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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When you play 37 minutes, you’re going to be part of runs… good and bad. Rondo ended up as a -9, mostly because he came back into the game around the same time Kevin Durant went into takeover mode and chopped away at the Celtics lead.
I’ve also seen Rondo criticized for not attacking the basket (he took 2 shot at the rim, and 5 overall) and blaming the streak for it, but Rondo’s never been one to try to take layups against shot blockers. What I saw from Rondo was a guy who was in control of the game when he was on the floor. He set his guys up, again, for good shots in their comfort zones.
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Offense:
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KG was huge in the clutch, and his offensive rebounding down the stretch helped seal the win. 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists is a very beautiful game.
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Offense:
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Pierce’s defense is always underrated, but he stepped up big last night. Everyone is rightly focused on his offense, which was mostly awesome. He did a very good job on the other end of the floor as well.
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Offense:
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Defense: 
Very tough night offensively, but he did grab 4 offensive rebounds, and he was working his ass off on the floor. If you were to somehow not see the possessions where Bass missed shots, you’d probably think he had a good game.
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Offense:
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You’re not going to lose many games when JET scores 16 points on just 8 shots. And the dagger 3 at the end? Awesome. He’s found his shot, for sure.
Bench
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Offense:
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There isn’t much to say about this performance other than THAT’S HOW YOU SHOULD BE PLAYING EVERY GAME JEFF GREEN!!!!
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Offense:
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Once again, Rondo and Wilcox connect on an alley oop… this one wasn’t as resounding but it gave the Celtics a lead after a long stretch trailing the Thunder. I don’t think the Celtics have any plays for Wilcox (why would they?) but he puts himself in a position to score when the chances present themselves. I would have like to have seen at least one rebound, though.
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Offense:
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I KNOW Lee is a better shooter than 20% from 3. I know at the end of the season, I’ll write “Hey, remember when Lee struggled with his shot?” He did have 4 assists, though. One of those came off his only steal of the game… and the dish to Green for an acrobatic finish.
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Offense:
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At one point, Doc made it a point to applaud Barbosa for his ball pressure. It’s a tough thing to quantify in a box score, but in 11 minutes he did do a very good job of keeping pressure on OKC’s guards. He was a +17 on the night.
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Offense:
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Sullinger’s signature moment was stripping Hasheem Thabeet (earning a Tommy Point in the process), hitting the deck to save the ball, then hustling down the floor to catch a blocked Barbosa shot and put it back to cut the OKC lead to 2. Sullinger made 4 of the 6 shots he took, including another from 16-23 feet. He’s made about half of those this season.
Just sayin’….. you can play pick-and-pop with this kid.
Coaching
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Play Calling:
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Doc’s doing a fantastic job with KG’s minutes. In fact, he’s doing a fantastic job with the minutes distribution overall. There’s still some figuring to do with Barbosa and Lee… especially after Bradley returns. But Doc has clearly learned the early lessons from the season, and he has settled into a nice rotation. Problematic pairings that were hurting the C’s earlier in the season (like Bass & Sullinger together), aren’t happening very often anymore.
Overall
Sure, OKC made a run. They’re the Thunder. They’re going to do that, especially when Kevin Durant decides he’s going to pull up from 33 feet and start drilling them. But aside from that late burst and a couple of brain-farts, the Celtics did a good job swarming the Thunder defensively. Rondo was dropping dimes, Pierce was hitting shots and blowing by guys much younger than him, and KG was much in the clutch. This was our new “best win of the year.”
Now….. to see if the Celtics can build off it.
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