Celtics Player Grades vs New York Knicks
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| The New York Knicks beat the Boston Celtics 89-86 |
CelticsLife Game Recap
Celtics Player Grades:
I grade on a curve!
Kevin Garnett: 8 Points, 12 Rebounds
KG had a decent game tonight, although he did struggle in some areas. He did his best on the boards, and he did a good job messing up the potent Knick pick-and-roll. His excellence did not extend to the offensive end, where he missed the majority of the few shots he took. His efforts are appreciated, but he contributed somewhat to the offensive struggles of the team.
B
Brandon Bass: 4 Points, 2 Rebounds
We need more from him. Nothing more to say.
C-
Paul Pierce: 22 Points, 6 Rebounds
Pierce had a hot first half, but he mostly disappeared in the third and fourth quarter. He also had the two big mistakes at the end to effectively kill any chances of us winning the game. His defense was also lacking, especially on spot-ups. But it cannot be ignored that he did his best of getting to the rim and drawing free throws, while also giving us a scoring punch early on. Kill him for his mistakes, but praise his efforts.
B
Rajon Rondo: 23 Points, 11 Assists, 10 Rebounds
Rondo had a stellar game today. He helped keep the rebounding differential small, he scored when we needed it, and he did his best to try and get the anemic offense to wake up and run. He did absolutely everything to put us in a position to win, but unfortunately the team could not pull it out. The lowlight of his night would be a failed lob pass to Brandon Bass that turned into 2-points for the Knicks.
A
Avery Bradley: 5 Points, 4 Rebounds
While he offers a lot more than Bass, Avery also has to step up his game. He gave us very good defense tonight, but he also contributed to the anemic offense. His corner jumper abandoned him, and he could not hurt the Knicks on wide open shots. This team desperately needs more scoring, and Bradley is one of the few options remaining that could help in that department.
B-
Jared Sullinger: 7 Points, 3 Rebounds
Jared struggled tonight. He picked up 4 fouls in 15 minutes, got absolutely abused on defense, and failed to be much of a factor when he was out there. His defense the last couple games has regressed, and his lack of length was really highlighted tonight.
C+
Jeff Green: 9 Points, 6 Rebounds
Green deserves praise. He had a decent statline, but the main highlight was his defense. While Carmelo did get his points, Jeff did a good enough job to save Pierce from expending energy on that end (which unfortunately didn't lead to anything). He took a few way too many jumpers instead of driving to the rim however, which also did not help the team when it was looking for easy buckets.
B
Jason Collins: 2 Points
Played one minute and scored 2 points. That is a winning effort.
A+
Courtney Lee: 4 Points
Lee did a decent job when he played, by showing some aggression on both defense and offense. It was really frustrating to see him only play 15 minutes, and he should gotten some from Terry and Bradley. Doc wasted him tonight.
B
Jason Terry: 2 Points, 3 Assists
The sad thing about Jason is that he is not even invisible out there. You can clearly see him bricking shots, getting beat on defense, and making poor decisions with the ball. Something needs to change. He was the centerpiece of our offensive "upgrade" this year, and has done nothing to live up to those expectations.
D+
Leandro Barbosa:
Played an ineffective 9 minutes.
C+
Boston Celtics: 86 Points, 46 Rebounds, 18 Assists
The story tonight was the same as usual. The team played solid defense against a good offensive team. The team struggled to score. The team had an opportunity to win, but failed to keep their composure. These losses are especially frustrating because you would think that the Celtics would have blown the Knicks out if the Celtics offense was even average. But like usual, it failed to get baskets the entire game. Only Rondo and Pierce could score. But it was a decent effort against a good team, which cannot be ignored. The Celtics play the Atlanta Hawks tomorrow (01/25/13), and will continue their quest to get back to .500.
C+
How did you feel about the game tonight? The grades? Sound off in the comments!
You can follow Jun Pang on Twitter @CjEuLnTICS
