Taking Stock: Celtics – Magic

After every game, we'll take stock of how each individual performance affects the player's overall value.

Starters

Avery Bradley:  His D wasn't nearly what it was in the last Orlando game, and the 5 turnovers (a couple of them were really bad) were a problem.  And if E'Twaun Moore is going to play like he did last night, Avery… defense and all… will lose minutes.

Paul Pierce:  10 More assists for The Truth.  The man just gets it done.  He's averaging 8 assists per game over his last 5.  That's a leader.

Kevin Garnett:  Are you kidding me?  He gets the bump just for the post game interview.  KG was taking (and making) shots, he was rebounding, and he more than held his own defending Dwight Howard.  It's a little inexcusable for Dwight, since he's twice KG's size.  But KG played him very very tough, which was key to the comeback
 

 Brandon Bass:  Early foul trouble took him out of his rhythm.  But the 4-12 shooting is still not great, especially when no shots come at the rim.  I harp on it for a reason… Bass is at his best when he's taking a variety of shots.  He did contribute, though, in the comeback… finishing a with +10.  
 

Mickael Pietrus:  

 Good first half. Looks like I'm going to have to accept that he's just going to be Mr. Bombs Away from 3.  8 attempts from long range?  That's a lot.

Bench

E'Twaun Moore:  4-4 from deep… and the only reason he was in the game is because Keyon Dooling went down with a hip pointer.  We saw Moore's ability to shoot in the preseason.  Let's hope this gives him the confidence to take and make shots more often.

Marquis Daniels:  You look at his line and you'll see 4 points, 3 assists, 1 rebound, and 2 turnovers and think "why are they bumping up his stock?"  Because he did the little things to that showed up in one category:  He was a +13… and on the floor during a huge portion of that comeback.  

Keyon Dooling:  9 minutes after returning from injury, he falls hard and leaves with a hip pointer.  He's snake-bitten right now.

Greg Stiemsma: He still needs work.  He's got that instinct for blocking shots, but the rest of his game still needs works.

Chris Wilcox:  Limited minutes, but effective work on Dwight Howard.  He made his shots (both of them) and he got a few rebounds.  Considering his earlier struggles, this is damn near a break out game for him.

Sasha Pavlovic, JaJuan Johnson:  Sasha got some run early, but didn't do much.  Nice job of towel-waving from JJ, though.

Coaching

Doc Rivers:  Good for Doc for sticking to lineups that worked and keeping E'Twaun Moore's hot hand out there in a pressure situation.  I know Doc doesn't like the rookies that much, but he's not so stubborn that he's going to take a hot shooter off the floor.

OVERALL 

The Celtics followed up their best win of the year with an even better win, albeit for different reasons.  The Celtics second half defense, especially in the fourth quarter, made me a little misty eyed… like watching an old friend come back after disappearing for way too long.   The Celtics have shown heart and poise, and sent a message that they're not going to go quietly into that good night.