Celtics-Kings Player Grades

ESPN Box Score

Player Grades:
Rajon Rondo: B-. Should not have played tonight, looked very gimpy. Could not hit a shot or keep anyone in front of him. Will give credit for gutting it out, but hurt his team. On a positive note, got double digit assists for the first time since 12/21.

Paul Pierce: B-. Got his points but really made little impact on the game. Played terrible defense. Needs to stop playing hero-ball. Seriously why does Pierce keep taking harder shots? He needs to swallow his pride and start finishing plays. Curl off of screens, cut, post up. So versatile and skilled, but all he wants to do is chuck 3s and iso.

Courtney Lee: C+. Could not get his offense going, played poor defense. Brought energy but little else. Made a couple boneheaded plays. This guy is a limited role player. Expectations should be remain low.

Kevin Garnett: B+. Played as well as you could ask of him. This guy has been the only stable force this season. It is seriously unfair how much he is being asked to do this season.

Jason Collins: F. Brought absolutely nothing tonight. Needs to be booted out of the rotation. I love making jokes about him but it is depressing watching how bad he is. His pick-setting will not save him now.

Jason Terry: B. Made his shots. Played terrible defense. Maybe we are expecting too much? Looks miserable out there. Where is the swagger he had? We need an emotional leader to step up.

Jeff Green: B-. Started off strong, tailed off after that. Needs to exhibit higher basketball IQ. Settles for jumpshots way too often. We are hard on this guy for a reason. So athletic, but what does he do well? Had one hilarious post-up in the third quarter where he tried to do the one-legged fadeaway and failed miserably.

Jared Sullinger: B. Played hard, showed his limitations. If he was 2 inches taller, he'd be an "A" prospect. Too bad he is not. We cannot depend on him for major minutes, he is way too exploitable.Needs to lose some weight for next season. I am piling it on a little hard but it is best to temper Sullinger expectations.

Brandon Bass: B-. Quiet game, did not really make an impact anywhere. Needs to get his confidence back badly.

Conclusion:
Really nothing positive to see here. The Celtics will go into 2013 two games under .500. Avery Bradley cannot come back fast enough. Next game is on 01/02/12, against the Memphis Grizzlies at TD Garden.

You can follow Jun Pang on Twitter @CjEuLnTICS