After every game, we’ll take stock of how each individual performance affects the player’s overall value.
Starters
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Offense:
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He was in hyper-aggressive attack mode for most of the night and it was a pleasure to watch. When was the last time you saw Rondo drop a 12 point, 0 assist quarter? Five of his 7 buckets came within 9 feet. His defensive statistics were decent (2 steals, 1 block), but I’m upping the grade because of the team’s overall defensive play.
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Offense:
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KG was quiet on offense, taking just 9 shots. But with a red hot Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo, I can’t fault him. He tallied three blocks on defense and should have had a fourth. I’d like to see more than 6 rebounds, especially with Anderson Varejao on the bench. But he’s getting the overall green arrow because if the Cavs shot 40%, KG had something to do with it.
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Offense:
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Just an inspiring performance from the Truth. He was lethal from long-range . Lost in the scoring barrage was his 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Easily his best all-around game since Game 2 of last year’s playoff series with Atlanta. Alonzo Gee and Cleveland’s other small forwards are going to have nightmares for a while.
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Offense:
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A solid offensive game by JET. He shot 6-9, nailed three 3’s and even mixed in four assists. I didn’t feel like he forced many shots.
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Offense:
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1 point and 2 rebounds in 23 minutes. Only in the land of underachieving Celtics big men is this a big deal. He also gets credit for setting a couple of strong screens. I just can’t bring myself to insert a green arrow for a stat line like that.
Bench
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Offense:
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Defense: 3 points, 1 rebound in 14 unassuming minutes. He did stand out in one category: -17. A key contributor to the Cavs 20-2 run.
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Offense:
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Equally as bad as Jeff Green. Had more turnovers (3) than baskets (2). Didn’t seem to have his head in the game.
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Offense:
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Mediorcre at best. The only thing keeping him from a trio of red arrows is the fact Green and Lee set the bar so low.
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Offense:
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5 rebounds in 15 minutes? I’ll take that rebounding rate just about every game. Everything else – meh.
Coaching
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Offense:
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The insertion of Jason Collins into the starting line-up was pure genius. It put the rotation players on notice – if you don’t play aggressive and play smart defense, your ass will sit. It also worked because Anderson Varejao was on the bench. Collins responded with a mediocre game and Doc continued the mind-games in the press by calling the performance “amazing.”
Overall
The Cavs are a terrible team who played without their top rebounder and defender. Sure, I could nitpic about the Celtics inability to close out the game late in the 3rd quarter, but as we all know and hate – that’s not their style.
After three lackluster efforts on the road, I’m not going to fret over style points. The Celtics needed this win and they got it.
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