Boston Celtics' Player Outlook and Pre-All-Star Break Grades
The Boston Celtics are showing that the road to the Finals must go through them.
Boston is searching for consistency as the Chicago Bulls snapped their five game winning streak and they are tied with the Miami Heat for the best record in the Eastern Conference. Boston has the Miami Heat in its rear view mirror and has the advantage with two quality wins against them.
They are doing it with a still ailing Rondo and starting a center, Shaquille O'Neal, who is past his prime, because of the injuries to their big men.
How are they doing this? They must be super heroes like the X-men. A dysfunctional band that just find ways to get the job done. Maybe the Fantastic Four because Rondo is being recognized for the things he can do. Kevin Garnett is supposed to make his return soon and Kendrick Perkins is about three weeks away from being able to practice without restrictions.
Doc Rivers has done a great job at keeping the team afloat and it speaks to the quality players on the Celtic bench. The team itself has probably peaked without the services of its big men. The loss to Chicago shows that they cannot continue to give Shaq and Jermaine O'Neal heavy minutes. Their days of giving max production with heavy minutes are over.
Danny Ainge has targeted the wrong players for the mid-level exception two years in a row. Last year's debacle with Rasheed Wallace still is a source of contention. Wallace has also been seen around the Celtic facilities prompting rumors of a return. Say it isn't so. This year J.O. just can't seem to get off the ground due to chronic sore knees.
Yes, the Celtics have done a bang-up job (pun intended), in keeping their dreams of home-court advantage alive. It's now time to grade their individual efforts.
Paul Pierce: The Truth Gives the Game What It Needs!
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The captain Paul Pierce is the heart and soul of the Boston Celtics. Last year's Game Seven loss is the driving force behind his improved play. It seems hard to believe that he is just coming into his own as a player and a leader.
You can see it in the way he continues to be the steadying force in what ever category the team needs help in. They need assists, scoring and rebounding; Pierce simply gets it done and leads the team to victory.
P.P. is the Rodney Dangerfield at his position in fan All-Star voting. He is currently fourth in the voting and may have to make it as a reserve. This is the same player whose team has consistently beaten Dwayne Wade and LeBron James as individuals and teammates. Yet he still has to play the 'I get no respect' card.
Grade: A
Ray Allen: A Sniper and a Gentleman!
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Ray Allen's soft stroke is the stuff of basketball legend and his gentlemanly demeanor masks the steely determination of his competitive spirit. He has the uncanny ability to make shots regardless of the situation. He doesn't say much, but every once in awhile the camera will catch that slow smirk that spreads across his face when he knows his shot has just sealed the victory for his team.
He is often the barometer for Boston's success. The Celtics win most of the time when Allen scores at least 20 points in a game.
The uncertainty and challenges he faced before and after last year's trade deadline were well documented. Boston didn't trade him and he had to decide if he was going to chase a title in another uniform after the season was over.
In the end Allen returned to the Celtics and Celtic nation is forever grateful that he did.
He is playing with the confidence of a man who knows his future is secure and whose window off opportunity is shrinking. Ray-Ray takes very good care of his body and his game; he also is playing better defense. If we can only break him off the habit of trying to create for others the team's turnover rate would be significant lowered.
His motto should be: I make buckets!
Grade: A-
Kevin Garnett: One Flew Over the Green Briar Patch!
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There is nothing warm and fuzzy about Kevin Garnett's game. Somewhere in Garnett's basketball maturation process he must have sat in a green briar patch just to see if he could. It screams of nails and pails and postgame tales that should only be heard after the children are in bed.
Kevin Garnett's body has not been kind to him in his post-title years. Rumors of his demise filled the airwaves and many thought that Boston was heading for rebuilding mode. The 2010-11 season saw a new-old K.G., even his wife commented on how he hadn't moved that way on the court since his Minnesota Timberwolves days.
K.G. was back in rare form and the Celtic brass were mildly pleased because he had exceeded their expectations in terms of the return of his mobility, offensive and defensive bounce. The injury to his calf muscle on the same surgically repaired leg caused a scare, but K.G. is back to doing shooting drills and has shown no ill effects from the injury so far.
A healthy Garnett is a key cog to Boston's title hopes without him they have no one to deal with the Pau Gasols, Joakim Noahs and other mobile big men in the league.
Grade: A
Rajon Rondo: Go, Go, Rondo GOOOO!!
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Everytime you see this diminutive point guard on the court the theme song from Speed Racer combined with the quickness and agility of Road Runner flash through my mind. Just imagine the rest of the league like Wile E. Coyote have figured out the velocity and trajectory of his every movement, but somehow he ends up outsmarting you anyway. His array of passes reminds you of the gadgetry Speed Racer has at his disposal in the Mach Five.
This team was built for Rondo to run. He has four hall-of-famers in his starting unit( until Kendrick Perkins comes back). all of which can break out with a 30 point game at anytime. The beauty of this is that with Rondo's passing and play making ability they don't have to carry the offensive load by themselves.
Because of Rondo's passing fancy the Celtics are leading the league in offensive efficiency, shooting over 50 percent as a team. Some try to make a case and say that you can plug any point guard in his situation.
That is not true!
Steve Nash may give more scoring however his lack of foot speed on the defensive end would hurt the team. Nash plays an all-out, up-tempo style which would wreak havoc on the older Celtics' legs. All the other elite point guards are shoot-first types which would lower the team's efficiency rating.
Rondo's value is often undervalued, underrated and overlooked. But in spite of his teammates' pedigrees he manages to keep himself in the conversation and is making his case for being the next great Celtic.
Grade: A
Glen " Big Baby" Davis: Leave It to Baby!
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Glen Davis has done his best to put last season's start in his rear view mirror. This year he has mostly towed the company line and as any baby would do, from time to time put his foot in his mouth.
Davis has filled in quite well as the starting power forward while Kevin Garnett recovers from his latest leg injury. He was moseying along doing his thing until he met a healthy Carlos Boozer. Davis could not match Boozer's intensity and showed that he had a long way to go when contending with other starting fours his height.
Baby admitted in baby-talk that he had miles told go before he could be mentioned with a Carlos Boozer and Kevin Garnett. Translation: he won't get max-money if he doesn't fair well next time he meets Boozer.
He is what he is, an energy guy who could be a starter on a young team. Davis may yet be a bargaining chip in the offseason.
Grade: B
Nate Robinson: A Quick Delivery!
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Let's face it. Nate didn't get it till the playoff round. The bottom line is that he got it when it mattered. And it seems like it has carried over into this season. Like Glen Davis he has been called to start from time to time and has been largely successful in those stints.
That is all well and good except that he hasn't done as well when placed with the second unit. He needs to find his rhythm because the Celtics are not getting enough bench points.
Delonte West's injury has impacted his play most of all because he is forced to be a playmaker instead of maximizing his ability to score.
Grade: B-
Marquis Daniels: An Ordinary Game!
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Marquis' name speaks of royalty. His game? Not so royal, though it could be. There are times when his steady and herky-jerky post moves leave his teammates and defenders befuddled. His teammates wonder why he doesn't do this all the time and his opponents can't believe that he just juked them.
He plays multiple wing positions and is a decent defender, yet Daniels continues his disappearing act and may be traded soon if he doesn't start adding value to the second unit. Once again Delonte West's absence has changed the responsibility of a key player in the team's bench rotation.
Grade: C
Shaquille O'Neal, the Big Shamrock: Stay Green, Just Stay Green!
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Gone are the days of being the offensive focal point. Instead Shaquille O'Neal went door-to-door to peddle his services and the Celtics listened.
It was a fortunate decision, because their featured big man acquisition Jermaine O'Neal has been hampered by an old injury. Shaq, the elder of the two, has fit in nicely with the starters and has provided the unexpected benefit of being a defensive presence during his limited time on the floor.
Boston can't depend on him playing a lot of minutes, but he will do until Perkins returns.
Grade: B
Jermaine O'Neal: My Chronic Knee Pain!
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Jermaine O'Neal seemed to have cornered the market on chronic knee pain and whatever hangnail issues that seem to keep him off the court. The Celtics gave him the full mid-level exception and just like Rasheed Wallace last year they still can't get the game or player for their bucks.
J.O. has come to terms with not getting much touches, but like Nate Robinson he may not catch on defensively 'til the playoffs. When he does get it, let's hope his knees will allow him to produce on the court.
This may be his last go-round as it is highly unlikely that Boston will welcome him back next year.
Grade: D
Luke Harangody: "Gody's" Debut and the Return of Cool Hand Luke!
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Luke Harangody, just like in the draft, has been mostly an afterthought throughout the first 30 games of the season. Kevin Garnett's injury changed all that. Ala Glen Davis, "Gody" seems to thrive when given the opportunity. He is stating a case for more playing time when K.G. returns. He rebounds very well for his height and proved his toughness well before the season started. During the Vegas Summer League, he received stitches in the head, returned to the game and still rebounded the ball in traffic.
Doc will be hard-pressed to keep him out of the rotation now that the rookie shows that at least he understands that rebounding and defense will keep him on the court. it doesn't hurt that he can stretch the floor with his three-point range either.
Grade: C
Semih Erdin: A Turk Lands In Boston!
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Semih Erdin was the mister irrelevant of his draft. The Celtics let him stay in his native Turkey to play international ball because they knew he wasn't ready for NBA action.
Flash forward two years later and Semih has made an unexpected splash in Celtic Green. When the Celtic veteran big-men were felled by injury, he was thrust in the starting lineup, produced and showed flashes of an NBA game. Off course, hanging out with KG and Shaq is also accelerating his growth. He himself has been slowed by injury in recent weeks, but the Celtics are assured of a young mobile developing big man with an offensive game.
Makes a great insurance policy if Perkins can't return to form also needs to get stronger in the post.
Grade: C
Other Celtic Player Grades:
Delonte West: incomplete due to injury
Kendrick Perkins: incomplete due to injury
Von Wafer: F offensive game is inconsistent and defense still seems to be a foreign language to him
Avery Bradley: D- has NBA defensive games, but still can't run a team.
