Celtics-Thunder Grades

Posted by Ryan DeGama on Nov 24, 2012 3274816 commentsCeltics-Thunder+Grades2012-11-24+07%3A57%3A20Ryan+DeGama

Oklahoma City Thunder

100

108

Boston Celtics

	Kevin Garnett, PF 32 MIN \| 5-11 FG \| 8-10 FT \| 9 REB \| 4 AST \| 18 PTS \| +18 A terrific night for KG, who looked crisp from the opening tip and then got stronger as the night went on. He finished with 18 points on only 11 shot attempts (and 10 FTAs) and hauled in 9 rebounds. He was sharper on defense than in recent games and the team fell in line behind him. As they do.
	Brandon Bass, PF 27 MIN \| 3-12 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 6 REB \| 0 AST \| 6 PTS \| -9 Shot badly, rebounded competently. One of those nights where I was reminded of his ceiling and wished it was higher.
	Paul Pierce, SF 31 MIN \| 8-16 FG \| 7-7 FT \| 4 REB \| 1 AST \| 27 PTS \| +1 Like his amped up teammates, he came out strong in the first half on defense, even if his shots weren’t falling. In the second half, they fell. A throwback game for Pierce, who did his damage exactly where you want him to: at the line and from the arc.
	Rajon Rondo, PG 37 MIN \| 2-5 FG \| 1-2 FT \| 8 REB \| 16 AST \| 6 PTS \| -9 Rondo committed himself to probing OKC’s defense for holes, pushing up the floor in transition and slashing into the paint until he could make a play or he was forced back. Basically, he didn’t fight himself today. The final numbers weren’t quite as big as some of his playoff performances from last spring but this is the prototype game for our weird, beautiful PG.
	Jason Terry, SG 30 MIN \| 6-8 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 2 REB \| 0 AST \| 16 PTS \| 0 Microwaved his way to 16 points on 8 shots including a couple biggies during that hold-your-breath fourth quarter. A couple of you made the comment in the post-game thread but even if I kinda hate watching Terry run Ray’s old curls, I’m thrilled he’s in Boston. He’s going to cause all sorts of problems for the opposition in the playoffs.
	Jeff Green, PF 25 MIN \| 6-11 FG \| 5-5 FT \| 2 REB \| 0 AST \| 17 PTS \| +3 If this is what you get for $9M a year, I can live with it. He can’t rebound to save his life, but the consistent offensive aggression looks good on him and carries over to his defense, which will be serviceable enough at the 3-spot. Can’t shake the notion that he’s too well-mannered, though.
	Jared Sullinger, PF 14 MIN \| 4-6 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 3 REB \| 1 AST \| 8 PTS \| +15 The refs stuck him with a couple of nonsensical rookie calls but Sullinger was terrific out there, including one sequence where he went to the mat to steal the ball on one end and then raced up the court to grab an offensive rebound and putback on the other. Compare, too, his rebounding numbers to some of the other characters on this roster.
	Chris Wilcox, PF 15 MIN \| 3-3 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 0 REB \| 1 AST \| 6 PTS \| -4 Not a rebound or free throw to be found in 15 minutes. This is why he’s a bench player. It isn’t now, nor has it ever been, an every night thing with Mr. Wilcox in Boston. We got him for bargain money though, so we’ll live with nights like this.
	Courtney Lee, SG 19 MIN \| 2-5 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 1 REB \| 3 AST \| 4 PTS \| +8 Slowly, slowly finding his way. I can now think of a few recent plays he’s made that leave an impression in mind: particularly when he finishes in transition or sticks to his guy on defense. Doesn’t seem to have the rotations yet and he’s doing precious little on offense but you can envision it all coming together sometime in the new year.
	Leandro Barbosa, SG 11 MIN \| 0-3 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 1 REB \| 2 AST \| 0 PTS \| +17 Do no harm.

A final note on grades: these are higher than I usually give, owing in part to the strength of the efforts and in part to grading on a curve: the Celtics ran up these games against a high level of competition. The Thunder came hard in this game.

Tags: Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder

	Kevin Garnett, PF 32 MIN \| 5-11 FG \| 8-10 FT \| 9 REB \| 4 AST \| 18 PTS \| +18 A terrific night for KG, who looked crisp from the opening tip and then got stronger as the night went on. He finished with 18 points on only 11 shot attempts (and 10 FTAs) and hauled in 9 rebounds. He was sharper on defense than in recent games and the team fell in line behind him. As they do.
	Brandon Bass, PF 27 MIN \| 3-12 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 6 REB \| 0 AST \| 6 PTS \| -9 Shot badly, rebounded competently. One of those nights where I was reminded of his ceiling and wished it was higher.
	Paul Pierce, SF 31 MIN \| 8-16 FG \| 7-7 FT \| 4 REB \| 1 AST \| 27 PTS \| +1 Like his amped up teammates, he came out strong in the first half on defense, even if his shots weren’t falling. In the second half, they fell. A throwback game for Pierce, who did his damage exactly where you want him to: at the line and from the arc.
	Rajon Rondo, PG 37 MIN \| 2-5 FG \| 1-2 FT \| 8 REB \| 16 AST \| 6 PTS \| -9 Rondo committed himself to probing OKC’s defense for holes, pushing up the floor in transition and slashing into the paint until he could make a play or he was forced back. Basically, he didn’t fight himself today. The final numbers weren’t quite as big as some of his playoff performances from last spring but this is the prototype game for our weird, beautiful PG.
	Jason Terry, SG 30 MIN \| 6-8 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 2 REB \| 0 AST \| 16 PTS \| 0 Microwaved his way to 16 points on 8 shots including a couple biggies during that hold-your-breath fourth quarter. A couple of you made the comment in the post-game thread but even if I kinda hate watching Terry run Ray’s old curls, I’m thrilled he’s in Boston. He’s going to cause all sorts of problems for the opposition in the playoffs.
	Jeff Green, PF 25 MIN \| 6-11 FG \| 5-5 FT \| 2 REB \| 0 AST \| 17 PTS \| +3 If this is what you get for $9M a year, I can live with it. He can’t rebound to save his life, but the consistent offensive aggression looks good on him and carries over to his defense, which will be serviceable enough at the 3-spot. Can’t shake the notion that he’s too well-mannered, though.
	Jared Sullinger, PF 14 MIN \| 4-6 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 3 REB \| 1 AST \| 8 PTS \| +15 The refs stuck him with a couple of nonsensical rookie calls but Sullinger was terrific out there, including one sequence where he went to the mat to steal the ball on one end and then raced up the court to grab an offensive rebound and putback on the other. Compare, too, his rebounding numbers to some of the other characters on this roster.
	Chris Wilcox, PF 15 MIN \| 3-3 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 0 REB \| 1 AST \| 6 PTS \| -4 Not a rebound or free throw to be found in 15 minutes. This is why he’s a bench player. It isn’t now, nor has it ever been, an every night thing with Mr. Wilcox in Boston. We got him for bargain money though, so we’ll live with nights like this.
	Courtney Lee, SG 19 MIN \| 2-5 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 1 REB \| 3 AST \| 4 PTS \| +8 Slowly, slowly finding his way. I can now think of a few recent plays he’s made that leave an impression in mind: particularly when he finishes in transition or sticks to his guy on defense. Doesn’t seem to have the rotations yet and he’s doing precious little on offense but you can envision it all coming together sometime in the new year.
	Leandro Barbosa, SG 11 MIN \| 0-3 FG \| 0-0 FT \| 1 REB \| 2 AST \| 0 PTS \| +17 Do no harm.

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

Chris Wilcox: 2012-13 Final Grade

Rajon Rondo’s 2012-13 Final Grade

Avery Bradley Elected to NBA All-Defense Second Team

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

Final Grade: Avery Bradley (C+)

Celtics-Thunder Grades

3274816 CommentsCeltics-Thunder+Grades2012-11-24+07%3A57%3A20Ryan+DeGama

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

Chris Wilcox: 2012-13 Final Grade

Rajon Rondo’s 2012-13 Final Grade

Avery Bradley Elected to NBA All-Defense Second Team

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

Final Grade: Avery Bradley (C+)

Celtics-Thunder Grades

3274816 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2012%2F11%2F24%2Fceltics-thunder-grades%2FCeltics-Thunder+Grades2012-11-24+07%3A57%3A20Ryan+DeGamahttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D32748

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

3274816 CommentsCeltics-Thunder+Grades2012-11-24+07%3A57%3A20Ryan+DeGama