Gary Tanguay - Columnist, Host Arbella Early Edition | CSNNE.com

[http://www.csnne.com] Celtics Patriots Red Sox Bruins Revolution Golf Video Podcast Staff Shop Alerts Contests MORE Live Extra TV Listings Channel Finder Rotoworld Golf Channel Comcast SportsNet Search Latest Video 1:13 SNC Update: Red Sox and Royals split doubleheader 1:09 McAdam: Wright has pitched better than his record indicates 0:50 Austin Ainge: Bender’s one of top players in his class 2:08 O’Connor: There could be 4 franchise players in '17 draft 3:56 Maxwell: Ainge has too many assets that need to be utilized 4:09 Bob Ryan: Why the Celtics should shop the No. 3 pick 1:10 Dickerson: Okafor better than any available draft selection 2:14 Dickerson: Sox should offer Ortiz $25 Mil to return Tanguay: If Celtics can get Okafor, they should do it now Tanguay: If Celtics can get Okafor, they should do it now By Gary Tanguay May 18, 2016 4:00 PM The only good thing to come out of last night’s NBA Draft Lottery was the buzz that the Sixers could be stupid enough to trade Jahlil Okafor to Boston for the No. 3 overall pick so they can bring Providence College’s Kris Dunn to Philly. DO IT NOW! Let’s be real: Anything after the first and second picks in this draft is a crap shoot. For drafting purposes, three sounds better than five and six. That’s the only advantage to picking third in this draft. This year, there's no guarantee you'll get a better player at No. 3 than you would at No. 5 or No. 6. So if the Philadelphia Dumbsixers want Kris Dunn so bad that they're willing to give you their best player to get him, DO IT NOW! Last season as a rookie, Okafor put up 17.5 points and 7 rebounds per game. He's only going to get better, and with the Celtics he'd be a beast. Boston has a better coach (sorry, Maine’s Brett Brown) and players who will get him the ball. If Okafor had been a Celtic this season, Boston could have won the Hawks series. The Celts probably still couldn't have beaten Cleveland, but Atlanta? He might've made the difference. I understand Okafor has a checkered past. But a couple of bar fights and busting the century mark while cruising the Ben Franklin Bridge is small potatoes compared to the murder, drug use and domestic abuse that we've seen with other athletes. And how about this idea? (Full disclosure: I'm stealing this from someone in the CSN newsroom, but I forgot who.) If the Celtics could land Okafor and then bring in Al Horford as a free agent, the team would improve a lot and still have Brooklyn’s first-round pick next year. So, all is not lost. Danny Ainge just needs to get Jalhil Okafor for that third overall pick. Because to actually have to use it would be a real bummer. Tags: Boston Celtics , CSNNE Newswire , Gary Tanguay , Jahlil Okafor , Philadelphia 76ers Tanguay: You may not think so, but the Red Sox are for real Tanguay: You may not think so, but the Red Sox are for real By Gary Tanguay May 16, 2016 4:15 PM All the talk around here about the Red Sox is how they're entertaining, fun and exciting . . . for now. That's an insult to them. The Red Sox are for real. They're here to stay. And they can make it to the World Series. As I write this, the Red Sox are tied with the White Sox for the second-best winning percentage in the American League. The five teams in the hunt for the playoffs along with Boston and Chicago are Baltimore, Texas and Seattle. Toronto is 5 1/2 games back in the American League East. The defending World Series champs, the Kansas City Royals, are also 5 1/2 back in the Central. Boston is where it is because of an off-the-hook offense. The Sox lead the A.L. with a .298 average, and their 229 runs scored are 50 more than the second-place Rangers. Yes, we all know the team ERA isn't good -- 4.21 -- and it looks awful compared to the White Sox' league-leading 3.17. However, Chicago has scored 61 less runs than Boston. My point is that if you can predict that the Red Sox bats will cool off, why can’t you predict their pitching will get better? I believe we've seen the worst of the Sox starting pitchers. By July I bet David Price’s ERA will be back in the threes and Eduardo Rodriguez will be firing away at his normal velocity of 97 mph. E-Rod will make another start at Pawtucket on Thursday after throwing 100 pitches Saturday, 71 for strikes, and allowing two earned runs over 5 2/3 innings. He's improving with every start, which means he's more confident in his healing knee. So with Price back on track and Rodriguez in the No. 2 spot, we have Rick Porcello -- who I told you would pitch well this year -- as a solid No. 3. Yes, his 3.11 ERA will go up. So will Steven Wright’s 2.36. But these guys are not going to fall off the table into Clay Buchholz territory. (By the way, I don't have a positive prediction on Clay. His 6.11 ERA is what it is and no doubt the Sox are trying to move this guy. When he’s healthy, will Joe Kelley be any better? Well, he won’t be any worse.) Now to the hitting. Why can’t Xander Bogaerts hit .330 for the season? Last year he hit .320 with 196 hits in 156 games and David Ortiz told the media that an opposing catcher raved about this guy at the plate. Of course, we would like to see Bogaerts hit for more power, but there's no doubt in my mind he's the hitter we are seeing right now and will be in the future. Yes, Jackie Bradley Jr. (.331), Travis Shaw (.321) and Hanley Ramirez (.319) will cool off. However, I see Hanley’s power number going up when his average goes down. Ortiz is hitting .320, which is a number he will not maintain. But if he stayed around. .300, I wouldn't be surprised. Of the five teams currently holding playoff spots, the Sox are as good as any of them. The concerns are Toronto, which is underachieving at the plate, and Kansas City, which is suffering from a World Series hangover. Will they right their ships? Probably. But even so, a postseason berth is certainly in Boston's grasp. And the reason the Sox can get to the World Series is that anything can happen in the playoffs . . . as we saw in 2013. The key, of course, is Price, who has not done well in the postseason in his career. But he doesn’t have to dominate. All he has to do is not suck, and -- with these bats -- he'll give his team a chance to win. Winning the Series is another story; the National League is loaded with powerhouse teams (Cubs, Nationals, Mets), any of whom will be tough to beat. But, Boston, your baseball team is really good. I could be wrong. The Red Sox may not get to the World Series. But to think they can’t, or that they're not for real, is a mistake. And for the first time since 2013, we're not spending the spring and early summer counting the days to Patriots training camp. Tags: Boston Red Sox , CSNNE Newswire , Gary Tanguay Tanguay: Back off the gloom-and-doom, Celtics fans Tanguay: Back off the gloom-and-doom, Celtics fans By Gary Tanguay May 11, 2016 6:15 PM This is craz-eeee! Me, the voice of positivity during the Celtics offseason? Damn, Felger is right. Times are tough in Celtics Land. Felger thinks that Jimmy Butler repping the Bulls at the NBA Draft Lottery, the Kings saying DeMarcus Cousins is off the market, and Kevin Durant potentially ousting the Spurs means doom and gloom for Boston . One by one . . . -- If Oklahoma City chokes and is ousted by San Antonio, Durant might not stay with the Thunder. But he won't be coming to the Celtics. San Antonio and Golden State are much more attractive than Boston. Sure, the Celts have Brad Stevens and play in a much easier conference. But if Durant went to the Spurs he would play for Gregg Popovich -- no slouch of a coach himself -- and with Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge. I even left out the old guys (Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili). If this happens, the West won't be so competitive anymore. It will be a two-team race, the Spurs and the Warriors. -- As for Jimmy Butler . . . The Bulls need to rebuild and Butler is a terrific young player. But are you telling me just because Jimmy B. is at the lottery that the Bulls wouldn't move him to Boston if the Celtics got the No. 1 pick and then sent that, plus the two other Nets picks, to Chicago? Please. If Danny Ainge offered that package, the Bulls would tell Butler to just keep going from Secaucus, N.J., where the ping-pong balls bounce, to Boston. This is posturing by the Bulls, and it's not bad, but don't read much into it. It certainly won't dissuade Ainge from trying to pry Butler from Chicago. -- And how can anyone believe whatthe Sacramento Kings say? They're a mess! So Vlade Divac declares DeMarcus Cousins isn't going anywhere. Again, float the No. 1 pick in front of him, with the Nets picks, and see what he says. I've been opposed to trading the picks for Cousins, but after what I've seen in the postseason and realizing just how far this likable Celtic team is from true championship contention has caused me, in desperation, to change my mind. DEMARCUS, WELCOME TO BOSTON! So, don’t listen to Felger and the rest of the NBA rumor scuttlebutt. Nothing is off the table. And nothing will be decided until the ping pong balls fall. Tags: Boston Celtics , Chicago Bulls , Danny Ainge , DeMarcus Cousins , Gary Tanguay , Jimmy Butler , Kevin Durant , Oklahoma City Thunder , Sacramento Kings Load more Tanguay: If Celtics can get Okafor, they should do it now Tanguay: You may not think so, but the Red Sox are for real Tanguay: Back off the gloom-and-doom, Celtics fans Tanguay: Why did I think the Celts could hang with the Cavs? Time for Red Sox to clear away Clay Brady remains undefeated against Father Time Celts have no defense for this putrid effort Tanguay: I have a bad feeling about Craig Kimbrel Tanguay: Sorry, but Celtics aren't good enough to beat Hawks Tanguay: Keeping Julien will be Sweeney's own undoing Tanguay: Relax, Celtics, and just play Tanguay: If you think beer costs too much at the park, don't buy any Tanguay: It's time for Julien and the Bruins to part ways Sorry; Durant-to-Boston remains a long shot. Tanguay: Left field's the true disaster area for Red Sox Not a black-and-white issue Forgive Kraft: Fighting the NFL is a lost cause Forgive Kraft: Fighting the NFL is a lost cause Stand down, Pats fans; there's nothing Kraft could do Tanguay: Bennett not exactly a Belichick kinda guy FOLLOW US Facebook Twitter Google Plus Instagram ©2016 SportsChannel New England LLC A Division of NBC Universal Jobs Privacy Policy Term of Service Contact Us Advertise Live Extra FAQ Internships Press Releases TV Listings GET NEWSLETTERS & ALERTS SIGN UP