Playing professor: Grading the Celtics in their 89-83 loss to the Bobcats
Sheesh. Everyone starts writing nice things about the Celtics, and they go out and lay an egg like that.
Thought the effort was strong tonight, but obviously the production was not.
Here are the Celtics grades in their 89-83 loss to the Bobcats.
Starters:
Jordan Crawford: B
Stat line: 16 points, 6 assists, 5 boards, 2 steals, 6-15 FG, -2 +/-, 35 minutes
Crawford cooled down tonight, but was still one of the Celtics best players. On an off night he still produced a 6:2 Assits/Turnover ratio and was aggressive once he realized his teammates were not converting open looks. He struggled a bit with his shot but got into the paint seemingly at will, a positive sign of things to come.
Avery Bradley: B-
Stat line: 7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 3-8 FG, -3 +/-, 23 minutes
Bradley couldn't escape foul trouble tonight, and for the first time in a week, the jumper wasn't falling. AB also had a crucial 4th quarter turnover that basically sealed the loss with under 20 seconds to go. Still, Bradley's calling card is his defense, and when he was on the floor he harassed Kemba Walker and Gerald Henderson (who finished a combined 6-27 tonight). Even when Bradley is playing poorly offensively, he's still a guy who can make an impact.
Jeff Green: B-
Stat line: 19 points, 1 rebound, 7-13 FG, -7 +/-, 32 minutes
The positive: 19 points on 13 shots in 32 minutes. Green continues to be an efficient, consistent scorer for this team. The negative: he didn't do anything else. 1 rebound and no assists in 32 minutes? Borderline unacceptable. I thought Green floated a bit tonight, which has always been something that has dogged him. On a night where his teammates couldn't throw the ball in the ocean, Green should have been more assertive.
Brandon Bass: C-
Stat line: 7 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 2-9 FG, -9 +/-, 27 minutes
Terrible shooting night for Bass who has now shot the ball poorly in back to back games. Still, the effort was there from Bass as he grabbed 8 boards in only 27 minutes of action. Blip on the radar for one of the Celtics most consistent guys.
Kelly Olynyk: C
Stat line: 6 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 1-4 FG, -11 +/-, 33 minutes
Weird night for KO as he set a career high with 11 boards, but also struggled mightily defensively and couldn't get much going with his offensive game. He did get to the line 4 times which is a positive sign, but his 4 turnovers were a team high. At the end of the day you're not going to win many games when three starters put up single digit points, and tonight was an example of that for Boston.
Bench:
Gerald Wallace: B+
Stat line: 10 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 4-7 FG, -4 +/-, 32 minutes
Another strong effort by Crash off the bench as he finished 3rd on the team in both scoring and rebounding while starting the game on the pine. His intensity level has been amazing all season, but it was nice to see him be more aggressive tonight with his shot. He put up 7 in 32 minutes, which doesn't sound like much, but is a higher attempt rate than we've been seeing.
Vitor Faverani: B-
Stat line: 7 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 2-8 FG, +10 +/-, 22 minutes
It's tough for a big man to go 2-8 from the floor and earn a B-..but Vitor's effort both on the glass (9 boards in 22 minutes is legit) and on defense (he was the Celtics best defender down low tonight) earned him that grade. Faverani is proving to be the perfect big man off the bench, giving this team a spark with his high motor, above average rebounding and solid offensive game. He missed a few bunnies tonight, but was still a net positive overall.
Courtney Lee: B+
Stat line: 10 points, 2-4 FG, +2 +/-, 14 minutes
10 points on 4 shots in 14 minutes and strong defense on Kemba Walker. Not much to nitpick with Lee, but he did make two terrible passes that led to turnovers, one of which was on a 3-on-2 break. Lee's passing is the one thing holding him back from being a valuable trade chip (the man can't even play a passable PG), and tonight it held him back from an A. Still, if he keeps shooting like this he's a really good guy to have around.
Phil Pressey: F
Stat line: 1 turnover, 0-4 FG, -4 +/-, 11 minutes
These nights are going to happen for undrafted rookies who can't shoot. Pressey did nothing in his 11 minutes tonight, hopefully he bounces back the next time out.
Kris Humphries: D
Stat line: 1 point, 0-1 FG, -2 +/-, 10 minutes
Another guy who had an empty stat line, Hump failed to make an impact for the first time this season. Overall on the year he has played 57 minutes and scored 20 points with 14 rebounds and 4 blocks. Per-36 minutes that equates to 12.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. Give the guy minutes and he'll produce. Just not tonight.
As for Brad Stevens, didn't notice much good or bad tonight. But the team was a bit flat coming out, so he gets a C.
Celtics now 4-5 on the season and holding down the 8-seed in the East at this exact moment.
Those are my grades, now give me yours.
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The streak ends; Celtics lose to Bobcats 89-83
Photo Courtesy: AP/Elise Amendola
