game 4 the Celtics led for the large majority of minutes played only to blow leads late. Game 4 itself was just a sloppy game for Boston all around despite the near miracle comeback in the closing seconds.

Jayson Tatum was AWFUL in the first half going 0-6 including four three pointers to go into the half with zero points, which was the first time he’s done that all season. He must have found a bottle of Michael Jordan’s Secret Stuff from Space Jam in the locker room though as he dropped 28 points in the final 24 minutes of the game.

His explosion in the second half just made Tatum’s first half struggles look even worse by comparison though. He is arguably the most talented player in this series and he was constantly dribbling out the shot clock and settling for shitty fadeaway threes. So much so that the studio analysts at halftime wondered aloud if he was injured. Why is a 6’8″ career 83% free throw shooter not attacking the rim if his shot isn’t falling? That is something that Tatum needs to understand better if he is going to take the next jump to superstardom.

This team still struggles mightily against the zone defense that my high school team used to play. Marcus Smart seemed to be the only player capable of driving and effectively kicking the ball out to shooters. It was something that Van Gundy pointed out during the game as Smart was the only player that was looking at the rim as he drives before kicking it out. Otherwise the defenders are just waiting for the outlet pass. The Celtics have been rendered completely helpless against the most basic defense for long stretches of this series. The broadcast team even suggested this may be the longest a team has ever stuck with a zone defense in any playoff series ever. Ay caramba.

If not for Gordon Hayward this team would have already been en route to their offseason vacations. While he didn’t light up the stat sheet in Game 3 he was a tangible force moving the ball and making a couple clutch shots. In Game 4 he was much more comfortable shooting the ball as he finished with 14 points. Hayward is the only player the Celtics can bring off the bench to consistently get buckets at this point, which is killing them. The rest of the bench had 8 combined points on Wednesday night. In Game 3 the bench scored a combined 11 points outside of Hayward, a respectable 16 (9 from Kanter) in Game 2, and 18 in Game 1 with 11 from Brad Wanamaker.

Tyler Herro is a goddamn baller, plain and simple. To be honest, we probably should have expected this dude to become an assassin based solely on his Draft Night fit.

Allegedly Danny Ainge was set to take the Kentucky shooter at No. 14 in last year’s draft before Pat Riley snatched him up right before the Celtics at No. 13 overall. I don’t know if I believe that as Danny tends to draft project athletes with high ceilings more than shooters, but goddamnit has Herro made it hurt to watch what could have been. He absolutely crushed the Celtics in Game 4 with a cool 37 points and was generally unstoppable with a clean look.

Marcus Smart continues to be the ultimate enigma making incredible and boneheaded plays within seconds of each other. Like when he laid out onto the floor to knock a loose ball to Jaylen Brown, who was then fouled. The Celtics then inbounds the ball at half court and Smart gets the ball only to immediately lose his handle and turn the ball over.

The No. 1 most hated play of the night goes to the C’s doubling the ball handler late in the 4th and leaving Goran Dragic wide fucking open for a 3 on a night where he scored 22 points. And you could see on the replay that Smart thought Jaylen Brown was going to rotate and cover the shooter as he was visibly upset and clapping at the young forward.

The officiating was generally awful both ways, but hey Tony Brothers was on the court so did we expect anything less? I also don’t get the Hayward foul call on this three pointer from Goran. I know he is technically “in the shooter’s space” but jesus christ what’s he supposed to do there?

The final play of the game was also a disaster. Down 3 with 1 second remaining the Celtics were out of timeouts so it was kind of a fire drill hail mary play, but I still hated what they came up with. Needing a TB12-esque picture perfect throw the Celtics opt for center Daniel Theis to make the inbounds pass. I understand Theis isn’t really a 3 point threat there, but he’s also the worst passer on the floor being asked to make a pinpoint cross court pass with 1 second remaining. Not surprisingly he heaved one into traffic that never had a chance.

Is Bam Adebayo hurt? He was holding his wrist constantly in the last few minutes of the game after a collision with I believe Jaylen Brown under the hoop. He stayed in the game, but even the broadcast made note of how he was constantly waiving off the athletic trainers despite being in obvious pain. If Adebayo is injured that would be a huge factor in a do or die Game 5 as the Celtics have had no answers for the big man.

Unrelated Thoughts:

Iggy got OLD

Shoutout to me for this elite t-shirt from 2010

So the Celtics have an off night before Game 5 on Friday night to consider whether they have the fortitude required to push this series to the brink. They’ll need to win three straight against a Heat team that has been tough to beat when it comes to neck stepping time in the 4th quarter. If the Celtics bow out in five it would be a huge letdown, especially in a season where the path was seemingly cleared for them to reach the Finals. No Giannis, no Kawhi or LeBron in the East, just a scrappy Heat team led by a guy in Jimmy Butler that is on his fourth team in four years. After some serious collapses down the stretch and the much publicized blowout in the locker room after Game 2, if this team doesn’t make a series out of this I would not be surprised to see Danny make some tough decisions with the construction of this roster.

Until the final buzzer sounds though I’ll hold out hope just because we’ve seen crazier things happen. In times like this I like to think back to that infamous Kevin Millar quote back in 2004. “Don’t let us win today.”

The Gamblers Guide to Betting on the Celtics and the Atlantic Division This Year

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So we’re two weeks into the 2019-20 NBA season and the Celtics are a solid 4-1 with wins over the Knicks (twice), the Raptors, and an incredible comeback win over the Bucks. Their only loss came on opening night to the Sixers, made worse by the sight of Al Horford in a Philly jersey. The Celtics look like they’ll be a pretty good team made better possibly with addition by subtraction. Kemba Walker looks like a match made in heaven as a guy who can drop 30 a night, yet is more than happy to pass up a last shot to blossoming superstars like Jayson Tatum.

What made that Tatum game winner even better was that it was the exact same play that the Celtics ran in Orlando last year leading to Kyrie throwing a fit on the court for not getting the ball. Oh and Kyrie continues to be an absolute PILL in New Jersey, memorialized by Jackie MacMullan’s great piece last week. Enjoy the ride, Nets fans.

Now for the most important part: the gambling.  Its a little early to overreact one way or the other and the Celtics’ unlikely come from behind double digit win over the Bucks probably skews things a little bit. But pick your spots with this C’s team and you could make some decent cash as they continue to surprise people.

  • Philadelphia 76ers
    • ESPN Projected Finish: 57-27, 2nd in the East
    • Key Storylines: Addition of Al Horford, Finally Getting Over the Hump, Overcoming Lack of Depth
    • 5-0 Against the Spread

The Sixers took their biggest weakness last year, a lack of bench depth, and doubled down on it. They lost Jimmy Butler and JJ Reddick, but picked up big man Al Horford to pair with Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. The Sixers have arguably the best starting 5 in the league, but the end of the bench is pretty barren yet again. With that being said they are 5-0 and the current No. 1 seed in the East so while they don’t have much margin for error, they are one of the most talented squads in the league.

  • Boston Celtics
    • ESPN Projected Finish: 48-34, 3rd in the East
    • Key Storylines: Loss of Kyrie Irving and Al Horford, Addition of Kemba Walker, Addition by Subtraction, Jayson Tatum the All-Star
    • 3-2 ATS

If the Celtics are going to go anywhere this year its going to largely be due to Jayson Tatum. Sure Kemba Walker is the latest max free agent in town and Jaylen Brown just got PAID, but this team needs Tatum to become an elite wing player this season if they want to do some damage. I’ve been predicting big things for Tatum despite a less than stellar second season. So far this season he looks excellent averaging 22 PPG while shooting 40% from the field, an impressive 48% from three and an abysmal 75% from the line. Along with Pascal Siakam, Tatum was voted by ESPN as the most likely player to make their first All-Star team in the East, both earning 68.2% of the votes. With Tatum and likely Kemba making the All-Star team, an improved Brown, a finally looking like a basketball player again Gordon Hayward, and All-World defense from Marcus Smart, this team could be in business. As we seem to say every year since KG and Perk left town, the Celtics will need someone to step up as a rim protector/rebounder/big man presence. Whether thats Enes Kanter, Daniel Theis or Robert Williams evolving into the role, the C’s will need someone to step up if they want to compete with the Sixers.

  • Brooklyn Nets
    • ESPN Projected Finish: 45-37, 5th in the East
    • Key Storylines: Addition of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, Kyrie Still a Pill
    • 2-4 ATS

This will be a much safer bet next season when Kevin Durant returns to the court, assuming he’s healthy, but in the meantime they will be a fun team to watch. Despite all his bizarre antics and issues with the media, Kyrie Irving remains one of the most electric one on one players in the league. While thats not necessarily the best path to winning a title, it definitely will steal the Nets some games they have no business winning.

  • Toronto Raptors
    • ESPN Projected Finish: 45-37, 6th in the East
    • Key Storylines: Defending Champs, Loss of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, Growth of Pascal Siakam
    • 4-2 ATS

Man what a roller coaster ride 2019 has been for Drizzy Drake’s favorite squad. Sorry let me clarify, I meant Drake’s hometown team the Raptors not his other favorite squad the Golden State Warriors. Winning their first title behind a Herculean effort from Kawhi Leonard solidifying his spot as the best player in the NBA…to Kawhi walking away and now defending their title with Pascal Siakam and not much else. Siakam was voted by ESPN as the co-favorite to earn their first time All-Star bid in the East. Its hard to be mad as the defending champs, but they went from the favorites (especially with a rapidly imploding Warriors team) to a team that will be scrapping for a bottom half seed in the East this year.

  • New York Knicks
    • ESPN Projected Finish: 26-56, 13th in the East
    • Key Storylines: ….lottery picks and 2020 Free Agency?
    • 1-6 ATS

If you bet real, actual, American dollars on the New York Knicks then you are on your own. Sure Marcus Morris is great to watch when he’s on, but you are banking on the latest iteration of James Dolan’s madness here. Maybe if you get them in a parlay, but other than that I cannot advise gambling on this dumpster fire.

So to wrap it up, who has the best shot at winning the division? Lets not get ahead of ourselves and ask who’s going to take down LeBron and the Lakers or Kawhi and the Clippers in the Finals quite yet. As of late October, the Sixers had become -200 favorites to win the Atlantic, improving from -160 on opening night. The Celtics remained the second-favorite, but were well back at +420, only a shade ahead of the new-look Raptors at +490 with all odds via Sports Betting Dime. Expect those odds to be a little closer together when they’re updated next. Boston’s impressive 116-105 win over the 60-win Bucks made a statement that Brad Stevens’ team is going to be a tough out this year.

I LOVE the Celtics at +420 to win the division. Sure that means catching the Sixers and winning 50+ games, who ESPN has them finishing 9 games behind, but those are odds to bet on. The Sixers at -160 is almost even money and forget it if Embiid misses time with the annual injury or load management concerns. The Raptors feel pretty unlikely to leapfrog both Boston and Philly so I’m not sold on them, and I think this season is a holding pattern for Brooklyn and yet another rebuilding year for the Knicks. So slap down some cash on the Celtics and enjoy the ride.

Al Horford Says Celtics Weren’t “Going to Be Able to Coexist” With Kyrie Irving

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Boston Herald – As far as on the court, it’s certain Horford wasn’t interested in playing another hand from the same deck. I asked him if his decision would have been different if Irving had remained.

“I’m not sure that has anything to do with it for me,” Horford said. “I just think that if Kyrie would have stayed, I don’t know if it would have worked. There would have had to be some major changes as far as players, because it was just clear that the group that we had just wasn’t going to be able to coexist.”

And what about if he’d known Kemba Walker was coming. Horford paused.

“I don’t want to get caught up in the past,” he said, “but, yeah, that would have been totally different.”

Longtime Celtics writer Steve Bulpett caught up with old friend Al Horford and the big man had some interesting quotes on the dumpster fire that was the Celtics last year.

Horford reaffirmed what everyone has been saying for the past 6 months; this team just could not gel. Whether you want to blame that on Kyrie being a piss poor leader or on the young guys feeling themselves a bit too much is up to you, but the issue was real.

Kyrie is the guy that openly and bizarrely announced to the media that the Celtics needed a “15 year veteran” to help the team win. Maybe a Sam Cassell or Kendrick Perkins type at the end of the bench could have helped play the role of mentor/player-coach, but this group shouldn’t have needed that.

Lets just kill the Kemba/Horford talk right now too because of the way the NBA cap works in all its mysterious ways, it would have bene just about impossible for the Celtics to fit Kemba and Horford on the team. The only reason they were able to sign Kemba was *because* Kyrie and Horford left, not in spite of it. When one guy leaves it doesn’t automatically open up that salary space under the cap. Infuriating, yet true. The cap is not crap in this league.

The Celtic’s early playoff exit and subsequent gutting is all the more frustrating because of just how talented this team truly was last season.

“I just feel like we had so much talent, just a lot of talent, and we all wanted to do great things. There were just too many of us almost. I just feel like we had so much that it was very, very difficult to essentially keep everybody feeling good and focused on where we wanted to get to. And I do believe that that just kept getting in our way.”

You had 3 All-Stars in Kyrie/Horford/Hayward, a defensive POY candidate in Smart, a couple of future All-Stars in Tatum and Brown and a ton of excellent role players. Except Hayward was coming back from his injury and the ONLY way for him to get right was to play, which obviously took minutes away from Tatum and Brown. Sprinkle in the fact that Kyrie seemingly preferred to play with veterans because the young guys just didn’t “get it” or have the winning experience (despite Kyrie having a grand total of one title). Then you had guys like Terry Rozier and Marcus Morris in contract years playing hero ball trying to get paid. Plus you still had former first round picks like Robert Williams and Guerschon Yabusele trying to carve out roles. To top it all off was Brad Stevens who couldn’t get the team to buy in and Danny Ainge who refused to make any changes to the roster. Thats a recipe for a disaster in hindsight.

Appearing on Anna Horford’s podcast (yes, Al’s sister) Cedric Maxwell actually blames the Celtics more than Kyrie.

“I think the Celtics, for the most part, babied Kyrie too much,” Maxwell said. “When you baby a player for so many times and you’re kissing his ass the whole time, I think, for the most part he has no recourse.”

I mean, he’s not wrong, but still Kyrie is a grown ass man. This isn’t like blaming the parents for spoiling a 5 year old kid. Kyrie is a 27-year-old Duke graduate participant with eight seasons in the league.

Goddamnit what a waste of an opportunity. The Warriors were on their last legs, Giannis was a one man show, the Sixers weren’t deep enough, LeBron was broken down and in the West, and the C’s just could not get their shit together to make a run. Kawhi Leonard won the title almost singlehandedly in Toronto and I firmly believe a cohesive Celtics squad could have taken the Raptors. Unfortunately that team never figured it out and here we are.

The Celtics aren’t a favorite, a top 5 or even a top 10 pick to win it all in most polls this year because of the talent that left town. The C’s acted swiftly and made the best of a bad situation by bringing another elite talent in Kemba Walker to town, but now Boston goes back to being a plucky underdog rather than a pre-season juggernaut. Maybe thats for the best.

Celtics Officially Sign Tacko Fall. Tacko Tuesdays Are a Go!

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NBA.com – The Boston Celtics have signed guards Tremont Waters and Max Strus to two-way contracts, and have signed center Tacko Fall and guard Javonte Green, the team announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Update: Tacko Fall was actually an undrafted free agent, not a second round pick. I literally linked to my own blog about this and still got it wrong. Carry on. 

I’m doing my best here to not get run over by the hype train that is a second round pick, but simply put Tacko Fall will be must watch TV any time he enters a game. After a solid showing in the Summer League, Danny Ainge saw enough to take a flyer on the kid. For the people that wanted the C’s to just dump Fall I honestly don’t get the rationale. The Celtics are completely devoid of big men with Al Horford taking his talents to Philadelphia so why not see what you have in the biggest man in the NBA? Isn’t this the exact point of 2nd round picks? To throw darts? Sure most of them will be bums, but some of them will turn into diamonds in the rough. Not saying Tacko Fall is going to be the next Nikola Jokic or Draymond Green, but might as well commit the minimal dollars and roster flexibility required to find out.

PLUS the Celtics Marketing Department must be borderline aroused at the possibilities here, as am I.

You know, I would say its the first time The 300s will inevitably make a t-shirt for the last man on the Celtics bench, but come to think of it…..we did the same exact thing last year.

Tigers man, just can’t change their stripes.

After Signing Kemba Walker and Enes Kanter, Are the Celtics Done Making Moves?

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Boston Herald – A few days before the Celtics hit Las Vegas, it’s fair to say Vegas isn’t big on the Celtics…Having placed the Celtics last fall at a low of 8-1 to win the 2019 championship, the wise people with the sharpened pencils and crystal balls at Westgate SuperBook now put them at 25-1 to be the last team standing next June.

And even that seems optimistic to some. One athletic accountant of our acquaintance believes the C’s are only rated that highly because of what could happen between now and then and because they’ll still draw some interest at that price.

The Celtic roster you see today will not be all that you see in the middle of October. The club is not done making moves, and according to teams around the league that we spoke to Monday, the C’s are very active in trying to see what free agents may still shake loose and what kinds of sign-and-trade deals could free up a better chunk of money to attract a large person.

Granted this article is a bit vague and devoid of many specific details, the fact that its coming from Steve Bulpett is why is sticks out to me. Bulpett is one of the most connected and longest tenured NBA writers in the country so when he says something like this I take note.

I have no idea what this could really even mean because the Celtics are already strapped for cash after the Kemba Walker and Enes Kanter signings. You would need to trade Gordon Hayward and his max salary (which as I said on The 300s Podcast last week I don’t think the C’s will ever do) or some combination of Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, and another asset of  your choosing (Yabusele, Timelord etc.) to get a big time deal done. A sign and trade with DeMarcus Cousins was the big one Mattes and I kept going back to as a swing for the fences possibility, but I have zero idea how to finagle the numbers to make that work.

After picking three times in the first round this year, the Celtics are just about out of the beaucoup assets they sat on for the last half a decade. The Memphis Grizzlies pick (top 6 protected in 2020 or unprotected in 2021) and a TBD Charlotte Hornets pick added in the Terry Rozier sign and trade are the only assets the Celtics now own aside from their own picks. No longer can Danny Ainge dangle a treasure chest of future lottery picks in front of rival GMs. Technically the Rozier sign and trade is intentionally unfinished as the C’s debated including a third team (which would have allowed for a Horford return before he signed with Philly) in the transaction.

That opportunity is still there if the C’s want to try and squeeze a little more juice out of Rozier, which Charlotte will be more than willing to do because without the S&T they can’t afford Scary Terry. The C’s own Bird Rights on Rozier so they can pay him the big money he wants and then trade him to Charlotte in the Kemba S&T.

Man, the NBA salary cap rules are a trip huh?

At the very least, maybe Danny is trying to do Terry a solid for not napalming the team in the media like Kyrie did for months.

TLDR; the Celtics will have to either get creative as all hell or yet again tear down their roster and rebuild on the fly by trading multiple starters if there is a big move still to be made .

#The300sPodcast – Next Up for the Celtics: Kemba Walker

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Red and Mattes jump into The 300s Podcast studio to discuss all the swirling Celtics rumors that are out there. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; the NBA Offseason is the best show on TV.

– Kemba Walker signing a max deal with the Celtics?

– Kyrie Irving is a PILL

– Al Horford is likely gone

– Are the Celtics’ young guys getting off too easy for their role in the drama around the team last season?

– Recapping the Celtics draft night and what it means for the 2019-20 roster

– NBA Free Agency and potential fits for the C’s

Celtics Have 3 Picks in the NBA Draft Tonight. BRING ME BOL BOL!

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We are entering a youth movement. The sooner you accept that the sooner you can go back to watching Celtics games without smashing the TV. Now tonight is the NBA Draft and the Celtics have three first round picks, 14, 20, and 22. AKA trash picks. Picking that late in the NBA Draft gets you bench players and home run swings on high ceiling guys with massive red flags. Enter Bol Bol. This has been the only guy I’ve wanted the Celtics to draft all year long (assuming they didn’t backdoor their way into another top 5 pick, which they didn’t). Son of the NBA shot blocking legend Manute Bol, Bol Bol is one of the few college basketball players that I’ve somewhat followed this season because the dude just fascinates me. He is 7’2″, runs like a deer, oh and did I mention he DRAINS threes?

Now it seems like the Celtics drafting Bol Bol is a legitimate possibility tonight. Granted he is 7’2″ coming off a foot surgery, but hey scared money don’t make no money.

It looks like the masses are coming around to my line of thinking too as the Sporting News has the C’s taking Bol at No. 22, the NY Post has the C’s taking Bol at No. 22, and CBS Sports has the Celtics drafting Bol at No. 20 tonight. ESPN currently has Bol ranked at No. 15 in their Top 100.

Either way, just about everyone has the big man sliding to the 14-25 range in the first round, so if they want him the Celtics will likely have ample opportunity to grab him.

The Ringer had a great piece on just how dangerous the big man could be in the league:

“At 19, he already possesses an offensive arsenal that should make him a gamebreaker in the modern NBA…his shot is the skill which makes him an NBA player. He hit on 52 percent of his 25 attempts at Oregon and 48.9 percent on 45 attempts on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League circuit…I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player of his height as fast or dexterous.And that’s scary. Momentum is mass times velocity, and Bol generates an awful lot of momentum on his skinny legs.”

He would have been a Top 5 pick if not for the injury or if he were able to go straight from high school to the draft, which cannot return to NBA rules soon enough. However the injury derailed his one and only college season and hurt his draft stock. Bol played in just 9 games at Oregon averaging 21.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, 56.1 field goal %, and an eye popping 52.0% on 3 pointers.

While a foot injury to a 7 footer scares the shit out of me, this is EXACTLY why Danny Ainge has all these picks.  In the absence of an Anthony Davis mega deal, you have three first rounders so you can take a flyer on a guy like Bol. While he could flame out and never make an impact in the league, he could also drink some more milk, solidify his bones and become one of the best players in the NBA. The last time Danny passed on an unproven, high ceiling player was in 2013 when he passed on Giannis Antetokounmpo in favor of Kelly Fucking Olynyk. While Olynyk has become a decent role player in the NBA, Giannis is arguably the best player in the league right now. This isn’t the NFL where you can build quality depth through the draft with mid round picks. No, the 14th pick in the NBA draft gets you bench players and home run swings. There are very few elite NBA players that come this late in the draft without some major red flags around them.

Barring a massive draft night trade (which allegedly is a possibility), the Celtics are staring a youth movement right in the face. Bring me Bol Bol and lets swing for the fences, Danny.

Jaylen Brown is Subtweeting the Shit Out of Kyrie Irving on Instagram Right Now

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Insert EYES emoji.

THIS is telling. This is 1,000% about Kyrie Irving and if you don’t agree you are lying to yourself. I love Jaylen Brown, I think he has a lot of untapped potential which we’ve seen in spurts the past 2+ seasons, but he has yet to put it all together. Obviously he’s a very intelligent guy as the youngest elected VP of the NBA Players Association, and entering his fourth year in the league its time for Brown to show why he was a No. 3 overall pick. As for the ice cold IG headline, I think we all know that Jaylen Brown fucking hates Kyrie’s guts. From his midseason interviews clapping back at Kyrie for throwing “the young guys” under the bus:

To his post-game comments after getting knocked out of the playoffs by Milwaukee:

And lets not forget Brad Stevens’ comments after that Milwaukee series too.

So hopefully this is addition by subtraction when Kyrie walks, but I gotta admit I do not feel great about this team if when Al Horford signs somewhere else too. That last sentence is something that sports radio has mocked for the past three years because yes Al Horford is not objectively worth $30 Million  a year, but he is was still an integral piece of this team’s success.

I already declared that the Celtics now belong to Jayson Tatum, but you’re riding shotgun Jaylen so lets see what you got.

The Celtics Now Belong to Jayson Tatum

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Danny Ainge refused to include Jayson Tatum in any Anthony Davis deal (as he should have). Kyrie Irving is as good as gone. Al Horford just opted out of his last year. Look around guys.

The Celtics now belong to Jayson Tatum.

If you had asked me two years ago (23 months ago but whos counting) I would have traded “every player on the Celtics roster” for Anthony Davis. But so much has changed since then. AD shot his way out of New Orleans, he demanded a trade to the Knicks or the Lakers, his agent Rich Paul tried to strong arm a deal to LA mid-season and then made it wildly clear that AD would not re-sign with Boston. Now I get it that it’s Danny Ainge’s job to call that bluff and pull the trigger on a trade because A. Davis may end up loving Boston like Kevin Garnett did and B. Davis suddenly would be sacrificing $50 Million dollars to leave Boston for LA. But, by landing in LA, Davis and Paul both get exactly what they wanted. Maybe it was a bluff, maybe it wasn’t. All I know is I’m not trading Tatum and the rest of the team for a guy who may or may not play in Boston for less than 12 months. I’m just not doing it. Tatum has shown way too much promise and you’d have to throw in heart and soul guys like Marcus Smart *just* to make the money work. Pass.

As for the Kyrie situation, I have been going back and forth on my thoughts because I hate reacting to news that hasn’t happened. I don’t want to bury a guy for a decision he hasn’t made yet. BUT, it sure seems like Kyrie is already out the door. There are reports that the Celtics are resigned to losing him in free agency. In fact Adam Himmelsbach wrote in the Globe that Kyrie has essentially “ghosted” the Celtics leading up to free agency, which would be the least surprising shit I’ve heard about him if true. Kyrie has shown that, despite all his grandiose speeches and delusions of grandeur as this elder statesman, he is just immature. A leader, or even a grown ass adult for that matter, handles last season very differently. I’m 30 and even I know that publicly criticizing younger, more impressionable co-workers is a piss poor way to inspire confidence and improve performance. Read a management book on one of your 6 hour flights for christ’s sake. Even Cleveland.com is criticizing Kyrie for making the same mistakes as the guy he so desperately wanted to get away from on the Cavs.

That doesn’t mean I think things are beyond repair though; I honestly believe Kyrie could come back, show a little embarrassment at the way everything has been handled the past 12 months, put up a good month of basketball and all would be forgiven. But, I just don’t think thats the way he’s wired.

And this is why the Boston Celtics do not kowtow to superstars. The C’s did everything they possibly could have to appease their young superstar in Kyrie Irving and he still is less than two weeks away from likely leaving them at the altar. You may need to do that in order to win an NBA title, but I’d rather live and die with guys like Marcus Smart and Isaiah Thomas than beg a superstar to please come play for our historic franchise. Why?

Woj also tweeted earlier today that Horford has reportedly opted out of his contract.

To be completely honest, I fully expected this from big Al. He is 33 years old with one year left on his deal in a suddenly barren free agent market. This is his last chance to get a long term deal. So he could opt in and cash the $30M check, or he could opt out and potentially negotiate a 3-year $60M deal to stay with the C’s and secure the bag for another $30M. Nobody is going to pay Horford $30M per on his next deal so it makes perfect sense for him to opt out. Orrr he could see the writing on the wall in Boston and try to take a lesser deal to jump ship to a more clear cut contender. Except, theres not so many clear cut contenders out there now with Golden State’s rash of injuries, Kawhi’s uncertainty in Toronto, LA’s revival with AD, Philly’s 3 starters heading towards free agency [plus Ben Simmons needing a max extension next summer], Milwaukee lurking, not to mention the apparent turmoil in Houston. So theres a whole lot of second tier teams that think they have a legit shot at a title next year.

I know Mattes wrote about this potential deal before, but with Al Horford opting out it makes a trade for Mike Conley seem unlikely at this point. Not that a soon to be 32-year-old point guard would necessarily become the face of the Celtics, but its another legit player seemingly off the board. In fact, just check out Mattes’ entire breakdown of what the Celtics can do this offseason with AD off the board.

So to Tatum, Brown and the other young guys: you all privately and publicly battled with Kyrie last year for mostly petty reasons. Kyrie is definitely to blame for that, but Tatum, Brown and co. aren’t without fault. Either way the team suffered as a result. Tatum, Brown and the young guys reached Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals without Kyrie (and Hayward) so I get it. Well now Kyrie is all but gone so here you go. It’s your team now Jayson. Jaylen can be your 1A, but this is your team.

Tatum has the best pedigree, the highest ceiling, has shown the most elite offensive flashes, and has the length to play D, can be a spot up shooter or get to the rim. I am excited to see what a 3rd year Jayson Tatum looks like with the ball in his hands a lot more. I think Tatum will be an All-NBA player before long….but he better be. Danny just bet the next decade of the Celtics’ fortunes on Tatum being that good. Because if he’s not, we have become the Atlanta Hawks.

Could Kendrick Perkins Return to the Celtics as a Coach?

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I first heard this rumor the other morning on 98.5 and I believe CelticsLife was the originator of this theory. With the disaster that was this past Celtics season they are obviously in need of some changes, both on and off the court. What was the one thing the Celtics lacked this year, aside from wins? Grit and Balls. This could all be #fakenews but hear me out for a second.

Would the Celtics consider bringing back Kendrick Perkins as an assistant coach?

Perkins has been extremely critical of the Celtics and their issues, yet all while sounding eerily like an assistant coach on the bench.

Perk has also been making the rounds on TV and radio more recently as he breaks down what he sees as the biggest problems on this Boston team. Hint hint: not a fan of Kyrie playing hero ball.

This sounds like a guy who wants to be on a bench somewhere imparting wisdom to younger players. I mean just look at this article from nearly two years ago about how Perk is “destined” to be a coach.

It makes a ton of sense. There was really no one to tell Kyrie Irving to stop acting like a dickhead because he was surrounded by Horford (quiet, lead by example type), Hayward ($30M bench player), a bunch of young guys, and mild mannered Brad Stevens. On one hand I think its a total crock of shit to say you *need* a coach who has played in the NBA to be successful, but on the other hand perception is reality. If players don’t respect the coach then it doesn’t matter how good of a coach he is. So while Brad may be the best X’s and O’s coach in the league, if Kyrie is tuning him out it doesn’t matter. Well, what if Kendrick Perkins is there to provide that street cred? A guy who played FOURTEEN seasons in the league and is a scary sonofabitch to boot. You think Kyrie, or Tatum, or anyone is going to ignore this guy??

Not to mention, there is suddenly an opening on Brad Stevens’ coaching staff.

Lending more credibility to the rumor is the fact that Perk recently pulled out of the BIG3 League, just a couple of weeks after rosters were officially announced, which I blogged about extensively.

Hmmm. The connection to the C’s is still there with Perk; enough that he actually reached out to Danny Ainge last season about returning as a player for the stretch run, before ultimately retiring. Here’s what I wrote back in November:

I LOVE Perk, but we all saw him last year with Cleveland in a suit. The guy would make a phenomenal coach or more likely a corrections officer, but we all understand his playing days are over…If Kendrick Perkins was born 20 years earlier he might be in the Hall of Fame today. I’m not joking. The guy was straight out of the 1980’s NBA. Bill Laimbeer would have been throwing hands with Perk twice a season. He was just an absolute force in the paint; a real old school bully. And that was exactly what the Celtics needed in 2007. A bodyguard for Rondo, a No. 2 to KG’s crazy, a guy willing to do the dirty work while the Big 3 handled all the scoring. He was the perfect fit for that team and both teammates and fans alike adored him.

So while there has been absolutely zero indication from the Celtics, Danny, Wyc, or even Perk himself about this move actually happening, it’s one that I would be completely on board with. The Celtics have lacked a scary strong veteran voice of leadership in the locker room for a long time and I think Perk could bring some Grit and Balls back to this team.