Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
“I thought Rondo, as far as health-wise, I thought he was fine,” coach Doc Rivers said. “With the way we’re not scoring, and you could see Kevin[Garnett] struggle today with his shot, we really need [Rondo] to be more aggressive in our pick-and-roll package, in our offense. And it was funny, the beginning of the game he did that. And that’s not second nature to him, to be an aggressive scorer. But we really need him to be that.
“We need him to get in the open court, attack the basket, look for baskets in transition instead of guys shooting threes that aren’t going in. And that’s something we’ve just got to keep pushing.”
Rondo agreed with Rivers that he has to continue driving to the basket.
“That’s my game. I am going to continue to drive and I just didn’t get the calls tonight,” he said. “I’m out there playing. Everybody is fair game and I don’t really blame anything on my injury.”
It’s tough to single out Rondo when the entire offense is atrocious, but Doc does so because Rondo is the one who can get the easiest baskets.
How bad is it? The Celtics are averaging 84 points over the last four games. Rondo’s shooting about 33%. Pierce and Terry are both in the mid 30s for FG%. KG (48%) and Jared Sullinger (57%) are the only rotation guys with good numbers. Lee, Green and Bass are all way below average.
As for the lack of calls for Rondo, I didn’t think the officiating was a factor in the loss. Rajon hit the floor a few times on drives, but I didn’t think the officiating was any worse than usual.
Related links: CSNNE – Rivers: Celtics need Rondo to be aggressive | ESPN Boston – Celtics offense keeps disappearing
In other news, Avery Bradley says he feels great:
“I felt great out there,” he said. “I got a little winded. There was a little bit of adrenaline just running up and down the court, but it felt good to be out there. I just tried to play as hard as I can and I feel like everything’s going to come together as a team. I feel like we played hard tonight. …
“On the offensive end, I’ve still got to get a feel, pick my spots. All that will come, though. Like I said, my main focus is just to go out there and play hard. I feel like everything else will work itself out if I do that.”
And how did his shoulders hold up?
“No pain at all,” he said. “I’m fine.”
His jumper was a bit shaky, but everything else was pretty good. We have to give this kid at least 1-2 weeks before he’s up and running at near optimum levels.
The rest of the links:
Herald – Doc proves prophetic | Celtics fall four-ward | A defensive rebound set for Tony Allen, Celtics? | Fab Melo back, but injured | Globe – Bradley’s return not enough to spark C’s | Celtics are headed for a fall (Shank) |
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