Reports: Doc wants Lee to score more
Doc Rivers reportedly sat down with guard Courtney Lee last week to encourage Lee to do what he was brought to Boston to do: score.
According to ESPN.com, Lee is averaging 5.9 ppg in 24.8 minutes so far this season, around 4 ppg less than his career average. He has scored 10+ ppg the past two games, but that is because Rondo was serving his two-game suspension for the Brawl with Brooklyn and Lee saw his minutes increase to around 38 per game in those games.
The Celtics brought in Lee to cover the absence of Avery Bradley, while Bradley recovers from two shoulder surgeries. Lee was scouted as a scorer who can play decent defense when needed. So far, the defense has been better than advertised, but the scoring just has not been there.
While the offense, ranked 15th in the league, does need to improve, this seems more like a change of focus for Lee. Bradley is close to returning to practice and a Bradley-Rondo backcourt will have the defense covered. Both Rondo and Bradley are young so playing one while the other rests is a real possibility. What the Celtics will need off the bench won't be stops, but buckets.
Lee has been a useful player as a whole, but if he cannot find a way to produce with less playing time then he will see his minutes distributed out to Bradley, Jason Terry and Leandro Barbosa. Watching former Celtics second round pick E'Twaun Moore, one of the players traded to bring in Lee, average over 10 ppg in Orlando, you have to wonder: Did they already have a player that could have filled the role that Lee will be asked to play?
#Celtics guard Courtney Lee said he had sitdown with Doc Rivers last week, that coach told him to be as aggressive on offense as he is on D.
— Scott Souza (@scott_souza) December 3, 2012
According to ESPN.com, Lee is averaging 5.9 ppg in 24.8 minutes so far this season, around 4 ppg less than his career average. He has scored 10+ ppg the past two games, but that is because Rondo was serving his two-game suspension for the Brawl with Brooklyn and Lee saw his minutes increase to around 38 per game in those games.
The Celtics brought in Lee to cover the absence of Avery Bradley, while Bradley recovers from two shoulder surgeries. Lee was scouted as a scorer who can play decent defense when needed. So far, the defense has been better than advertised, but the scoring just has not been there.
While the offense, ranked 15th in the league, does need to improve, this seems more like a change of focus for Lee. Bradley is close to returning to practice and a Bradley-Rondo backcourt will have the defense covered. Both Rondo and Bradley are young so playing one while the other rests is a real possibility. What the Celtics will need off the bench won't be stops, but buckets.
Lee has been a useful player as a whole, but if he cannot find a way to produce with less playing time then he will see his minutes distributed out to Bradley, Jason Terry and Leandro Barbosa. Watching former Celtics second round pick E'Twaun Moore, one of the players traded to bring in Lee, average over 10 ppg in Orlando, you have to wonder: Did they already have a player that could have filled the role that Lee will be asked to play?
