After every game, we'll take stock of how each individual performance affects the player's overall value.
Starters
Paul Pierce: The 21 points were great, the 6 turnovers were not, neither was the 5-12 shooting. But he was drawing fouls and he he was producing more than he has been. On a back-to-back night, there's something to be said for that.
Rajon Rondo: Rondo spent 41 minutes bouncing off Chicago defenders, hitting the floor, and generally getting beaten to hell a couple of nights ago. Today he's getting heat for not doing it again? He was ridden hard less than 24 hours before, so I'm cutting him some slack. He still had 9 assists and he should have had a few more.
Ray Allen: Same goes for Ray. It's no shock that both guys who played 40+ minutes the night before were quiet the next.
Kevin Garnett: Much better night for KG who took 19 shots, making 10 and scoring 21 points. That's enough to end the stretch of red arrows in this feature. I can't go 180 degrees and upgrade his stock, though. Four of his shots were blocked, most on the team. He also turned it over 3 times and grabbed just 5 rebounds. A nice start to a potential turnaround for KG, but he's not turned around quite yet.
Jermaine O'Neal: 12 rebounds and 3 blocks? Ok, that's great. 0-6 shooting on makeable shots? That's not. Gotta make at least a couple of those.
Bench
Brandon Bass: He has cooled significantly. Oddly, he was 0-4 from 9 feet and in… and 5-8 between 10-23 feet. He's was 1-8 in spot-up situations, with 4 of his 5 baskets coming off an assist. We need better production up close, and a much better percentage if he's going to be "no pass Bass."
Mickael Pietrus: Much like the previous night, all of his 6 shots were from long range (5 from 3, 1 from just inside the line). They weren't horrible attempts, but there were also a few opportunities to get a little closer to the basket.
Avery Bradley: FML is right, Avery. 7 very unproductive minutes might have sent him to the bench for a while.
E'Twaun Moore: E'Twaun hit the floor and immediately came up with a steal, one of two on the night. 3-7 shooting for a 7 point, 3 assist, 2 rebound, 2 steal line. A bright spot in a generally "meh" game.
Greg Stiemsma: Same story for Stiemsma: a couple of blocks and a few rebounds, but still problems as he tries to get position for a board. Last night, it lead to fouls. He needs to hire a rebounding guru and work like hell to improve that.
Marquis Daniels, JaJuan Johnson:. JJ got some late garbage time, hitting an open jumper and finishing a break with a dunk. We know he can hustle and he can shoot, but there's nothing more you can really take out of that. There's nothing else to say with Quis.
Coaching
Doc Rivers: The tinkering continues. It looks like Avery Bradley's time is running out and Doc will go with Moore. Let's see what the mad scientist comes up with to pull the C's out of this.
OVERALL
The team didn't look all that bad early, which was nice. But they were making a lot of the same mistakes. There is some hope in the final offensive numbers produced by KG and Pierce, showing they are capable of some level of production. Hopefully, that gives some credence to the notion that time, conditioning, and cohesion will lift the Celtics from this malaise. Ultimately, I'll declare that it didn't get worse last night… we just saw more of the same. And considering how things are going, I'll take more of the same over getting worse.
I know, go ahead, make your jokes… "how can it get any worse?" Trust me, it can.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
