Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
But considering the players that were getting the bulk of the minutes Sullinger and Green usually get, Stevens made the right call in going away from them.
Brandan Wright, Kelly Olynyk and Brandon Bass all played more than Sullinger because they were making a greater impact with the minutes they were allotted.
The same goes for Jae Crowder who was playing small forward.
He doesn’t have nearly as diverse a game offensively as Green, but his strength and physical play defensively were key to Boston cutting Orlando’s 27-point lead in the fourth quarter down to just three points with 2:33 to play.
“Jae just brought a different level of physicality,” Stevens said. “He was really into it. He’s kind of like Marcus Smart, a little bit bigger. I was really pleased with what he did defensively.”
CSNNE: Green and Sullinger spend 4th quarter on the bench
The irony of this statement is that the actual Marcus Smart also spent a significant amount of time on the bench, playing 16:30 overall and just 5 minutes in the second half.
Jeff Green and Jared Sullinger played a combined 8 minutes in the second half… which is my nice way of putting it because Green played all 8 of those minutes. Sully posted an 0-for-everything stat line to finish with zero points and 2 rebounds.
Sullinger’s problems have lingered for a while. It may be an inability to play well along side Tyler Zeller, who occupies a lot of the same space while Kelly Olynyk would spend more time around the perimeter. It may be a problem with a lot of the length the Celtics have been facing. It might be a problem in his own head. Something is going on and has been for a while.
The Celtics have time to figure it out with Sullinger. Green, though, is a different case.
He had a good game against Minnesota in the immediate aftermath of the Rondo trade, but since then has looked like a lost puppy on the court. He’s shot 6 of 18 (3-8 from 3, though), for 17 points combined against Miami and Orlando. Last night was his first single-digit scoring game of the season, and, for the second time this season, he posted back-to-back sub-40% shooting nights (previously 38.5% vs Philly on 11/19 and 27.3% vs Memphis 11/21).
The difference between these two terrible shooting nights and the other two is that Green had 16 combined rebounds, and 6 combined assists then, and 3 rebounds and 3 assists this time… all of those coming in the Miami game.
So Green had been doing at least some other things in his bad shooting games to justify his time on the court. He was giving some effort. He was helping in some small way. Last night, though, he was doing none of that. Which meant Jae Crowder got a bunch of his minutes, and which drew this astute observation from Celtics Stuff Live host Jon Duke.
Prediction: Jae Crowder’s effort is going to have Celtics fans ready to send Jeff Green away. For good.
— Jon Duke (@CSL_Duke) December 24, 2014
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Green is a better player. More talented for certain, but on this team, at this time, Crowder speaks to what they need a whole lot more.
— Jon Duke (@CSL_Duke) December 24, 2014
Celtics fans can accept a lot. We can accept the team will struggle mightily on many nights after the Rondo trade as new guys try to lead this team. We can accept that some matchups will render certain players useless on some nights, even though they have generally performed well. We can accept a fair amount of losing as this rebuilding process moves forward.
But we will not accept talented players not giving effort while his replacement does. That’s why the worm started to turn on Rondo this season, and that’s why we will reach critical mass on Jeff Green in very short order and forget his early season success if this continues.
I always say things that happen before Christmas rarely matter in the NBA. The NBA’s big Christmas day schedule is a sort of re-opening night, signalling to teams that we are about to change calendars and be a page away from the trade deadline. Teams need to see Jeff Green rise up and be able to create his own shot, at least some times, and carry the team for some stretches. He can’t let Jae Crowder come in and win over the fan base simply with his effort.
Because Crowder will absolutely do that. An effort and energy guy will win this crowd over faster than Russell Crowe in Gladiator.
Maybe Jeff Green sees the Rondo trade as the domino falling in front of him. Maybe he knows that he’s next. Maybe he doesn’t want to go through a forced change of address again.
Whatever it is, Green’s got to get past it. There’s isn’t much that’s going to change this course now. Might as well get pissed off, step up, and go out on a high note.
Related links: Herald: Green, Sullinger sit | MassLive: Stevens impressed with Crowder’s physicality
The rest of the links:
Globe: Celtics rally falls short | Nelson starts vs. former team | Herald: Celtics can’t make steal | CSNNE: Nelson: Orlando holds a special place in my heart | MassLive: Nelson leads late comeback
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