Taking Stock: Celtics – Raptors

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

Starters

Avery Bradley:  He has adjusted his game thanks to Doc Rivers, who has told him to mimic Andre Miller: "Instead of looking at the ball, we told him, just look at your man. Right when he turns his head, cut behind him, he’ll never know you’re gone"  That resulted in 4-4 shooting at the rim for Avery last night, and 1-2 shooting from 3-9 feet.  HUGE adjustment that has paid off.

Paul Pierce:  He filled the stat sheet once again with 17 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds in just 26 minutes.  Every one of those numbers makes me happy.

Kevin Garnett:  Stat of the night: 17 minutes for KG.  7 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in that amount of time is great, too.  Double all those numbers and you get a near triple double in 34 minutes of play (I know that's not how it really works… but humor me).  KG's passing lately has been impeccable.  Avery Bradley is probably the biggest beneficiary of KG's passes, too.  Plus… he hit a 3.  That's always a plus.
 

Jermaine O'Neal:  Just 14 minutes for Jermaine but he drew 3 charges and blocked a shot and grabbed 3 rebounds.  That's seven defensive stops he can personally stake a claim on.  Not bad at all for 17 minutes of play.    
 

Ray Allen:  

5-9 shooting, 2-3 from distance, and 5 assists to boot.  Nice night for Ray.

Bench

 Brandon Bass:  9 rebounds and 2… TWO… assists.  No pass Bass my ass.  I'll still give Brandon hell for NO shots at the rim, but he didn't need them yesterday.

Mickael Pietrus:  His shooting wasn't great, but he played very well defensively, worked hard, and he grabbed 5 rebounds… which is a nice plus.

Chris Wilcox:  18 injury-free minutes with 5 rebounds and some decent defense. Every game he plays and survives at the moment, I'm happy.  

Sasha Pavlovic:  2 blocks and 2 threes and a lot of energy.  He has clearly moved ahead of Marquis Daniels on the depth chart.

E'Twaun Moore:  This kid can really shoot the ball. The more confidence he gets, the better he's going to be.  I'm starting to think a future with Moore on the court along side Rajon Rondo won't be too bad at all. 

JaJuan Johnson:  Another kid that can score the ball.  We touched on it in the dump, but Doc is making ti sound like JaJuan is about to pass Greg Stiemsma on the depth chart.

 Greg Stiemsma:  He just doesn't have good hands. I've been saying that for a while now, and it's finally starting to catch up to him.  His ability to block shots is great, but the Celtics need a guy who can catch and finish when defenses pay too much attention to other guys.  The hands are a problem when he tries to rebound.  

Marquis Daniels:  I'll say it again.  I'm completely confused by Quis.  Stumped.  

Coaching

Doc Rivers:  The adjustment with Avery Bradley is paying off.  Getting Sasha more minutes to get confident and contribute is working out (yes, I actually just typed that).  And what coach doesn't look great in a 40 point blowout?

OVERALL 

The Celtics finally did what they were supposed to do… demolish a bad team at home.  The bench got a lot of 5-on-5 playing time, which they never do since teams can barely practice.  The starters got plenty of rest ahead of a big game against the Knicks.  For one day, everything is right with the world.