In just three short seasons Celtics General manager Danny Ainge has put together a Celtic team ready to challenge Golden Stae for The World Title. This past summer Ainge took one step to get him even closer to the World title. Ainge went out and signed free agent Gordon Heyward and acquired disgruntled Cavalier Kyrie Irving. In this post, we’ll look at three attributes Irving brings to the Celtics. First and foremost Irving brings a championship ring to the parquet. In his six years in Cleveland Irving won a world championship in 2015/16 against the Warriors. Also to his credit, Irving is a four_ time All_ star. But after a disastrous opening night, Irving witnessed new teammate Gordon Heyward go down with a broken ankle. To make matters worse it was determined that Heyward will be out for the remainder of the season and playoffs. Despite the turmoil, Irving and the Celtics overcame adversity and enjoyed a sixteen game winning streak and a respectable first place standing with a 17-3 record at Thanksgiving. After twenty games Irving is averaging 25 points per game and some games as many as 30. After six years of playing opposite LeBron, he can finally be himself in Boston. Coming to such a young team as the Celtics Irving brings leadership and experience to the Celtics young nucleus. Irving serves as a role model for youngsters Jaylen Brown and first _year player Jason Tatum. Despite the injury to Heyward, the Celtics still have enough to be the first seed in the East With sixty games left Boston will still need contributions from all twelve bodies. In the off seasonAinge also added veteran swingman, Marcus Morris for depth. Ainge paid dearly for it by trading longtime favorite Avery Bradley. Bradley a long time Celtic is one of the top three defensive players in the game. Being such a long season anything can happen such as the Celtics witnessed opening night to Gordon Heyward. But with Irving playing at such a high level and injury issues in Cleveland, things are looking good for Boston. Despite being a great player Irving has many other attributes to offer the Celtics.
https://www.sports-reference.com/blog/category/baseball-reference-com/Red Sox General Manager Dave Dombrowsi officially named https://www.sports-reference.com/blog/category/baseball-reference-com/https://www.sports-reference.com/blog/category/baseball-reference-com/Astros bench coach Alex Cora as the team’s new manager. Cora will take over for the fired John Farrell next season. Cora is also the fourth manager for the Red Sox in six years. Although Farrell did enjoy some success in Boston a world title in 2013 plus two consecutive division titles he was often criticized for the way he handled his players. Enter Alex Cora, Cora spent the past season as the Astros bench coach and winning the world series. It marks his second world series championship including his time as a player in Boston in 2004. In Cora, the Red Sox get a younger manager with a fresh new approach. He is relatively the same age as the core of his team. The current nucleus of Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley, Mookie Betts and Xander Bogarts is still very young. The main problem with the Red Sox last year was the clubhouse. One player in particular David Price was the bad apple amongst the group. In an incident on the team plane Price had an argument with Red Sox broadcaster Dennis Eckersley. The incident did not sit well with the Red Sox media and fans. This incident is one of the main reasons Farrell was fired. Veteran second baseman Dustin Pedroia also had an incident with Orioles third baseman Manny Machado. Pedroia apparently went back and forth with Machado and embarrassing his teammates. Behavior like this is what sets the Red Sox apart from winning and losing. Their playoff record the past two seasons is 1-6 at the hands of the Houston Astros. In order for Cora to gain the respect of his players, he’ll need to put his foot down early. Distractions such as these need to be addressed n spring training if the manager is to gain any credibility. Being a first_ year manager is not an easy task for anyone young or old. Being a manager in Boston can be even more difficult The Red Sox not only need a new manager but strong character players to bring another championship to Boston.
