Bay State Sports Blog

     Amidst the craziness before the 2023 the Boston Celtics acquired two first round picks for Marcus Smart from the Memphis Grizzlies.  They squired a first for this year at 25th overall along with another 1st for the 2024 draft. Brad Stevens was all over the place in this draft, He started by trading out of the 1st round to acquire multiple 2nd round picks. The Celtics used the number 25 overall pick to trade down to 38 and eventually swap with the Kings to select Jordan Walsh at 39 overall. The surge of trades included the Grizzlies, Kings, Hornets, and Pistons. The move allowed the Celtics to get their guy Walsh at 39 and acquire 4 future 2nd round picks in the deal.     The theory behind trading down comes all back to the salary cap of the Boston Celtics. If the Celtics used the 25th pick to select a player in the 1st round, they would be forced to use cap space on the player they drafted. The Celtics Cap Space is running dry at the moment with t...

          If there's one thing we have learned from the 2023 Boston Red Sox through the month of June, its that they are a polarizing group of players. The Red Sox began the season by being one of the greatest offenses in the league. The second highest scoring team in the MLB. Behind only the juggernaut Tampa Bay Rays. Their biggest problem was their starting pitchers, most pitchers could not last You had guys like Kluber, Sale, Pivetta and Crawford, stinking up the joint, along with a couple possibilities in Whitlock and Houck. Bello finally made his debut against the Las Angeles Angles and got crushed on Patriots Day.      Over the course of May and June the starters really turned it around. Chris Sale was electric James Paxton got brought up and had been phenomenal, key guys got moved to the pen and thrived there mainly Pivetta.      The narrative of this team through th...

            The NHL Cap experience is one of the ages. Over this next year the total team cap space is going up from 82.5 million to 83.5 million. The Boston Bruins locked up their star goal scorer David Pasternak at 11.2 million over the next year. They have Brad Marchand locked up at 6 million. Charlie McAvoy at 9.5 million Hampus Lindholm at 6.5 million, Linus Ullmark at 5 million. The Boston Bruins are cap tied at this moment with roughly 65 millions on their books. to a total cap of 82.5 million. Taylor Hall was scheduled to make another 6.2 million which is a significant cap hit. Its sad to see the former super star from the Edmonton Oilers.      The Bruins traded Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno to the Chicago Blackhawks for Alec Regula and Ian Mitchell. The Bruins acquire two restricted defensemen that in larger roles can possibly flourish but overall it hurts to see Taylor Hall go. What this shows is the Bruins are valuing...

            I have been disinclined to write this blog. Don't get it twisted I want to tear Trent Brown and the offensive line apart so bad but that will have to wait until a future time. The whole Marcus Smart Kristaps Porzingis saga was timed right after this story giving me enough space to really delve into this issue. Jack Jones broke the law... despite his intentions at the end of the day he broke the law this is why it is so hard to write this blog, so buckle up were going in.      Now do I think that Jack Jones is so dumb that he would bring in loaded weapons into an airport. Hell no! I'm sorry that's just another level of stupidity of all the places. I can't fathom he could be that stupid. The CTE argument could be made and it could sink in well in the defense of Jack Jones.  Rosemary Scapicchio's (defense attorney representing Jack Jones) whole argument is that Jack Jones had never been aware of his possessio...

            Right at the June 21st midnight deadline, Kristaps Porzingis opted in to his $36 million one year opt in for an opt in and trade between the Washington Wizards and the Boston Celtics. The reality of this trade is that the Celtics upgraded. It is a cold blooded move by President of Basketball operation Brad Stevens. Trading the heart and soul of the Celtics the heart beat the leader. What the Celtics bring in is a unicorn of a talent. Kristaps Porzingis is a walking 22 point scorer, potentially one of the best offensive bigs in the game. He brings a post game to put right on the block he can shoot the midrange, he can shoot the 3 ball he's athletic, he can drive and dunk, Porzingis is an elite talent that the Celtics acquired in a place where they needed help. I had been calling out the front court depth and Stevens added a super star to the front court. Boston's new Big 3 will be fearsome to deal with. All 3 players bring length strength an...

            Number 36 of the Boston Celtics a lottery pick in the 2014 NBA draft class. Marcus Smart out of Oklahoma state university was picked 6th overall in the NBA Draft selected by the Boston Celtics. Marcus was a raw talent that was for sure but no one could deny the grit he brought to the Boston Celtics. And what he brought to the city! Marcus Smart was more than a player on the Boston Celtics he was  the face of the Boston Celtics.      When looking back to what the likes of Red Auerbach looked in a player and what it meant to play with Celtic pride Marcus Smart knew what it meant and he embodied it better than anybody in his tenure. Not only was Smart an approachable face and player for young fans new to the team or that had grown with him as a fan you could see him develop his game each and every year.     Smart started as a defensive player that really just brought more hustle than ...

            The Boston Celtics are coming up on the most paramount off season of the Tatum & Brown era. Brad Stevens has started with addressing the absence of a coaching staff that showed in the 2023 eastern conference playoffs. He started with the hiring of Sam Cassell, followed by the additions of Charles Lee and Phil Pressey. These are more veteran assistant coaches and players, adding NBA experience to a staff that needed help bridging the connection between the young minds and the athletes in the locker room.      This is a good start but in a sense of the word complacency is real and complacency is something that I am nervous about when it comes to Brad Stevens as the President of Basketball operations of the Boston Celtics. At the 2023 trade deadline there were obvious flaws showing themselves for the Boston Celtics, front court depth and the lack of a traditional point guard. When big rival teams wer...

            The pressure of being the next great pitching prospect to carry the franchise of the Boston Red Sox and the city is enormous. To be the ace that everyone relies on to consistently dominate. Bello is one of those special talents in the future of major league baseball. The 24 year old is tasked now with Chris Sale going down to be the young ace in the rotation. Bello is the next great pitching prospect that have developed through there farm going back to John Lester and Pedro Martinez. The ties back to Pedro are wonderous as well. Bello is heralded as the next great and he has to keep firm to carry this Red Sox defense.      In the 2022 season the rotation had been so depleted through injuries Bello was brought up a year to early and had not been ready to play against the big league hitters. Every at bat, every pitch is its own battle, falling behind in the count can get a hitter to get a pitch they like, and do serious damage....

            Patrice Bergeron is one of one, he potentially the greatest two way center of all time. He could play defense better than any center and play make score the puck with everybody else. Not to mention the face off advantage that he always brought winning almost every face off he took the team missed him lots this year in the playoffs. The great Patrice Bergeron has represented exclusively the Boston Bruins in his 20 year career, it looks like exclusively he will in his entire NHL career. After 20 years it would look definitely possible that he would retire. Not saying for sure that I know that it is a done deal that Bergeron retires, although this post is in the event that after 20 years and the greatest choke of all time there is a possibility that the great center Patrice Bergeron retires.      Looking at potential replacements at center that a win now Boston Bruins could acquire. Firstly you need to look at Pierre-L...

            Lets start by looking at the Patriots defense. Going into the 2023 draft Belichick doubled down on countering the modern game in the NFL by using his first 5 picks on defense players. Of course we talked about the big splash earlier in the first round Christian Gonzales, cornerback from Oregon State. Gonzales fits in perfectly with the style Bill is trying to build, shut down the modern game, which is exhibited clearly down in south beach. Pass, pass and pass some more. Gonzales is a tall athletic corner with the best fundamentals out of the rookie corner class. He brings not just IQ but as I said solid fundamentals and length which is huge. A lock down corner is massive in a high flying offensive league. Having Gonzales as your CB 1 taking on the most important assignments 1 on 1 in a man ran defense makes the jobs of Jonathan, Jack and Marcus Jones, much easier. Along with the elite safety's you have in the backfi...

            Brad Stevens has made his second move to rebuild the decrepit Boston Celtics coaching staff. To go along with Sam Cassel Stevens has brought in Charles Lee. Charles Lee was a summer league NBA player for the San Antonio Spurs.  Lee Spent most of his playing days in the euro circuit playing in Belgium and Germany. The coaching experience with Charles Lee is what can make players excited. Lee was an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks, Lee then went to Milwaukee and was an assistant to Coach Budenholzer. Following this Lee went to the Las Angeles Lakers and was an assistant to coach Darvin Ham. After this Lee went back to Milwaukee and ascended to lead head coach for the Bucks' Charles Lee was an assistant coach from 2012 when he started with Atlanta and is still going now in Boston 11 years later. This shows Stevens adding to his arsenal of veteran assistant coaches to bridge the gap between the offensive wiz kid Joe Mazzulla and...

          Times are tough in the city! The once great Boston Red Sox are a team struggling to maintain mediocrity at the moment. Early in the season through the month of May the Boston Red Sox looked like flawed but fun team that could be a fringe playoff team that could challenge for a wild card. They had a high flying offense! A team that had a deep pen that once the starters got into the right groove they would be a top contender in the AL East challenging the likes of Baltimore and Tampa.      Fast forward to June and the rails are just coming off the track. The plane is nose diving the ship is sinking... its not good. Chris Sale goes down to the 60 day IL with a stress reaction in his left shoulder blade. So your ace goes down, after carrying the team in his last 4 starts. Then Devers starts to go into a real slump I mentioned these in my last posts. Lately though the defense has just gotten worse. The team just lacks discipline and...

            As I publish my latest blog on the old black and gold, the former coach of our beloved Boston Bruins has stuck it to Jake Debrusk, he stuck it to David Krejci and of course Patrice Bergeron, need I mention Don Sweeney! Bergeron used his veteran presence to get Cassidy out of town. Mac Jones knows best if your not getting coached hard are you really learning and being coached at all. The Boston Bruins became a regular season machine that had like we saw in 2019 a peak fines style offense only this time they went all in at the deadline, pushing all they're chips into the middle. The Boston Bruins, brought in Orlov, Hathaway, and Bertuzzi, giving up mainly future assets and who really could blame them! The Bruins had a historic season, and yet after seeing Cassidy win let the pain reap more, a historic collapse;.      Its finally over however, while it may have been nice during the regular season, the pain of such a co...

          The New England Patriots next week are scheduled to have a free agency visit with the one and only Deandre Hopkins! It really is only in Boston where a market would try to twist and push a narrative of the notion of signing an elite pass catcher such as Hopkins would be a net negative. In the 2022 NFL season Hopkins had been nursing injuries to his Knee and hamstring, he would play 9 games and still be the number 1 option for a Kyler Murray implosion.; The Arizona Cardinals completely flamed out since the 2021 regular season where they looked like a legit threat in a then pretty stacked NFC West.      Hopkins through 9 games played reached 717 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns while being the number 1 option defenses would be focused on. I know these stats may not blow you out of the water. If you look at the chaos that was the Arizona Cardinals there is more to the story. In terms of a rotating door when it comes to quarterback...

                The wound is still fresh for the 2023 Boston Celtics its hard to write positively these days about my Boston Sports Teams. Eccept for holding on to some hope for the next Patriots season. At this point for the Boston Celtics and Brad Stevens moves have already started just a week after the great reckoning in game 7 of the Eastern conference finals.     Sam Cassell has been added to coach Joe Mazzulla's coaching staff. Sam Cassell played for the Boston Celtics once upon a time. Cassell won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008 one of three championships he won in his career. This hire should be a huge help in a locker room that really was losing all leadership and veteran presence. The players thrived under Ime Udoka and his staff which was comprised of former players. Something about it having veteran players on the coaching staff command more respect to the players on the team and can grow di...

           My last post on the Red Sox was pretty optimistic! Don't get it twisted I knew that it was skidding a bit but lately... The Boston Red Sox are completely falling apart. And watch after I post this blog they will win tonight with a rookie starting pitcher Matt Dermody and a benched Alex Verdugo. This shakeup could be just what the Red Sox need however. You try to bring some light to the blog and to the city by writing positively about the Boston Red Sox, after everything that went wrong with the Celtics Bruins and Patriots. Sure enough the Red Sox are falling right back into that mix as well currently.      The Boston Red Sox quoting T ony Massarotti on 98.5 the sports hub "Look like a minor league team" and it honestly this fits the bill in terms of a description of the team in this last stretch. The Red Sox currently are 7-14 in they're last 21 games. An absolute free fall. They have reached 43 errors and league the...

            The 2008 New England Patriots took the throne of the biggest choke in sports history from the 1986 Boston Red Sox. The throne was just stolen again... by another Boston team! The Boston Bruins have stolen the throne from the New England Patriots for the greatest choke in all of sports history. The 2023 Boston Bruins were the greatest team in regular season history. The Bruins had locked up the one seed in early march and had one objective which was to prepare, prepare and prepare some more for the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. While the Celtics had individual accolades they were chasing the Bruins had history they were chasing They knocked off the tied Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning at 62 wins. The Bruins crushed it at a whopping 65 total wins. Following this The Bruins took down the Montreal Canadians as well in total points scored at 132 in 1972. The 2023 Bruins hit 135 total points. The 23 Bruins had hit the most wins and most po...

             The New England Patriots 2023 regular season was am excruciating experience to to be apart of. Highlighting an incompetent offense and offensive coordinator that really was thrown into a spot he just wasn't ready for. Yes Matt Patricia did not belong in that seat. Honestly though that wasn't the whole problem, Joe Judge was another case, a coach in a role that just did not add up. If you saw what the New York Giants looked like during and after the tenor of Joe Judge as QB Coach it is a drastic difference. Mac Jones is the next head of the dramatic downfall who really had no line no weapons and no support from the coaching staff, fans, and his own teammates. This all leads to our last figure in this demonstrative down fall, the Greatest of all time, Bill Belichick. It really all comes back to Bill who drafted Mac Jones, hired Matt Patricia and hired Joe Judge. Belichick's finer prints are all over the 2023 season. This all lead to the...

      The story of the 2022-2023 Boston Celtics is a story of what happens when a team is driven by one factor, numbers and percentages. Any grit and poise the Boston Celtics had in they're revenge tour was all lost by a lack of control in the locker room. The Boston Celtics deformed from one of the toughest scrappiest teams in NBA history in the 2022 playoffs since the fabled since the 04 Pistons, to a soft discount 2018 Houston Rockets. A team led by Mike D 'antoni that had a whole philosophy based on offensive tempo 3 point shots and getting to the foul line. While the idea behind it, is that this is the modern game this stems from the Golden State Warriors that "revolutionized the game of basketball" What everyone fails to realize is that the Warriors are the outlier there will never be another Steph Curry that can kill you from anywhere on the court. The Warriors have a defensive identity and they build around there star player.     The Celtics on the ...

      The Boston Red Sox just concluded they're second full month of the Major League Baseball regular season. According to Sam Kennedy the president of the Boston Red Sox who was just on the Greg Hill morning radio show, 93.7 WEEI, he was quoted saying "Traditionally you want to see what your team looks like through memorial day" (6/1/2023) looking at what we have seen so far, the Boston Red Sox look exactly like a .500 team. Not to say they can't improve however. The Boston Red Sox have been known for they're offense throughout the beginning of the regular season. Throughout the month of April the Boston Red Sox were the second highest scoring team in Baseball behind the Tampa Bay Rays. The Red Sox could tangle with anybody despite issues with they're starting rotation, based on the high flying bats! Currently the Red Sox are 4th in all of baseball in runs scored behind 1. Texas, 2. Tampa and 3. LAD.       While the bats have smoothed out a...