10 Games in

While I think it is too early in the season to make any assessments in concrete, 10 games in is a good starting point to see how the fabric of this team is meshing together.

Doc has experimented with different starting lineups and use of his rotation players.

I think the first significant thing that has impacted the team is the return of Chris Wilcox. He has established his value as a solid BU center when KG is out of the game and this was really missing early on.

Now that we have had a look at the new guys (Lee, Terry, Barbosa, Sullinger, and yes Green) it is clear that in any given game you may get great production or very limited production. This inconsistency reflects limited time to fully absorb both the offense and defensive startegies that Doc wants to employ. The distribution of both playing time and combinations of players on the court is still a work in progress.

Some general individual observations.

Courtney Lee is a very talented player. He can score but thus far his celebrated knock down 3 ball from the corner has not been in evidence. Through 10 games Courtney has reached double firgure twice with 11 on opening night and 13 pts on 4-8 shooting against the Crooklyn Nets. He is shooting .404% in 9 November games and only .133 from 3 point land. However these number may reflect the relatively low volume of looks that he is getting. He is only averaging 5.3 shots per game so the sample size is really too small to make a fair judgement. Also since Lee may be significantly effective in an uptempo game his production is further limited.

Jason Terry is proving to be everything that I expected. He has ice water in his viens and will pull up anywhere at anytime and drop a 3 pointer in your face. The reason why he is strating over Lee is obvious but he is just keeping the 2 spot covered until Avery returns. Terry will settle into his backup role and become a vital rotation player who could finsh some games when the need arises.

Barbosa is like the energizer bunny. He's no point guard. He is just a real good basketball player that can score and get up and down the floor when the Celtics choose to run.

Sullinger has an on the court maturity that defies his rookie status. He is a good rebounder but not a great rebounder. His defense in the post is compromised by his lack of length. His overall productivity will come from gaining more experience and applying the fundamental skills that he has. He is not good enough to be a starter on this team and may never be more than a solid bench player. His lack of foot speed limits his contribution when the Celtics run. That's OK with me. If he can develop into a solid 8 to 10 points per game player with 6-8 boards per game I will be more than happy.

Jeff Green seems to only play well when he is agressive. When he initiates things by attacking, his effectiveness in the offense is magnified. His defense is pretty solid but until the team runs more, his most notable attribute (the kid can fly) will be limited.

I did not mention Darko but I still feel as though he needs to get some minutes. In the Crooklyn game when they were beating the living snot out of us on the glass, I was really hoping that Darko would get in the game. He is both tall and wide and has displayed solid rebounding fundamentals. I would rather see him in the game than the stiff Jason Colllins. I say give Darko a chance. Everyone else seems to be getting their 15 minutes of fame...how about darko.

The team will continue to work through a number of issues. Defensively the return of Avery Bradly will have a profound effect on the defense becasue Avery has the rare ability to defend at the point of attack thus altering the opposing offense.

Key issues

Rebounding, rebounding and more rebounding....I continue to be perplexed that a team with so many high IQ players seem to lack the discipline of utilizing fundamental rebounding techniques especially on their own defensive board.

Tempo...we are going to beat this like a dead horse. Where is the tempo we were promised? where are the fast break points. 76.6 FGA is an abomination. As minutes are distributed the message should be sent that if you are in the game and if you are not busting tail from one end of the court to the other..have a seat on the bench.

48 minutes of solid basketball must be played if the Celtics want to be an elite team. This team seems to lack that killer instinct to bury teams when they have the advantage. This seems to happen when the Celtics go into one of their offensive funks (slowing down, turning the ball over, settling for outside shots and becoming mere spectators on the glass) We need to see a significant increase in wire to wire wins. That means a more discipline approach to valuing every single possession.

dboss