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All Star Break Grades – Small Forward

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Player

Points

Rebounds

Assists

Blocks

Steals

+/-

PER

Paul Pierce

17.6

5

5.3

.48

1.21

+145

19.1

Positives: Pierce is looking more as a creator this year averaging a career high in assists per game. Especially in games where Rondo is out, Pierce takes over ball handling duties and creates for other players. He has been looking more of the Pierce of old as of late as he is attacking the rim and getting much more in game shape. Is still the Celtics best scorer and has the ability to go off in a quarter. Above average defensive player who uses his strength on defense.

Negatives: Pierce is averaging his lowest points per game since his rookie season in 98-99. Came into the season out of shape and used at least the first fifteen games to get acclimated to playing again. Lost a lot of athleticism and age is becoming a factor.

Grade: B-

Player

Points

Rebounds

Assists

Blocks

Steals

+/-

PER

Mickael Pietrus

7.1

3.3

.6

.22

.48

+25

9.0

Positives: Expectations were low for Pietrus as he was a late signing and coming off of a knee surgery. He has been a major surprise to the Celtics, providing key 3 point shooting and great defense. He has lit a fire into the second unit and allowed Doc not to have to play Sasha Pavlovic or Marquis Daniels extended time. Doc has helped him out a lot this season, he has progressed from a player who has great defensive talents, to being a great defensive players.

Negatives: Has been relatively cold lately from beyond the arc. Cannot really create his own shot, is more of a spot up shooter. May be due to his poor ball handling ability, has only become a 3-point threat offensively.

Grade: B+

Player

Points

Rebounds

Assists

Blocks

Steals

+/-

PER

Sasha Pavlovic

2.4

1.1

.2

.44

.28

-25

5.8

Positives: Not too much to be positive of here. Pavlovic has shown in the past that he can be a 3 point shooter. Every once in a while he comes up with a steal or two as he did against Orlando this year.

Negatives: Where should I start? Sasha does not get to the line, has trouble driving the ball to the basket, and has a non-existent post game. He does not have a handle to run the point guard position or gets rebounds on the offensive or defensive glass unless they fall to him. He is more or less Scal without bringing anything else to the table. I wish the Celtics would have used his money to sign Gerald Green back to the team (as the Nets just did).

Grade: F

 

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Shooting Guards | Point Guards

All Star Break Grades – Shooting Guards

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Player

Points

Rebounds

Assists

Blocks

Steals

+/-

PER

Ray Allen

14.5

3.1

2.8

.14

.79

+73

15.3

Positives: At 36, Ray is showing that he still has it. He is 3rd on the team in minutes played with 33.9 per game and is constantly in motion. Due to a great diet, conditioning, and hard work Ray has aged the best out of the big three. He has taken less physical contact than both Paul and KG but the way his body has kept up is a testament to Ray. He is shooting 43.5% from 3 and almost 94% from the line. Ray opens up the floor for everyone else with his shooting. The way that he runs around on the floor, not only works to get him open, but wears out the opposing player.

Negatives: Can’t really take players off the dribble. Other than defending Kobe Bryant, Ray is just an average defender. He needs to cut down on his turnovers, because when he is not the primary ball handler he should be able to average less than 2 a game.

With no other real quality shooting guards on the roster Doc has to rely on Ray in both wins and losses. Hopefully his legs will be able to handle the rest of the strenuous season because if the Celtics are going to make a run, they’re going to need Ray’s shooting.

Grade: A-

Player

Points

Rebounds

Assists

Blocks

Steals

+/-

PER

Marquis Daniels

2.8

1.7

1.3

.26

.43

+7

6.0

Positives: Marquis is a smart player, who rebounds and hustles. His skills aren’t the greatest. But he defends hard and is a favorite of Doc’s.

Negatives: Daniels is having a terrible season so far. He has lost his minutes in recent games to Sasha Pavlovic. In the last five games he has played 14 minutes combined and scored 0 points. He had been turning over the ball and was looking frantic out there. Not something you expect from an 8 year vet. In the game against the Thunder the other night his +/- was -17 in only 5 minutes of playing time.

Grade: D

Player

Points

Rebounds

Assists

Blocks

Steals

+/-

PER

E’Twaun Moore

3

.7

1

.13

.3

-4

8.8

Positives: E’Twaun has been a big surprise for the Celtics. People weren’t expecting much from the second-round pick. He had his best game of the season against the Orlando Magic in the comeback game. He had a career high 16 points and shot 4-4 from three in only 18 minutes. The emergence of Avery Bradley has severely cut into Moore’s minutes as the season’s progressed. He has a positive future for the Celtics but from here on out, I do not see him getting any big minutes this season.

Negatives: Still not sure where E’Twaun fits, is he a point guard or a shooting guard? When he comes off the bench he needs to provide a spark for the Celtics every game like he did in the Magic game. It’s a tough job to do but he has to do but it doesn’t come easy for 2nd round picks in the NBA. ­

If the Celtics had more depth on the team, I would be guessing that E’Twaun may be spending this season with their D-League affiliate. Unfortunately the Celtics do not have that luxury and E’Twaun is going to get only sporadic playing time for the rest of the season.

Grade: C+

 

Click here for Point Guard Grades

All Star Break Grades – Point Guards

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Over the next few days during the All-Star Break I am going to be grading the Celtics players by their positions. Starting with the C’s point guards.

Player

Points

Rebounds

Assists

Blocks

Steals

+/-

PER

Rajon Rondo

14.8

4.9

9.5

0

1.64

+61

18.9

Positives: Without Rajon Rondo, I am not sure where the Celtics would be. He is the heart and the motor that drives the team. His jump shot is continually improving to the point where teams are at least aware of where he is on the floor. When he is looking for his shot, he can easily put up over 25 points, but feels content to let the shots come to him and feed the rest of his players. Defensively he is an animal who comes up with over 1.5 steals per game. May be the best passer in the NBA, with his vision, long arms, and huge hands he has not found a pass he couldn’t make. Rondo made the All-Star team, replacing Joe Johnson, and also made the Skills competition, replacing Steph Curry.

Negatives: Still has a way below-average jump shot. Plays hard, but mood can affect his tenacity. May gamble too much as he gives up more points than he saves from steals, relies on power forwards and centers to slide over to help defend. Struggles at free throw line continue (61.5%). Rondo needs to be a less moody player and learn to control his emotions (aka throwing ball at referee other night).

Grade: B+

Player

Points

Rebounds

Assists

Blocks

Steals

+/-

PER

Avery Bradley

4.3

1.8

1.3

.27

.53

+26

7.8

Avery has a very different role when Rondo is out. I am also going to add the 10 games that he started.

Player

Points

Rebounds

Assists

Blocks

Steals

+/-

Avery Bradley

7.3

3.1

2.6

.2

.9

N/A

Bradley vs Thunder

12

2

5

3

1

+3

Avery is obviously getting more and more comfortable with the minutes he is getting. Obviously he cannot replicate the types of numbers that Rondo provides, but the drop off is not as bad as people might think. The offense goes into a different direction with Rondo out, the ball moves much more fluidly and is touched by everyone on offense

Positives: Bradley has a better jumper than Rondo and defenses are going to learn that they have to respect that. This opens up more of a lane for Pierce and Allen to penetrate and find open shooters. He is one of the premier defenders, if not the premier on ball defender in the NBA.

Negatives: Jump shot is still a little shaky although it has looked great in past few games. Can get a little out of control on offense and commit a few turnovers. He can over pursue when he full court presses leading to more problems for other teammates. Avery needs to find more consistency to get the faith from Doc on a day in day out basis.

Grade: B

Player

Points

Rebounds

Assists

Blocks

Steals

+/-

PER

Keyon Dooling

5.1

.7

1.1

.06

.25

-31

7.2

Positives: Keyon has shown that he is not afraid of taking shots at big times, he has shown that he wants to be a crucial scorer off the bench. He is a plus defender and puts in effort on defense, can defend point guard or shooting guard position.

Negatives: For all that Keyon has wanted to do, I am coming to the conclusion that he is just not that good. He is a combo guard who wants to be a shooting guard. He does not have the handle for a point guard, or the ability to create as a two. He forces up too many three’s to allow the Celtics get into a flow. He has struggled with injuries this season and personally when I see him on the floor I just see it as time being taken away from Rondo, Bradley, or even E’Twaun Moore.

Grade: D

Overall:

Rajon Rondo is clearly one of the premier point guards in the NBA and is the best player on the Celtics this season. All he needs to do is mature a little bit more and get his jump shot to just an adequate level to become one of the best players in the NBA. Avery Bradley has been the surprise of the season for the Celtics, playing great defense and being an adequate backup and spot starter for Rondo. He has shown the Celtics he is a player for the future and is my favorite player on the team. Keyon Dooling has been a major disappointment so far. The bench has been extremely weak for the Celtics this season, and Keyon is a major part of that. The offense is not run well, and he has not seemed to mesh with any of those players on the second unit yet. I expect him to have a better second half, but I have not been impressed with him so far.

Overall Grade: B

Celtics vs. Thunder Recap

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The Celtics lost their fifth straight game against the Thunder 119-104. It was always going to be a struggle as the Celtics were missing Rondo (suspension), Jermaine O’Neal (Wrist), Chris Wilcox (Right Abductor), and Brandon Bass (Knee). This led to a shift in the lineup of Paul Pierce to the 4 position and Kevin Garnett to the 5. The Celtics started out well in their new lineup jumping out to a 22-12 lead in the first quarter. The Celtics could not hold the lead though, and once the second unit came onto the floor, the Thunder pounced and went on a 30-3 run. The Thunder continued the hot streak and put up the most points in a half all season (72). James Harden was constantly exposing the Celtics defense as he kept blowing by for easy layups.

Pierce actually had one of his better games of the season, by attacking the rim he got to the line 16 times, scored 23 points, and had 8 assists. Kevin Garnett in his first game back had 23 points on 8-11 shooting. Turnovers still hurt the Celtics as they committed 18 in the game. Doc ended up relying much more on his starters than he wanted to as his subs had a terrible night from the floor. Marquis Daniels was only on the court for five minutes but the Celtics were outscored by 17 during those five minutes.

The Celtics mercifully have the All-Star Break coming up this week and have a full week off until their next game against the Bucks.

Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo will be playing in the All-Star Game as reserves for the Eastern Squad.

Extra Notes:

Kevin Garnett came back after two games from missing due to personal reasons; Pavlovic was the only Celtics player who did not play due to Coaches decision; The Thunder had 50 points in the paint; James Harden was +23 while he was on the floor; The Celtics had 3 offensive rebounds, Kendrick Perkins had 5 on his own.

Avery Bradley Alert

Avery Bradley along with Paul Pierce was the only two players for the Celtics who had a positive +/- for the Celtics. Avery shot well again for a second consecutive game going 5-9 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. We also had two of my favorite Avery moments of the season. In the first half Avery got the ball off of a rebound, dribbled the full length of the court and posterized Kevin Durant. Later on in the game, it looked as if Russell Westbrook had a clear path to the bucket but was tapped by Bradley off the backboard and forced a jump ball. Avery had 5 assists and 3 blocks on the night along with his 12 points. In the games that Rondo has missed, Avery has shown Doc that he is a capable backup and definitely a player that the Celtics should be excited about in the future.

Here’s a link to the Avery bradley Dunk (must watch)

Rondo to All Star Team

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After a miserable two weeks for Celtics fans, were finally getting some good news. Joe Johnson is unable to play in the all star game due to tendinitis in his left knee. The initial reports are that Rajon Rondo is to replace him in the All-Star game. Rondo who is currently serving the second game of his two game suspension for throwing a ball at a referee. He would be the third point guard behind Derrick Rose and Deron Williams. Rondo is averaging 14.8 points, 9.6 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. Before his suspension Rondo had exploded for 35 and 32 points and seemed as if he had felt snubbed by the decision.

Is Avery Bradley the Key to the Game? Celtics-Thunder Preview

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In the Celtics (15-16) last game before the All-Star Break they face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder (25-7) and former teammate Kendrick Perkins. Rajon Rondo will not be able to play against his good friend as he will be serving the second game of his two game suspension for throwing the basketball at the referee. The two teams are heading in different directions as the Celtics have lost 6 of their last 7 and their last 4 in a row. The Thunder have won their last three games and are 9-3 in the month of February. The Celtics are also 4-8 on the road while the Thunder are 13-1 at home.

The Celtics will hopefully get Kevin Garnett back as he has missed the last two games due to a family matter. The Celtics are extremely weak at the power forward position if he doesn’t play as Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Wilcox are both day to day from injuries against the Mavs and Brandon Bass is out until after All Star break. The Celtics will have to rely heavily on Jajuan Johnson and Greg Stiemsma as they are the only two power forwards or centers on the roster.

The Thunder are just two games removed from what I can remember as one of the most ridiculous statlines a trio of NBA players has ever produced

Player Points Rebounds Assists Blocks Steals
Kevin Durant 51 8 3 0 4
Russell Westbrook 40 4 9 1 0
Serge Ibaka 14 15 0 11 1

These three bring back memories of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. While they have accomplished nothing yet, they are look very tough to beat this year and will pose a big problem for the Celtics

Keys to the Game

Get out and Run

The Celtics may or may not have any one of the three big man listed day to day. But if they do, and more importantly if they don’t, they need to get into the open floor and get some easy baskets. The team is struggling in its half court sets and getting easy baskets allows the defense to set up and do its job.

Get some Penetration

Other than Pierce and Ray last game the Celtics were settling for a lot of jumpers. The offense was stagnant and the ball was not moving crisply. It’s tough to get open shots when your not making the defense work.

Cut down on Turnovers

Paul has been trying to take over the game and its nice to see, but his 10 turnovers in the past two games is hard to swallow. The Celtics have to take care of the ball and it starts with The Truth. The Celtics are too good of a defensive team to be giving up so many easy buckets off of turnovers.

Avery Bradley

Finally, my man Avery came out strong in the first quarter last night, looking for his shot and actually hitting it. If he can show he has a consistent jumper, it will open up the floor for the rest of the Celtics shooters and allow him to penetrate and create. No one is really concerned by his defense, we all know Avery D’s up!

Celtics-Mavericks Recap

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The Celtics lost their fourth straight game last night to the Mavericks in a game that was never really close. Without Kevin Garnett the Celtics had no defensive answer for Dirk Nowitzki as he went for 21 first half points and cruised to a 26-16 night in only 31 minutes on the floor. The Mavericks were up by as much as 26 in the game.

Rajon Rondo was suspended by the NBA for the Celtics final two games before the All-Star break for his altercation with a referee. Without Rondo, the Celtics looked lost on offense and having a tough time to truly find a way to play. Other than Avery Bradley in the first quarter the Celtics only scored 9 points. Avery and Paul were the only two Celtics to score in the first 8 minutes of the game.

The Celtics tough season with injuries continued as both Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Wilcox went out with minor injuries in the third quarter. The turnovers were again a major issue for the Celtics as they turned over the ball 17 times. It ended up turning in 25 Maverick’s points. Both Pierce and Ray continued to struggle shooting from three combining for a 2-8 night from beyond the arc. But they both attacked the rim in ways that we haven’t seen from either of them this season. With no real interior scoring presence tonight most of the Celtics 18 points in the paint came off of Paul and Ray’s ability to attack the hoop.

The Celtics look to end their losing streak Wednesday at 7:00pm against the Thunder.

Extra Notes:

Kevin Garnett missed his second straight game for personal reasons; Dirk past Robert Parish to become number 20 on the all time scoring list; Garnett is 19 on the list; Jason Kidd had three steals to pass Michael Jordan as second on the all time list; in a battle of whose leg’s have deteriorated more Vince Carter got rejected by Jermaine O’Neal on a fast break early in the game, hard to imagine that happening to Vincesanity in his prime.

Avery Bradley Alert

Avery Bradley was a bright spot for the Celtics hitting outside jumpers when the Mavericks were giving him room. Finished 6-11 for the night but he missed a few bunny lay-ups; picked the pocket of future hall of famer Jason Kidd. He scored 6 out of the first 8 points for the Celtics and was basically the entire offense in the first quarter.

Celtics Mavericks – Keys to Game, Rondo Suspension

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The Celtics (15-15) look to rebound as they have lost their last three as they take on the defending champs the Dallas Mavericks (20-12). Both teams are coming off of losses yesterday as the Celtics lost to the Detroit Pistons 96-81 in a game where Kevin Garnett did not play due to undisclosed personal reasons and Rajon Rondo was ejected. The Mavericks are looking to recover as they were the latest to be hit by Linsanity as the Harvard grad went for 28-14 against them. This is the 3rd game for the Celtics on a 5 game road trip. The Celtics will be without Rondo (suspended), Bass (Knee) , and may also be missing Kevin Garnett for a second straight game. The Celtics are 4-7 on the road this season while the Mavs are 12-5 at home.

Image

Rondo Suspension

David Stern isn’t winning many fans over this season, and his suspension of Rondo 2:30 hours before game time surely will not win him over any more in Boston. The Celtics point guard has been suspended for the next two games after he was given a technical and then tossed a ball at a referee and finally ejected. While tossing a ball at a referee is of course not acceptable, the referees officiating the game were horrible and Stern should account for that. The suspension was to be expected though and the Celtics will likely go with Avery Bradley in Rondo’s place for the next two games. They are 13-4 when he plays over 10 minutes.

Keys to the Game

Turnovers

The Celtics turned the ball over 24 times against the Pistons, shooting any chance they had of getting a victory in the first half. They have to take better care of the ball against a great Dallas defense

Rebounding

The Celtics have been getting killed by teams with offensive rebounds and second chance points. They gave up 16 offensive rebounds to the Pistons the night before, when the Pistons were using two or three point guards on the floor at the same time. The Celtics need to start boxing out and preventing the opportunity for second chance buckets.

Pushing the Pace

Even with Rondo out for the game, the Celtics need to push the ball. The Mavericks have one of the best half-court defenses in the NBA. According to Synergy Sports they are ranked fourth right behind the Celtics. The Celtics are averaging about 97 offensive possessions per game and I would like to see that number climb up past 105. The half-court offense has struggled and especially without Rondo, the Celtics should look to push the pace.

Ball Movement

Finally the Celtics have been getting way to stagnant with the ball. They have been taking tough shots at the end of the clock. Players are deferring to each other way too much and the chemistry especially with the second unit has been lacking. The Celtics need to start passing the ball and moving it around to have a good game.

Celtics-Pistons Recap

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Celtics lost their third straight game, second in under a week to the Detroit Pistons, 96-81. Kevin Garnett did not play due to personal reasons in his family. Rajon Rondo was also ejected in the 3rd quarter after the referees missed a layup where he was clearly hacked. He got up and had some choice words for the referee, which got him the first technical. As the ref was signaling the technical, Rondo threw an underhand chest pass to the ref. Unlike the assist that usually follows, Rondo was ejected from the game and the Celtics were left down 13 without their motor.

Nice to see Paul in a little bit more of an attack mode tonight, especially when the Celtics were trailing in the fourth quarter. The ref’s weren’t giving a lot of calls but he was getting into the paint and getting his shots off. He had 18 points on 6-11 shooting. Before the ejection, Rondo was 1-6 with 5 points and 10 assists. Pistons outshot the Celtics from the line 46 to 15. The Celtics committed 22 turnovers and gave up 31 points of their turnovers. The Pistons were all over the place tonight, they went to a 3 guard lineup for a majority of the game. The players were just ball hawking all night and the Celtics were way to lazy passing the ball.

The Celtics have the 3rd game of their 5 game road trip at Dallas tomorrow night 8:00.

Extra Notes:

Tommy was so angry after the game that he wouldn’t appear on the initial postgame show. He later said that “I can’t blame Rondo, but he’s going to lose a lot of money for a simple pass to the Referee”. Rodney Stuckey had the same amount of free throws as the Celtics; Game could have been a lot worse, the Pistons missed 17 free throws;

Avery Bradley Alert

Avery Bradley played relatively well tonight; he was 3-8 from the floor with 7 points and 2 assists. While his defense at one or two points was overaggressive from his defense, he still played well and pushed the pace for the Celtics. I would like to see him help set the tone of the game earlier as he did in the Magic games this season. Nice stat from Comcast sports network, when Bradley plays +10 minutes, the Celtics are 13-4.

Celtics Pistons Preview

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The Celtics look for revenge against the pistons today at 6:00 in Detroit. The Pistons won the last game Wednesday 98-88. Detroit is on a hot stretch as they won 6 of their last 8 after starting the season 4-20. The Celtics are now 15-14 on the season as they look to rebound from losses to the Bulls and Pistons. This season the Celts are 4-6 on the road and the Pistons are 7-10 at home.

Rondo cooled off a little after two straight games of +30 points, he had 17against the Bulls. Kevin Garnett had 18 and 10 in his first game back from a hip flexor. The Pistons are coming off of a win against the Kings where they were paced by Rodney Stuckey’s 36 points. Brandon Knight their rookie had a double-double with 23 points and 10 assists. The Celtics have to make sure that they find Ben Gordon after he went 4-6 from 3 in the 4th quarter the last time they played.

According to Synergy Sports, the Celtics have the 3rd rank defense and the 9th ranked offense. The Pistons have the 29th ranked defense and the 27th ranked offense. The Celtics should look to use their advantage off of screens to Ray Allen and even Mickael Pietrus. The Pistons rank 27th in defending screens. The Pistons are also the 30th best team in the NBA at defending isolations. The Celtics should look to spread and let Paul and Rondo have a little one-on-one  fun.