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9 days ago

Painful Reminders (Part I): The Celtics Drafted JaJuan Johnson Instead of Jimmy Butler

On June 23rd, 2011, Brian Robb and I stood around a high top bar table in Tommy Doyle’s in Kendall Square.  Before us lay one of the biggest mounds of buffalo chicken wings I had ever endeavor to make disappear.  These 25 cent flappers- one of the few indulgences afforded to the participants of our [...]

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9 days ago

Chris Wilcox: 2012-13 Final Grade

There are a number of contextually-appropriate ways to craft this post. One would be to forgo words entirely, and represent Chris Wilcox’s entire season with a series of videos. That would involve one part of this: For every eight parts of this: Note the headline on that second clip. Someone was so amused/enraged by Wilcox’s [...]

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10 days ago

Rajon Rondo’s 2012-13 Final Grade

Here’s a sweeping general statement involving super specific statistics that may or may not mean anything: In the 1423 minutes Rajon Rondo played this season, the Boston Celtics were outscored by 1.3 points per 100 possessions. When he sat (including all contests after he tore his ACL), Boston was better than their opponents by 1.8 [...]

94
11 days ago

Avery Bradley Elected to NBA All-Defense Second Team

Avery Bradley has been a standout defender for the past couple seasons…in the regular season anyway. Now he has a trophy to prove it. The NBA announced this afternoon that the third-year guard has been elected by coaches around the league to the second-team all-NBA defensive team for the first time in his career. Bradley [...]

13
14 days ago

Paul Pierce’s Contract: Dispelling The Myths and Stating The Facts

The first domino to fall this offseason is Paul Pierce’s contract. Until Danny Ainge figures out what he’s doing there, little else matters. As we wait for this decision, we also must face the rest of the offseason, which means it is also rumor season. With that time of year, comes plenty of information floating [...]

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14 days ago

Final Grade: Avery Bradley (C+)

In his third year in the league, in which promising players often make brash leaps from benchwarmer to starter, from starter to star, Avery Bradley took a big step back. But his regression might be deceptive. When he returned to the Celtics’ lineup on January the 2nd after two in-season months recovering from offseason shoulder [...]

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Doc’s 180 on Rondo’s Jumper

On Jan. 4, 2009, the New York Knicks had Jared Jeffries (their “center”) guard Rajon Rondo and essentially ignore him. Instead of taking wide-open jumpers, Rondo tried to use the extra space allotted him to take Jeffries off the dribble for lay-ups. He shot 1-of-7 and the C’s offense sputtered in an ugly 100-88 loss.

After that game (last season), Doc applauded Rajon for attacking the hoop instead of taking wide-open Js. Via the CelticsBlog archives:

Said Rivers of Rondo’s way of confronting that type of defense: “By driving. I think, just because someone gives you a jump shot doesn’t mean you have to take it. I think that’s been his biggest improvement.”

“I think it gives you a running start when [opposition players] do back off, and that’s what he’s done.”

And now, after another game in which the Knicks ignored Rondo on the perimeter, Doc Rivers is saying this (via the Globe):

Rivers said he wants Rondo, who has struggled with perimeter shooting as well as free throw shooting all season, to shoot when he is open. Rondo was left open for a 3-pointer that could have won the game in regulation but missed it.

Teams are laying off Rondo because he has yet to prove he can hit mid-range jumpers consistently. While he wants his point guard to continue the flow of the offense, Rivers said he also wants Rondo to be more assertive offensively.

“He missed one late in [Sunday’s] game but it was great,’’ Rivers said. “He just stepped into the shot, but those will go in for him.’’

So Rondo has the green light. There will be some growing pains and some ugly shooting lines, just like there were with Glen Davis last season. But we saw the payoff during the post-season.

Will Rondo’s jumper follow the same path? It’s one of a handful of questions that will determine the fate of the C’s season.


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