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Al Horford’s decision to come to Boston not only marks the first big name free agent to join the Celtics via free agency in what feels like ages, but it also makes this Celtics team a whole-lot better. Landing such a big-name is huge for the team’s future, because Boston has simply not been a destination for marquee players in this league. The City itself simply doesn’t have the same appeal to these 27 year old millionaires as say a Miami or LA does, but once they get here and take the floor, then they then realize how special this city is. Take Kevin Garnett for example, he said no over and over to being traded here and it took the Celtics to resign PP and  acquire Ray Allen to finally get him to come, and he ended up loving this city more than any athlete perhaps ever has. Ideally, Horford can be one of those guys to attest to that.  Now to the actual basketball aspect of this move,  Horford was quite possibly the best big men on the market, and certainly one of the only true franchise players available. Much of what we have seen thus far in free agency has been solid or even just average players signing for absurd money, but Horford is one of the few guys who truly is worth the monstrous contract he received. Luckily, the Celtics needed to reach the cap number, so being able to spend it on a player who is actually worth it is a very big deal. Horford is a 4 time allstar who is very much still in his prime and adds the veteran/big man presence the Celtics have been lacking.

This move is also great because Horford’s skill set fits flawlessly into the way Brad Stevens runs his team. Stevens uses a lot of pick & roll plays at the top of the key which is something Horford excels at. Boston already has a guy who runs the other end of this play very well in Isaiah Thomas, so given the size of Horford and the speed of Thomas, this could serve as the bread and butter for the C’s all year long.

Horford has also developed into a very productive shooter the past few years as well. As a 7 footer, having the ability to knock down a three makes you very difficult to defend. Likewise, his ability to run the pick-and-pop is what really makes him the star that he is. This versatility will leave him and the Boston offense as a whole extremely unpredictable. In pick-and-roll situations there really is no correct way to guard him. If you follow him tightly he can use his size and strength to take you to the rim however if you leave him with space, he’ll have no problem knocking down an 18 footer.

Having to respect both areas of his game will clear up a ton of space for the rest of the C’s on the court, which bodes well for guys who can effectively get to the rim. Isaiah Thomas makes his living doing this, so giving him  extra space to use his quickness will be a huge plus for him, but also rookie Jaylen Brown. Brown who was selected 3rd overall out of Cal showed in his summer league debut he too is not afraid to put his head down and attack the basket. He earned himself 17 free throw attempts in that game and he too could benefit very well from this move.

Horford ability to demand attention, stretch the floor, low post presence and rim protecting abilities should make him worth every cent he was given.

This is it. 82 games in the books. Playoff basketball is back in Boston, for real this time. While it was fun playing those four games vs LeBron last year, this time its legit. In the summer, this team was labeled as a ‘promising’ team for the future, but 48 wins later we see this teams ‘promising’ future has arrived much sooner than expected.

Needless to say, Atlanta is not an ideal first round matchup. The C’s will have their hands-full from start to finish, but lets take a look at who needs to step up and how they’re to do it.

Atlanta is a team that is not afraid to get into a shootout, as we saw the last time these two met just about a week ago. Boston’s perimeter defense will need to do their part on Atlanta’s shooters, specifically Kyle Korver. In the previous meeting Jae Crowder did a solid job on Korver, but Atlanta can be very creative in how they get Korver his shots, so much of what Boston needs to do defensively relies on their ability to communicate. It’s important to not let Korver get comfortable, and obviously limit as many open shots as possible.

Another player who could make a huge impact for ATL is Kent Bazemore. Bazemore seems to always play his best ball vs the Celtics including 21 points in their last meeting. Most of his shots come from around 20 ft out, so it will be up to Evan Turner to lock him down.

Atlanta, much like Boston, plays exceptional team basketball, thanks in large part to the production of Paul Millsap. Millsap should be the biggest concern for Boston, as he is among the most versatile players in the game today, and perhaps the most under appreciated as well. Nothing too flashy or too special about his game, but everything he does he does right. It will be up to the Boston bigs to try and limit him. Millsap can be a dominant player in the pant and on the glass as well as a very efficient shooter. I look at Boston’s Jared Sullinger as a poor man’s Paul Millsap, so it will be up to him to try and shut him down.

As it was all year, the Celtics success is not determined by any one player, but if it were it would be on the shoulders of Isaiah Thomas, who has been nothing short of spectacular all year. IT averages close to 23ppg and 7apg and has proven he can play with the best of ’em, as we saw in his duel with Steph Curry on the first of April. Standing at just 5’8, Isaiah lives by the saying “Heart over Height” which has really applied to this entire team. While Thomas was an All Star, the C’s really don’t have one of those marquee super stars, that hasn’t stopped them all year, and it wont stop them now.

If the Celtics hope to make any kind of deep run this spring, I believe it will be in large part due to Marcus Smart. It’s very possible for Smart to score no more than 4 or 5 points and still be the best player on the floor. Any one who has watched the Celtics this year know how special he can be, although his stats can be very underwhelming. He has certainly has the ability to score 20+, but thats not what he does. Diving for a lose ball, pass to assists, lock down defense, all things that don’t appear on the stat sheet but nonetheless, playoff basketball is something Marcus Smart should thrive in. Most players “turn it on” come playoff time, but Smart has had it on since opening night. One thing I can guarantee about Smart, he will never be out-hustled. Never.

They got here playing as a team, if they wanna go anywhere, they need to continue to play as a team.

My pick: Celtics in 7.

C’s up.

The New England Patriots 2015-16 campaign came to a screeching halt Sunday afternoon in Denver, closing the book on repeating as champions. This marks the 5th consecutive AFC Title Game appearance for Brady & crew, with only two resulting in Superbowl berths. There is much to take away from this past season, a lot of good, and a few things that need to be addressed in the offseason.

This past season was special for New England fans. Unlike any other team, the New England Patriots season began all the way back on May 6th, the day we were introduced to a little thing called “The Wells Report.” At that very point, the title defense began for New England. It created a great deal of animosity towards Patriot Nation as a whole, leaving the team and it’s fans galvanized, counting the seconds, anxiously awaiting week 1. All Summer the team was under fire, specifically Quarterback Tom Brady. Brady was slapped with a 4 game suspension, and the team stripped of a first round pick and 1 million dollars.   However with what felt like years of court room battles, Brady’s suspension was lifted by Judge Richard Berman, and with one week until the season began, Patriot nation was ready to rock. Never has a fan base been more fired up to see their quarterback and their team take the field than the foxboro faithful were week one against Pittsburgh. After a lengthy, rigorous Summer, we were all ready to see Brady stick it to the NFL, and for the most part, he didn’t disappoint.

The 2015 season gave us a whole new outlook on several players. Some were pleasant surprises, others left us shaking our heads.

Most Improved/Breakthrough Players: 

CB Logan Ryan – The third year corner out of Rutgers had previously been looked at as a liability in the New England secondary, especially following a less than stellar performance in Super Bowl 49. Ryan’s role was relatively minimal in the early parts of the year, but when #2 CB Terrell Brown was lost for the year, Ryan had to step up and played significantly better than anyone could have imagined. Ryan had 4 interceptions and limited some of the better receivers in the league, including Demaryius Thomas and DeAndre Hopkins.

RB Dion Lewis – While we only saw lewis for 7 games this season, there is no understating his role in the offense early in the season. Many questioned who would fill the role of Shane Vereen, the pass catcher out of the backfield for Tom Brady, and Lewis went above an beyond what anyone could have imagined. In those first 7 games Lewis totaled 572 yards and found the endzone 4 times. It was a shame his season was cut short, but the Patriots have themselves quite a player for the next couple seasons.

CB Malcolm Butler– Perhaps the biggest breakthrough player in all of football this season was  Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler, even despite having to fill big shoes. When Pro Bowl corner Darrelle Revis left New England to return to the Jets, many of those in Patriot Nation began to panic. While he will be remembered forever after his heroic game sealing interception in the Super Bowl last season, Butler did not hesitate to show what he’s truly made of. Not only did Butler match-up with some of the leagues best receivers such as Antonio Brown, Sammy Watkins, Odell Beckham Jr to name a few,  but he came pretty close to locking them down entirely. His most impressive performance came in a week 10 showdown against the New York Giants. Malcolm got beat on the first drive of the day, but after that, completely eliminated Odell Beckham Jr from the game, including a last second slap to break up what would have been a potential game sealing touchdown in the final seconds. It really was an incredible year for Butler, especially given that he was named to the Probowl, something no one could have predicted. So, instead of spending an unreasonable amount of money on Darrelle Revis, who showed signs of aging this year, the Patriots took a chance on Butler, and it certainly paid off.

Additional Breakthrough players: DT Malcom Brown, DE Jabaal Sheard SS Patrick Chung. 

Most Disappointing player: 

WR Brandon LaFell – Last season Brandon LaFell was a key piece in bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to Foxboro. He’s a tall, athletic receiver who can add a new dimension to the New England offense.  After starting the first 7 games of the season on the PUP list, LaFell made his season debut vs the New York Jets on October 25th and it was a day to forget for the man they call JoJo. LaFell had two receptions for 25 yards on eight targets with six drops. Unfortunately for Brandon, he couldn’t shake the demons from that game, and never found any rhythm this season. With all the injuries in the receiving core for New England, LaFell’s had his opportunities , but he never capitalized on any of them. It’s possible that his injuries were more serious than expected, or that all the time he missed from training camp to midseason set him back, but regardless none of us saw what we expected to out of him this season. Im curious to see what the Pats do with LaFell this offseason. Personally, I do not expect to see him in a Patriots uniform next season.

Additional Disappointments: TE Scott Chandler, LB Jerod Mayo

Although the 2015 season did not end as memorable as the 2014 season, there is one aspect that we will not have to concern ourselves with this offseason. Last season the Patriots had some big players who were free agents, Devin McCourty, Darrelle Revis, Vince Wilfork, etc. This season the biggest free agent they have is DT Akiem Hicks, who for the record I believe should be resigned, but nonetheless the team we saw in 2015 will most likely be very similar to the team we see in 2016. Assuming everyone shows up in shape and healthy, there strive for ring number five is certainly alive.

Sunday the Patriots will take a trip across the country to take on their good friends, the Denver Broncos with a trip to Superbowl 50 on the line. And, in case you didn’t hear, it will represent the 17th matchup between the two great quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. The two teams met in late november with Denver prevailing in overtime, but much has changed since then. In that game, New England was without Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Jamie Collins and lost Dont’a Hightower and Rob Gronkowski during the game. All those key players will be on the field this sunday, but theres one other minor difference, in that the Broncos were led by Brock Osweiler, not Peyton Manning. While New England is as healthy as they’ve been since October, Denver’s star CB Chris Harris will be battling with what looks like a very serious shoulder injury this Sunday. Harris is typically a physical corner who excels when he can get his hands on the opposing receiver, so that will be something to keep an eye on. At the end of the day, both defenses will have to do the following:

1. New England must limit the Denver running game as best they can. Peyton Manning is not the same quarterback as he was years ago, so if New England can force Manning to throw the ball, it could be beneficiary for the Patriots.
2. Denver’s pass rush with Von Miller and Demarcus Ware will have to take over and get to Brady. Brady is so dominant in getting the ball out quick, so the Denver pass rushers will have to be on top of their game Sunday.

Final Prediction:

New England 31 Denver 23- While I believe Denver’s defense will do a great job in keeping the game close, Peyton Manning is a mere game manager at this point in his career, and if Denver falls behind, I believe it will be very difficult for Peyton to keep Denver in this game.

     Well- it’s that time of year again, postseason football is finally here. Saturday afternoon at 4:35 ET the Kansas City Chiefs, riding with a 12 game win streak, will take a trip into Gillette Stadium to take on the number two seed in the AFC, the New England Patriots. Lets take a deeper look into this matchup.

Rested Pats 

     For New England, they will be coming off a much needed bye week, especially with a week 4 bye, this was essentially the first break all year for Belichick’s men, and they have needed it. This week will likely represent the first game since week 7 vs Miami where the Patriots have all their guys star players back, not including those on season ending IR. Easily, the most notable return will be that of WR Julian Edelman. Edelman’s impact on both the offense and on QB Tom Brady cannot be understated. The offense with #11 is entirely different specifically on third downs, where the offense is 50% on third downs with him, and just 33.9% without him. Tom Brady will also be glad to see Edelman return, given that his QBR was 111 in the seasons first 8 games with Edelman healthy and has dropped to 92 ever since. One might wonder how smooth is transition back into the offense will be, given that he hasn’t played since mid november, but Edelman told ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss that he will “go full throttle regardless.” Edelman’s return should also open things up for TE Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola and the rest of the weapons on the outside as well.

Matchups to Watch 

     The Kansas City Chiefs have three prolific offensive players, TE Travis Kelce, RB Jamaal Charles and WR Jeremy Maclin. Of those three, it looks as though Kelce will be the only one on the field Saturday, with Charles out for the year and Maclin’s status in doubt following a high-ankle-sprain in their wildcard round win in Houston last week. Knowing Belichick always draws up a specific plan to eliminate one certain offensive player, my guess is he will do that with Kelce. No body else on the outside scares New England and there secondary, which will most likely allow the Pats to throw eight in the box to limit RB Charcandrick West, leaving it in the hands of Alex Smith. Knowing how lethal Smith can be with his legs, New England must keep Smith in the pocket. If New England can prevent Smith from running wild, given the injuries that offense is facing,  Alex Smith will need to play his absolute best football to win this game.

     The Kansas City defense is among the best in the entire NFL, so Brady and the offense will certainly have their hands full.  It includes probowl pass rusher Justin Houston who has been battling a knee injury for quite some time, so his health will have a huge impact on Saturday’s outcome. Marcus Peters is also a very talented player in the Kansas City secondary and will most likely spend most of his time across from Julian Edelman, and assuming he is as healthy as he says he is, it should be a matchup to watch. The third and final matchup that will have a huge impact on the game is All-Pro TE Rob Gronkowski going against All-Pro Safety Eric Berry. Gronk, who has missed practice twice this week, is battling a lingering knee injury, so thats another thing to keep an eye on.

Final Prediction:

Patriots 27 Chiefs 17 – Tom Brady is 14-3 at home in the playoffs and has been bounced in the first round just two times. The Patriots will be getting a lot of rested key players back this weekend, and that should get them back on  track. That being said nothing will come easy against this Chief defense, so it will certainly be a tight game. The deciding factor for me is if Kansas City is without Jeremy Maclin, I just don’t think they have the fire power to put up enough points this Saturday.

It didn’t come easy, but on Sunday the New England Patriots moved to 9-0 on the year following a narrow 27-26 victory over the New York Giants in MetLife Stadium. This was undoubtedly Tom Brady’s worst performance this season, and yet he still finished the game with 334 yards, 2 touchdowns and a win, which perfectly summarizes how remarkable this 2015 season has been for TB12. Lets take a look at what took place:

The Good:

Twice the Patriots defense stood tall when they needed to most. After a Brady fumble, Eli Manning had his offense with a 1st & 10 from the New England 20 in position where a field goal makes it a two possession game in the 4th quarter, but Rob Ninkovich kept the game close throwing down Manning for a HUGE sack, thrusting Big Blue out of field goal range. At the blink of an eye, a mere 3 minutes after the Giants took over at the New England 20, Patriot’s TE Rob Gronkowski strolled in for a 73 yard touchdown, the longest of his career, giving the Pats a 24-23 lead. With the Giants knocking on the door of scoring yet again in the final minutes, the Patriots, led by a remarkable play by CB Malcolm Butler, kept the Giants out of the endzone, giving Tom Brady one final chance to win this football game, and per-usual, he didn’t disappoint.

Standing on your own 2o yard line, on the road, trailing by 2, no timeouts facing a 4th & 10 with all but 1:28 to go, Tom Brady at the helm. Can you draw it up any better? 7 plays later and Stephen Gostkowski is lining up to try a 54 yard field goal with the game on the line, and as you can imagine, he drilled it. Brady and the Pats were flat all day, struggled to move the ball, struggled to slow down Eli and crew, but when the game mattered, they made the plays that they had to make, and thats what it takes to be undefeated this late in the season. You find a way to win.

While many know Malcolm Butler as the Superbowl hero for the New England Patriots, as they should, those who have watched him play this season know that he is much more than a one-hit-wonder. Butler has proven to be a legitimate number one corner this season, showing us that he can match up on anyone. Check the box score and see that Odell Beckham had 104 yards and a TD, but anyone who watched that game knows that does not accurately summarize their matchup on Sunday. The reality is Butler locked Beckham up after the first drive of the game, holding him to just 2 catches for 5 yards on 9 targets, making Odell essentially a non-factor at the end of this game. Keep an eye on this kid, if you as me he’s not far along from being looked at as an elite corner in this league.

The Bad: 

As we have seen in the past, something about the New York Giants brings out the worst in Tom Brady, and we saw that again on Sunday. Its unclear exactly what it is, but I suppose even superman has his kryptonite. Its not as if Brady continues to face names like once did in these Giants teams like Michael Strahan, Justin Tuck or Osi Umenyiora, yet we still saw him look flustered against the leagues 31st ranked defense. Maybe its Tom Coughlin, who learned a thing or two about Bill Belichick when he coached with him under Bill Parcells for all those years, maybe its a mental thing, who knows. All I know is something about this team makes the leagues very best quarter back look average, and they were able to do that again this weekend.

Beloved Patriots star and leading receiver Julian Edelman broke his foot early in this game, leaving an element of concern going forward for this offense. The timetable for the injury is said to be around 6-8 weeks, hopefully allowing Edelman to return for the playoffs, but seeing Cowboys Dez Bryant return from this injury in just 6 weeks, theres no reason to believe Edelman, who is as resilient a player as there is in this league, should have much trouble getting back this season. In the meantime, the biggest name who has to step up is Danny Amendola, who did just that hauling in 10 catches in Julians absence on Sunday. The bottom line however is that one single player cannot replicate what Edelman was able to do. Other receivers have to step up in addition to Amendola, whether it be Aaron Dobson, Brandon LaFell, Keyshawn Martin, Scott Chandler, or whoever. The receiving core as a unit needs to step up while Edelman heals, and I suppose throwing the ball #87’s way a little bit more isn’t a bad strategy either.

​On Friday evening the Boston Red Sox Acquired four time all-star closer Craig Kimbrel from the San Diego Padres. In return the Sox sent four prospects including center fielder Manuel Margot. While they paid a high price for Kimbrel, I believe its is a good move for the team. Kimbrel is one of, if not the, best closer in the game right now and this move shows that the Red Sox are all in on winning this year. This gives the sox a pretty strong 8th 9th set up of Koji Uheara and Kimbrel. Another reason to like this deal is that Kimbrel is under team control until 2017 with a team option in 2018, while the other top closer available on the trade market, Aroldis Chapman, is only under contract for this year. This likely means that the Red Sox will go out and get a front line starter in free agency and my guess is that they will go all out on either David Price or Zach Greinke and I would be extremely happy with either one. Regardless of who Dave Dombrowski decides to go after as free agent, this move signals to the rest of the AL east that Boston is planning to contend, and are willing to pull out all the stops to do it.
​While Kimbrel is truly a top closer in the game the team did give up a lot to get him. Margot and SS Javier Guerra are the two main pieces going to the Padres, both of whom ranked in the top 10 of Red Sox prospects according to soxprospects.com with Margot coming in at number 4 and Guerra coming in at number 6. The other two pieces going to San Diego are 18-year-old pitcher Logan Allen, the teams 13th best prospect and second baseman Carlos Asuaje, both who are far away from being Major League ready. This is an extremely steep price but not one that should have a major impact on the Red Sox in the future. In Addition to Allen and Asuaje being far off Margot and Guerra are blocked from being able to contribute on a Major league level for the foreseeable future by rising stars in Mookie Betts (CF) and Xander Bogaerts (SS). The team was also able to hold on to its true top prospects in Yoan Moncada, Rafael Devers, Anderson Espinoza, and Andrew Benintendi. Trading unknown talents that didn’t have a spot on Major League club for an established all-star closer is a move I will endorse 100% of the time.
​Next up for the Sox is to go out and get a front line starter to bolster the starting rotation. Hey David Price your Fenway frank is on me.

It was a sorrowful moment when new fan-favorite running back Dion Lewis went down holding onto his left knee late in the third quarter in Sunday’s matchup against the Washington Redskins. As soon as the words, “non-contact knee injury” were muttered, everyone knew bad news was looming. I imagine many New Englanders, like myself,  all sat around on monday anxiously awaiting Lewis’ MRI. Our fears quickly became a reality, knowing that we had seen the last of “Little Dirty” in the 2015 season. The immediate reaction when this news broke was utter heartbreak, knowing how big of a role Lewis had played in the Pat’s 8-0 start. After countless minutes sitting around in misery, I began to look at the big picture, and understood that this loss would not make or break anything for the 2015 Patriots.

Lewis’ 36 receptions and 622 total yards out of the backfield is not something to overlook. He showed an impeccable ability to make men miss in the open field and worked wonders moving the chain, but the reality of it is, the Patriots can practically afford to lose any man not wearing the number 12. Of course some injuries can hurt more than others, but in my opinion losing Dion Lewis is not something that should slow them down all too much. I came to the realization that I was so shaken up over this news more so based on how much I liked to watch this guy play as opposed to me actually fearing that it significantly hurt this team. Im not downplaying or disregarding what he has done this season, but I looked at him more as a cherry on top of what already was a loaded offense. Plus, put this in perspective for a moment, had you told any Patriot’s fan before the season that Dion Lewis would tear his ACL in week 8 of the season, nobody would really care at all.  He was a gift this season, an unexpected one too. Watching him carry the football in space was truly remarkable, and I cannot express how much I am going to miss watching him play on sunday.  He is a great talent, and will hopefully return to where he left off soon, but Brady and the rest of this offense will continue to terrorize opponents for the remainder of this year even without number 33. I expect that someone will step up in his place, maybe it’s Brandon Bolden, maybe it’s James White, but Brady has never failed to make a 3rd down back reliable catching the ball. When Kevin Faulk began to age many questioned who would fill that roll, then we met a man named Danny Woodhead. When he left for San Diego, we were introduced to Shane Vereen, and went Vereen signed with the Giants this offseason, many questioned who would, or even could fill his roll, and just 8 games later we find ourselves asking this question yet again, who will replace Dion Lewis? My answer: whoever Belichick and McDaniels decide to put alongside Brady is going to do just fine.