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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Rondo off the ball is a menace. If this was football, we say he’s a great free safety but a bad cornerback. With Bradley in the game, Rondo can roam into passing lanes and sneak up on players on the post. Offensively, he was aggressive, even against a super-tall big in Roy Hibbert. Rondo never drives on bigs like that… so it was great to see him attacking.
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Offense:
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This gets him all the green arrows in the world.
[youtube id=”fT8QdeEOJWs” width=”620″ height=”360″] |
Offense:
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Efficient scoring (5-10, 2-3 3pt), filling the stat sheet (6 reb. 5 ast.), and Paul George, who is super talented (and one of my favorite non-Celtics in the league) only had 9 points. Fantastic game from the Captain.
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Offense:
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He didn’t shoot much, or well. That doesn’t concern me much, especially when Pierce, KG and Rondo did so much scoring. He did he job just being a threat offensively to space the floor. Bass, however, grabbed 8 rebounds and blocked 2 shots… and he helped hold David West to 10 points.
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Offense:
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His jumper is coming along. I think he’s a couple of games from finding his stroke again. I think his presence, though, is having a noticeable effect on the team defense.
Bench
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Offense:
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At point, Paul Pierce checked into the game for Jeff Green, and I didn’t even realize Green had been on the floor. That’s my way of saying he didn’t do much. He was the only member of the regular rotation to have a negative +/- (-1)
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Offense:
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Only 14 minutes for JET. He did make a nice defensive play getting into a passing lane and coming up with a steal. Positive defensive plays from Terry are always worth noting.
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Offense:
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Look at who’s starting to get comfortable out there. Good thing nobody panicked and called for him to be traded just 30 games into his Boston career………….
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Offense:
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Say what you will about him, he was a +15 in 15 minutes of play. In the right role (read: limited minutes and not starting) he can do little things. He was on the floor for the Celtics big 2nd quarter run, and he contributed by defending. You may not have noticed, but he was actually a very important part of getting the defensive stops that contributed to that run.
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Offense:
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He still has his rookie moments. At one point in a half court set, KG motioned for Sullinger to go set a pick for Rondo at the top of the key. When he didn’t, KG yelled “COME ON SULLY… SHIT!!” … which is just hysterical. But that aside, Sullinger usually has a positive impact on this team when he’s out there. He did a tremendous job on the boards last night, and he’s playing with a little more of an edge (or at least its more noticeable to me). I like it. This team needs that.
Coaching
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Substitutions:
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It’s amazing how good a coach can look when he’s got all of his tools at his disposal. I recently joined the calls to start Sullinger, but I’m slowly creeping back to what Doc did last night putting Bass in as a starter. That’s the team that made the run last year, that’s the team that’s comfortable out there, and that’s what the team needs. They’re starting over with their playoff starters, and subbing in the new guys… which is always how it was supposed to be.
Overall
This one gets a BIG green arrow because this was truly the first “Celtics” win of the season. They made their big second quarter run because of their defense. Just about everyone played the way they were supposed to play, and, for one night, we could bask in the beauty of what we expected to see in the preseason.
Of course, all of this comes with the giant caveat that it’s only one game, and its entirely possible that the team could relax, or regress, tonight. But for now, I’m enjoying this total team win… which was won the right way.
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