News – Page 99

C’s earn playoff 2-seed

The NBA regular season is a wrap and the playoffs come your way starting Sunday for the Celtics, likely vs. Brooklyn, pending the result of Tuesday’s play-in game with Cleveland that happened after this column was filed.

Thanks to having Kevin Durant, most feel it will be the Nets. Which has a lot of people making a big deal about having to play them so early. But if they are as formidable as most think (besides me), sooner or later you usually see them, so who cares if it’s in Round 1, 2 or 3? Though admittedly it would’ve been preferable to have Rob Williams on board when/if he’s able to come back from knee surgery.

The sooner or later theory eluded Bucks Coach Mike Budenholzer, however; he took the chicken’s way out by tanking on Sunday to set up a more favorable match-up with the fading Bulls, a move that could turn out to be a strategic blunder if they face the C’s in Round 2, as it gift-wrapped the second seed and home court advantage that came with it to his opponent. On the plus side, however, the chicken’s way out does eliminate the prospect of having to face both Boston and New Jersey, er, Brooklyn, because one will knock off the other. Of course it’s also bulletin board material, because it says chicken man Budenholzer thinks the Nets are gonna win, so they’ll get home court anyway.

So now Celtics Nation has another person to hate sports in the 2022 playoffs, which will (likely) be focused on dastardly Kyrie Irving in Round 1 and chicken man in Round 2 if they get that far. Though Cleveland upsetting NJ, er, Brooklyn would unravel that plan faster than the Brian Flores lawsuit vs. the NFL deep-sixed Tom Brady’s alleged plot to stab folks in Tampa Bay in the back via a QB coup to install himself as the guy under center in Miami.

So boo to Kyrie. Boo to the new NBA chicken man. And if true, boo especially to the increasingly duplicitous Brady. But I digress on that one.

With all that laid out, here are some more Celtics and non-Celtics playoff thoughts.

Bravo for Ime Udoka for going for the win on Sunday vs. Memphis to get home court in Round 2 over an easier Round 1 match-up. Then again he didn’t have much of a choice, ’cause if they tanked and Philly won (which they did) they would have fallen to the 4-seed. That would have meant a series vs. Toronto, where the allegedly unvaxxed Jaylen Brown would have missed all the games in Canada.

I’m taking Toronto over Philly, by the way, for two reasons. The Sixers’ valuable sixth man Matisse Thybulle is unvaxxed, so he can’t play north of the border. Plus while he whines more during games than anyone beside Bills coach Sean McDermott, Nick Nurse is a much better game coach than Doc Rivers, who has eight first-round knock-outs in 22 years.

I’ve also got Memphis coming out of the West, because I like their team D, which leads the NBA in steals and blocked shots, relentless offensive rebounding, and given his own unimpressive playoff history, I see Ja Morant winning head to head over Chris Paul.

Aside from the fact his head isn’t square, am I the only one who thinks Nikola Jokic is a dead ringer for Rocky Balboa’s nemesis Ivan Drago?

Joke of the Week: A priest walks into a bar — no, that’s not it. It was the talk show guy somewhere who asked after Kyrie’s recent 60-point game if he and KD were the greatest 1-2 punch in NBA history.

Cut to the laugh track.

Guess he missed KI not even being named to ESPN’s recent Top 75 Players List. On that list alone were Jordan and Pippen, Shaq and Kobe, Stockton and Malone, Bird and McHale, West and Baylor, Magic and Kareem, Kareem and Oscar, Oscar and Jerry Lucas, Cousy and Russell, Havlicek and Cowens, LeBron and Dwayne Wade or AD, Wilt and his next-door neighbor, let alone Hal Greer or Billy Cunningham. Heck, he’s not even in KD’s best two 1-2 punches with Steph Curry or Russell Westbrook.

So yank that guy’s press pass because he’s a historical doofus and basketball nitwit.

In 2009 we heard KG would be back for the playoffs. Ditto in 2011 with Shaq and it was the same for Bill Walton in 1987. None made it back. So they have to carry on as if Lob it to Rob is not coming back until they see him in a game.

Also, no hero ball. This guy’s legs are his game, so they should err on the side of caution no matter what.

Here’s my pick for Round 1 depending on who the Celtics play.

Cleveland vs. Boston: Tougher than you think. I love Darius Garland and rookie Evan Mobley. But if their center Jared Allen’s broken finger isn’t OK to go, his loss is more damaging to them than Lob it to Rob is to Boston. C’s in five.

Brooklyn vs. Boston: KD is one of the few guys who can win a series on his own. So beware of him. Kyrie will do what he always does — have two games where most will say, “Wow, that guy is good.” Three more will be routine low in the 20’s games where he’ll get killed on D, and he’ll totally choke in two more. So the series comes down to this: Tatum has to play Durant even and Jaylen has to be better than Kyrie. I’ll bet on JB and the Celtics far superior team defense. C’s in six.

Likable Celtics cheerleader Brian Scalabrine has said several times of late, Tatum is a Top 10 player. But sorry, he can’t be considered that until he dominates in the playoffs.

So the chance to make that statement is at hand.

Enjoy.

Completing the story

NH author edits posthumous memoir of addiction

Seacoast-based author, editor and writing coach Jeff Deck discussed his latest project, We Got This, Kids: A real-time and raw glimpse of alcoholism, depression, and loss during a search for more sunrises.

What is your literary background?

I collaborate with writers to help them get their books done. Though my new service is focused on fantasy novels, I’ve worked with authors of both fiction and nonfiction. My own works include several novels, a nonfiction book called The Great Typo Hunt that I co-wrote with Benjamin D. Herson and holiday romances under a pen name.

What is We Got This, Kids about?

We Got This, Kids is the story of one ordinary person, Andy Marsjanik, and his lifelong struggle with addiction, recovery and depression. It’s based on the half-finished memoir that Andy left behind when he died by suicide and filled in with the voices of those closest to him, his family and friends. Andy wanted to live —he makes that very clear in his writing — but he lived and worked alone and undertook his struggles alone, and, during a temporary low point, he made a decision he couldn’t take back.

How did you first hear of Andy’s story?

A friend connected me with Andy’s sister, Amy Marsjanik Law, just a couple of months after Andy died. Amy was living in Newmarket at the time, and we were able to meet in person; this was shortly before the pandemic. She was intensely grieving, but had a powerful determination to carry on her brother’s story, as well as his mission to help people going through similar struggles.

What compelled you to take on this project?

Normally, fiction projects call to me the strongest, both in terms of collaboration with clients and for my own work, but when I started reading the document that Andy had left behind, I could immediately see two things that drew me in: first, his sharp, acidly humorous voice reminded me of George Carlin or Dennis Miller in his prime and absolutely needed to be shared with the world, and, second, this was someone describing his mental health and addiction battles in real time, which I thought could be of immense help to others.

What was the process like?

Collaborating with Amy to honor Andy’s words was the heart of the process for this book. Amy saw her brother’s original vision and knew how to bring it to fruition, as well as whose other voices would be necessary to bring into the story. I did my best to preserve what Andy had written, tweaking only for clarity and organization, moving fragments around to best convey the picture that Andy had originally intended. To minimize my intrusion into this family and their story, I saw my primary role as an editor rather than a co-author or ghostwriter. That also literally became my ‘character’ in the book — ‘The Editor,’ who steps into the footnotes to explain and elucidate the many obscure references that Andy included. The Editor also comments on any significant additions, deletions or rearrangements of the text in the footnotes to make the process we went through as transparent as possible. I interviewed Amy and other family members and friends not just to fill in the pieces that Andy never got to write, but to show the resonance of his life on the people around him. Everyone speaks in the first person, as close to their original words when I talked with them as possible, and mirroring Andy’s intimate narrative.

How does Andy’s writing connect with you personally?

I could feel his heart directly communicating with mine through his words. He’s blunt and funny and painfully self-aware. That’s the power of his writing and why it’s an incredible loss that we won’t get to see any more books from him. Andy is speaking in minute detail about his own experience as one individual working as a real-estate appraiser in upstate New York, but his struggles are universal. I’ve felt the darkness of depression, too, though, thankfully, to a much lesser degree, and my own life has been affected by a close relative in the grip of alcoholism.

In what way do you believe this book could help people?

It’s hard to find someone who hasn’t had to deal with mental health issues or addiction, either themselves or in the case of a loved one. Unfortunately, these struggles are nearly universal now, but most of the memoirs about these issues that are published today are from a celebrity’s point of view. I think people need the opportunity to see themselves reflected in a story of addiction, recovery and profound mental trials. Andy wasn’t famous or wealthy; he was an extraordinary person, but he was living an ordinary life much like so many other Americans, so when an average person picks up We Got This, Kids and recognizes themselves in Andy, my hope and Amy’s hope is that they immediately seek out the help they need. Remember that Andy’s action during that terrible night came from temporary desperation, but its consequences were irreversible. We Got This, Kids urges its readers to hold on for the next sunrise, and the one after that too.

— Angie Sykeny

We Got This, Kids is currently available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle.

Featured photo: We Got This, Kids. Courtesy photo.

News & Notes 22/04/14

Covid-19 update	As of April 4	As of April 11
Total cases statewide	303,010	304,365
Total current infections statewide	1,033	1,544
Total deaths statewide	2,452	2,459
New cases	829 (March 29 to April 4)	1,355 (April 5 to April 11)
Current infections: Hillsborough County	281 (as of Thurs., March 31)	421
Current infections: Merrimack County	87 (as of Thurs., March 31)	112
Current infections: Rockingham County	218 (as of Thurs., March 31)	284

Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.

Covid-19 news

State health officials reported 108 new cases of Covid-19 on April 11. The state averaged 200 new cases per day over the most recent seven-day period, a 49 percent increase compared to the week before. As of April 11 there were 10 people being treated for Covid in hospitals statewide.

New commission

Gov. Chris Sununu has signed an Executive Order establishing the Governor’s Commission on Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking. According to a press release, the commission was a recommendation from the Task Force on Domestic Violence Cases in the New Hampshire Judicial Branch. It had previously stopped meeting in 2013. “We must keep victims safe and hold offenders accountable,” Sununu said in the release. “Combatting and preventing domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking remains a priority for my administration and I am looking forward to working with this group so that we can develop, support and implement initiatives that address the needs of victims and survivors.” The Commission consists of members of the state’s justice department, health and human services, law enforcement and other departments and organizations.

New laws

Gov. Chris Sununu signed seven bills into law on April 11. Among them are HB 1441, establishing a commission to organize the observance of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence; HB 589, requiring workers’ compensation to cover prophylactic treatment for critical exposure; and HB 102, establishing a commission to “study worldwide combined reporting method for unitary businesses under the business profits tax, and relative to the treatment of water or sewerage disposal utilities under the business profits tax.”

Youth literacy

The New Hampshire Department of Education has launched the Leaning Into Literacy initiative to help children advance their reading skills. According to a press release, the Granite State ranks high among students in the country for reading proficiency on the Nation’s Report Card, but there are still about 51 percent of fourth-grade students in the state who are not reading proficiently. “Encouraging children to have a healthy passion for reading will help them excel in school, support other areas of their learning and set them up for future success,” Frank Edelblut, commissioner of education, said in the release. “Strong literacy skills are vital for children, and are skills that are applicable throughout their entire lifetimes.” NHDOE’s Division of Learner Support is looking for proposals for capacity building literacy training for adults engaged in raising, working with or teaching New Hampshire children to be successful readers, including parents, guardians, certified educators, literacy coaches, curriculum coordinators, school administrators and reading and writing specialists. The trainings would aim to increase capacity for providing and overseeing reading instruction and structured literacy based on the science of how children learn to read. “A primary goal of the Leaning Into Literacy initiative is to train 4,500 individuals in the first year and 4,500 more individuals in the second year to help expand literacy training and boost the level of literacy support throughout the Granite State,” Edelblut said.

Child advocate

Cassandra Sanchez is the state’s new child advocate, replacing Moira O’Neill, who served as the state’s first ever child advocate since the Office of the Child Advocate began operating in January 2018. According to a press release, Sanchez comes from the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families as a supervisor in the Kinship unit. “The strategic planning process we undertook this past year with focus groups and stakeholder interviews taught us one important lesson,” O’Neill said in the release. “The Office belongs to the community. Their views and hopes for what the Office will achieve are aligned with statutory intent. They have identified strengths, articulated areas for improvement and agreed upon priorities. Cassandra Sanchez will be greeted with an exceptional staff and a committed, guiding and expectant constituency.”

Good Friday

The Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire’s Digital Mission will offer a walking Stations of the Cross in Manchester on Good Friday, April 15. According to a press release, the Stations of the Cross was created for pilgrims to Jerusalem to relive the suffering of Jesus Christ from his condemnation to his crucifixion and burial. The Manchester adaptation was created by Rev. Deacon Chris Potter, who is also a Manchester school board member. He will lead a procession to 14 stations representing suffering in the Manchester community and hope for its future, the release said. The event will begin at Grace Episcopal Church (106 Lowell St., Manchester) at 3 p.m., with the first stop at International Institute of New England (“Jesus is condemned”) and the last stop at Hartnett Lot (“Jesus is laid in the tomb”). Other stops include Central High School, Veterans Park and City Hall.

The owners of Woods Without Gile in Wilmot have been named New Hampshire’s 2022 Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year. According to a press release, Ann and Marc Davis’s working forest implements the four pillars of the Tree Farm program: wood, water, wildlife and recreation. It is open to the public for cross-country skiing, fishing, hiking, hunting, horseback riding, snowshoeing and more, the release said.

New England activists held a Healing Ceremony at the Merrimack Station in Bow, the last coal plant in the region. According to a press release, nine activists decorated the fence with flowers and posters and performed the “Elm Dance,” a Latvian ceremony originally created for the healing of Chernobyl. The activists are a part of the No Coal No Gas campaign to close the Merrimack Station, the release said.

The University of New Hampshire at Manchester has a new scholarship for students enrolled in its psychology and neuropsychology programs, with awards up to $5,000 annually for full-time students. According to a press release, the university has partnered with Network4Health to provide the scholarship, an effort to address the workforce shortage in behavioral health fields that has “become increasingly dire.” The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that between 2020 and 2030 the number of behavioral health jobs will increase by 23 percent, the release said.

This Week 22/04/07

Big Events April 7, 2022 and beyond

Thursday, April 7

Bob Marley, recently voted Best of the Best in the Best Local (-ish) Comedian category of Hippo’s Best of 2022 readers’ poll, will kick off a run of performances at the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) starting today with a show at 7:30 p.m. Marley will also perform Friday, April 8, at 8:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 9, at 6 and 8 p.m. Tickets cost $39.50.

Find out who and what else were awarded the “best” label by readers in last week’s issue (March 31). See hippopress.com to find the e-edition.

Thursday, April 7

The Capitol Center for the Arts (44 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com) has several local favorites on the calendar for this weekend. Tonight, catch Béla Fleck with his album My Bluegrass Heart at 7:30 p.m.; tickets cost $39 to $69, plus fees.

Tomorrow, Friday, April 8, catch Colin Hay (known for his work as lead vocalist of Men at Work and as a solo artist) at 8 p.m. (Tickets cost $43 through $63, plus fees.)

On the Bank of NH Stage (16 S. Main St. in Concord), see Dueling Pianos on Friday, April 8, at 8 p.m. (tickets cost $24 plus fees) and Adam Ezra Group on Saturday, April 9, at 8 p.m. (tickets cost $28 and $38, plus fees).

Find more concerts this weekend in our concert listings on page 42.

Friday, April 8

Catch Love, Sex and the IRS, a farce described as “like a cross between I Love Lucy and Some Like it Hot,” this weekend presented by the Majestic Studio Theatre (880 Page St. in Manchester; majestictheatre.net). The show runs tonight and Saturday, April 9, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 10, at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and students. Find more theatrical productions this week and into the future in the Arts section, which starts on page 10.

Friday, April 8

It’s another Tupelo Night of Comedy tonight at 8 p.m. at the Tupelo Music Hall (10 A St. in Derry; tupelomusichall.com). Tickets cost $22 and the lineup includes Brad Mastrangelo, Francis Birch and Matt McArthur. Find more funny in our Comedy This Week listings on page 36.

Saturday, April 9

Millyard Brewery (125 E. Otterson St. in Nashua; millyardbrewery.com, 722-0104) will celebrate its 6th anniversary today from noon to 7 p.m. with 12 beers on tap, music, a food truck and games, according to a press release. Catch Dan Carter performing from 1 to 6 p.m. and Charlie Chronopoulos from 4 to 6 p.m.

Saturday, April 9

Today is the monthly free admission Saturday at the Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org) for all New Hampshire residents from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum will also host a Creative Studio event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., when participants of this family-friendly event can take inspiration from the new exhibition “Warhol Screen Test” to paint some pop art style works, according to the website.

The museum kicks off Membership Appreciation Week on Sunday, April 10, when members can receive special perks and discounts and get a preview tour of the Arghavan Khosravi exhibit that will open Thursday, April 14.

Wednesday, April 13

Discuss and watch the silent films of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Mack Sennett at a presentation by the Walker Lecture Series tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Concord City Auditorium (2 Prince St. in Concord; theaudi.org). The event is free.

Save the Date! Saturday, May 7
The Monster Jam comes to the SNHU Arena (555 Elm St. in Manchester; snhuarena.com, 644-5000) for shows on Saturday, May 7, at 1 and 7 p.m. and Sunday, May 8, at 1 p.m. Tickets cost $18 through $68.

Featured photo. Comedian Bob Marley. Courtesy photo.

Quality of Life 22/04/07

The falcons are nesting

It’s nesting season for Manchester’s peregrine falcons, and you can watch it on the NH Audubon’s live falcon cam. According to a press release from the Audubon, the pair is currently incubating five eggs in its nest, which is at 750 Elm St. You can find a link at nhaudubon.org, or search for “peregrine networks” on YouTube. The eggs typically hatch in late April or early May and the birds fledge from the nest in late May or early June, according to information posted on the falcons’ YouTube page. The young falcons will spend four to six weeks learning from their parents how to hunt, and then they will start to migrate out of the area.

Score: +1

Comment: The date of this year’s first egg was March 21, earlier than any of the previous seven years that were recorded, according to the YouTube page; in 2016, 2020 and 2021, the first eggs were March 24, which is the second earliest date.

No more early release days in Nashua

Last week, the Nashua Board of Education voted to eliminate early release days for the 2022-2023 school year. According to a press release, early release days had allowed teaching staff to attend workshops and school meetings in the afternoon, as students left two hours early, and the district usually scheduled five or six early release days during the school year. Instead, according to the release, administrators will now plan for full-day workshops and school meetings for teachers on Sept. 13, primary day; Nov. 8, election day; and Feb. 20, Presidents Day, when students are not in school. The proposed calendar increases the total amount of instructional time by 14 hours and allows for “more full and complete weeks of schooling,” the release said. It also helps to better align calendars between CTE centers and districts, to reduce the number of conflicts.

Score: 0

Comment: The kids probably won’t care for the additional hours in school, but parents who won’t have to figure out middle-of-the-day school pickups and child care certainly will.

Watch for skimmers

Manchester has had several instances recently where credit card skimmers have been found on credit card terminals at local businesses. According to a press release, skimmers were found on March 23 at Walmart on Gold Street; on March 28 at the 7-Eleven on Beech Street; and on March 30 at the 7-Eleven on Maple Street. Skimmers can steal credit card numbers and can be hard to see, as they look very similar to legitimate card scanners, and they can be snapped onto a card reader within seconds.

Score: -1

Comment: Businesses are being asked to check their credit card terminals daily for skimmers, and customers should check their bank accounts for suspicious activity, the release said.

Lapse in 911 text service

For three days, some people in New Hampshire trying to text 911 through the Verizon Wireless network were not able to. On April 1, the New Hampshire Department of Safety’s Division of Emergency Services and Communications sent out a media alert to let residents and visitors know that some Verizon Wireless customers were experiencing a failure when attempting to send a text to 911, instead getting an automated message saying, “Please make a voice call to 911. There is no text service to 911 available at this time.” No other carriers had issues, the alert said. Verizon’s network engineers were able to resolve the problem by April 4, according to an update from Emergency Services and Communications.

Score: -1

Comment: QOL hopes that anyone who couldn’t get through to 911 via text was able to call and get help quickly.

QOL score: 70

Net change: -1

QOL this week: 69

What’s affecting your Quality of Life here in New Hampshire? Let us know at news@hippopress.com.

Celtics rolling toward playoffs

There is an old saying that goes, that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I’m not sure who said it first or why, but I do know the most recent team in sports it applies to is your Boston Celtics, a team that justifiably had everyone from Jamestown, R.I., to Presque Isle on their back through the first 10 weeks of the NBA season. All thanks to blowing one big lead after another in one lax effort after the next.

However, that was then and this is now. They’ve gone from 18-21 after blowing a 25-point lead in an excruciating loss to the Knicks on Jan. 6 to 49-30 following Sunday’s 42-point beatdown of Washington.

The 32-9 surge sends them into next week’s playoffs as the hottest team in the East and maybe the top seed in the conference.

The question is how did that happen, especially since it seemingly came from nowhere.

Before I get to that, first the mea culpa. Boy did I get it wrong saying in a blowtorch column right after the loss at MSG that they would be battling for the 10th playoff spot as this week arrived.

Though while I was wrong about that, I was right about what they needed most to solve their problems — a real point guard and better, more determined leadership from Jayson Tatum. Qualities that I’d given up he’d ever develop. Never saw anyone on the roster ever being a real point guard either. Finally I said Ime Udoka looked over his head.

So back to how it happened.

In order:

Point guard: Rarely does the light bulb go on for someone in their eighth season, but it has for Marcus Smart since mid-January. Now the first move is going below the three-point line to draw defenders to him, giving Tatum and Jaylen Brown better openings to shoot or drive. It also gives him 10-foot pull-up opportunities or lanes for shots at the rim or lobs to Rob. It’s been the key to the improvement.

Tatum’s maturity: Through the surge he’s been mostly sensational. Though after seeing him sulk his way through the second half of last week’s Miami loss after letting horrid officiating get his head, it’s not all there just yet. But he now looks so much more determined and physical in regularly taking it to the basket. The last piece needed is to better fight through the adversity like vs. Miami, because that’s what he’s going to see in the playoffs.

Shot selection: Mostly gone now are Tatum, Brown and especially Smart infuriatingly chucking up the first three that shows. Ditto for Tatum’s loved by him and absolutely despised by me Kobe-like isolation step back shot that takes everyone besides him out of the offense

Passing on all the ill-advised threes and destructive isolations has led to a greater overall patience to search out better shots through the shot clock. That’s improved field goal percentages on both twos and threes. But more importantly it’s led Tatum and Brown to attack the rim as the first option for the higher percentage attempts and more free throws that come at the rim. Both are now a threat to score 30 every night and this is why they’re so much harder to guard. Not to mention more fun to watch.

Passing: There are two kinds of passing. The first is programmed ball movement where guys automatically have places to send it to get ahead of defensive rotations and into open areas like weak side corner for a three. The quicker and more decisively it’s done the better because it’s where most open half-court shots come from. Everyone seems to be better at that now. But chief among them is Rob Williams in particular who’s become very adept at this. It’s the least talked about part of his improvement, and has a positive impact on the half-court offense.

The other kind is passing off the dribble during penetration, for drop-offs when double teamed, in transition, to cutters coming from the weak side or off picks and on lobs to Rob, which has become a major element in the half court offense and on the break. While there have always been flashes of this and Al Horford has always been solid here, Tatum and Smart have had a Cousy-esque transformation in their ability to get people wide open shots or lay-ups while on the move.

The Coach: One of the biggest mistakes I’ve made during my time writing this column was saying Udoka looks over his head as an NBA coach. Dead wrong. Turns out it was just part of the learning curve.

It’s obvious this team listens to him. Both the improved shot selection and especially the transformation of Smart’s offensive approach are coaching things. Ditto for their league-best team defense, which has been solid since Day 1. Something that makes them built more sturdily for the slower, more physical play in the playoffs.

Bottom line, he’s the biggest reason for the turnaround.

And while all this was going on, we also got the answer to the biggest question looming over the future of the franchise.

Can Tatum and Brown play together? This question was endlessly asked through the first 10 weeks. And I said in January it needed an answer. Though I added we’ll never really know until they play with a real point guard who gives them the ball where each can do something with it. With Smart now doing that, the answer is yes. Which is good, because at 24 and 25 they could be on their way to becoming the best 1-2 scoring punch in Celtics history. And yes I have heard the names Jones, Havlicek, Bird, McHale, Pierce, Walker and the rest.

Along with drastically improved play from the bench, that takes care of what happened. Next week we’ll preview the playoffs and talk about what Brad Stevens has done to change their immediate fortunes.

Category: News