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

Starters

Offense:     Defense:      Overall:

Whether by injury, by choice, or by a lack of ability, Rondo’s defense has regressed badly.  Avery Bradley started out on Mike Conley, putting Rondo on Allen, and Allen promptly exploded for a 6-8 shooting night.   Rondo also struggled mightily with his shot, and made some very poor decisions late in the game.  He was wincing a lot out there, making me wonder if the injury is bothering him more than he or the team lets on.  But if it’s bothering him that much, he shouldn’t be out there.

Offense:        Defense:        Overall:

He couldn’t hit a damn thing.  I was iffy on the defensive rating, but I ultimately went neutral because there were just too many times I saw no effort in boxing out.

Offense:        Defense:        Overall:

I thought he was going to go for 40… then he cooled off… significantly.  He didn’t have his best game… nor did he have his worst.   I guess that why there’s so much yellow there.

Offense:         Defense:         Overall:

Yes, your starting center needs more than 1 rebound in 18 minutes.  He did play some decent defense in a couple of stretches, and he hit that set-shot looking thing.  That’s something.

Offense:         Defense:       Overall:

When I saw the Bradley back-door cut for the lay up… I damn near melted.  His jumper, however, snapped me back into the reality that it will take a little while for his jumper to return. Defensively, he started out on Conley and did a good job.  I don’t think Conley goes off again when they run this back in March.

Bench

Offense:         Defense:       Overall:

Green’s shot was falling.  He hit 4 of the 5 shots he took in 20 minutes.  I’m not saying he was awesome out there, but he was productive on the offensive end.  Defensively, though, he’s slow to recognize certain things on the floor.  It didn’t cost him as much in this game, but there were a few times Memphis could have attacked him on D but didn’t.

Offense:       Defense:        Overall:

The Celtics didn’t get Jason Terry for his defense, that’s for sure.

Offense:        Defense:        Overall:

The thing I’m most upset about in last night’s game is Lee’s lack of playing time.  He was aggressive, and he played some tough D.  Yes, he did have a couple of lapses, but overall, Lee was pretty good, and he deserved more time.

Offense:         Defense:        Overall:

He got to the rim a couple of times, which is nice.  He also made a couple of nice rotations on D that led to steals.  I’m bumping him down because he only got 1 rebound.  He came into the season saying he wanted to concentrate more on that… and his rebounding numbers are down.

Offense:         Defense:        Overall:

This kid will always work hard.  It doesn’t always pay off.  Defensively, he’s starting to understand it a little bit more, so the progress there is encouraging.  I think he forced it a little too much on offense.

Coaching

Substitutions:       Overall:

The game, to me, change significantly at the 8:36 mark in the 2nd quarter, when Avery Bradley checked in for Courtney Lee who was out there with Jason Terry.  The Celtics 4 point lead had turned into a 1 point deficit, and I felt like a defensive backcourt was the answer to stopping the Grizzlies run.  Instead, Bradley came in for Lee, and the Grizzlies tacked on 8 points to the lead by halftime.

Overall

Last night’s loss felt like I should throw a big massive red arrow here….. or maybe combined it with our elephant picture to make it look like it was taking a big red arrow dump.

But the reality is that this loss wasn’t all that bad.  In a vacuum, without the previous 3 losses putting us in a foul mood, the numbers show the Celtics played the Grizzlies pretty evenly (other than rebounding).

FG%:   MEM:  34-71 (47.9%)  BOS:  32-71 (45.1%)
3PT FG%:   MEM: 8-18 (44.4%)  BOS: 8-22 (36.4%)
Assists:   MEM: 23  BOS: 22
Turnovers:  MEM: 13  BOS: 10

The game was won at the line, where Memphis made 17 to Boston’s 11.  The Celtics actually won the points in the paint battle last night.  They only lost the 2nd chance points battle 10-6.  They won in fastbreak points 15-10.

It felt horrible.  It looked bad at times.  But it wasn’t as bad as you think.  They played the West’s 4th seed, a now 20-9 team, pretty evenly.  And this isn’t to say “hey look, we’re fine.”  It’s just saying it’s not as bad as you think.