Free Shavlik

http://espn.go.com/boston/nba/story/_/id/9110337/let-shavlik-randolph-loose-see-do-boston-celtics



Let Shavlik Randolph loose
Updated: March 28, 2013, 11:40 PM ET
By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com



As the Boston Celtics attempt to navigate a thus far rocky two-week stretch without All-Star center Kevin Garnett, one of the rallying cries has been how it affords the new faces on the roster the opportunity to show what they can do. With that in mind, Celtics coach Doc Rivers has to give increased consideration to one particular option.

Free Shavlik.

With Boston thin on bigs and even thinner on bigs willing and able to consistently rebound, it's high time that Rivers trots out 6-foot-10 Shavlik Randolph for extended minutes to see what he can do. Bite-size appetizers have intrigued the palate since Garnett was shelved due to left ankle inflammation; now it's time for the full meal.


Scoff if you want; we're not suggesting Randolph is any sort of savior for Boston's recent woes (the Celtics needed a feverish rally and Jeff Green's buzzer-beater to snap a five-game losing streak in Cleveland on Wednesday). But glimpses suggest that Randolph's skill set can help this team and there won't be a better time to throw him into the fire.

After all, what is there to lose? The Celtics were in experimentation mode Wednesday night when they moved Chris Wilcox into the starting lineup to add size. That move came one week after Wilcox, nearly traded away at the deadline, was shuffled from his gig as first big off the bench as the Celtics elected to go small with Green first off the pine. Injuries to Garnett and Courtney Lee have thrown the entire rotation off kilter.

Here's Boston's glaring problem (or at least one of them): Garnett is the team's only consistent rebounder since rookie Jared Sullinger was lost for the season. The Celtics' remaining rotation-caliber bigs -- Green, Wilcox and Brandon Bass -- are all below-average on the glass despite their above-average size and athleticism.

Enter Randolph. In six appearances, he's grabbed 3.8 rebounds per game -- and that's in a mere 9.8 minutes per contest (he hasn't played more than nine minutes in any of his past three outings). Randolph has posted obscene rebound rates, particularly over those three games without Garnett, grabbing 34.8 percent of all available defensive rebounds and 27 percent of total rebound opportunities in that span.

Sure, it's a small sample size, but consider this: In the same three-game stretch, the next-best numbers on the team are from swingman Paul Pierce (20.8 percent on defensive glass; 12.6 overall). Wilcox (17.1 defensive, 11.4 overall), Green (17.6, 10.4) and Bass (15.8, 10. aren't even close to Randolph's levels.

Even Rivers noted earlier this week: "When Shav comes in, I don't know how he gets it, but the ball ends up in his hands under the basket on rebounds. You like guys like that."

The numbers are hard to ignore, even when the rebounds don't land in Randolph's hands. Over the past three games, Boston's total rebound percentage is better when Randolph is on the floor (51.4 percent) versus when he's on the bench (45.7). Just his fundamental ability to box out -- something his teammates tend to struggle with -- is keeping opponents from pulverizing the Celtics with second-chance points off offensive rebounds (you saw that Knicks game on Tuesday, right?).

What's more, Boston's defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) with Randolph on the floor the past three games is 82.4, nearly 26 points better than when he's not (108.3).

Fluky? Absolutely, given the sample size. But dig deeper into Randolph's individual defensive numbers: He's been excellent. According to Synergy Sports data, Randolph has allowed a measly 0.48 points per play (12 points in 25 plays defended). Opponents are shooting 21.1 percent against him (4-for-19 overall) and have scored on just 28 percent of total possessions.


Seeing a pattern? The Celtics have simply performed better when Randolph is on the court. Over the past three games, Boston is plus-7 when Randolph is on the floor; minus-25 when he's on the bench.

Unprompted, Rivers noted after Wednesday's win: "I thought Shav, by the way, was terrific again. He was wonderful for us."

Wonderful enough to get a real test drive?

Is Randolph going to be a rotation player in the postseason? Probably not. But why not give him the opportunity to show what he's got now when you're just trying to muddle through anyhow?

He's clearly limited offensively and he has been alarmingly bad at the charity stripe (missing his first eight attempts from the free throw line before his first make Wednesday in Cleveland).

But he's got talents that can help the Celtics: defending and rebounding. And with rotations set to crunch in the postseason, all you're hoping to find is someone who can get on the floor alongside a healthy Garnett and not be a liability.

Should Rivers start Randolph? That might not be the worst idea against a team with pure size (New York on Sunday?). Clearly the Celtics have to do something in the rematch to prevent the assault on the offensive glass that occurred Tuesday night at TD Garden.

What's the worst that can happen? We find out what we think we already know, that Randolph can't sustain his level of play over long stretches, hence why he started the season over in China trying to earn another NBA opportunity.

But there's always that chance that you find out the opposite. That maybe there's something in this 29-year-old kid that just hasn't emerged in sporadic NBA opportunities. From a team that maximized the talent of the likes of Greg Stiemsma and Semih Erden, why can't Randolph find a role? Maybe all he needs is the opportunity.

Free Shavlik. Let's see what he's got.

Statistical support for this story was provided by NBA.com.



bob
MY NOTE: One might think that a more rugged player, like DJ White, would be getting the nod when it comes to addressing our rebounding woes, but Randolph has shown he has a lively body and, most importantly for a rebounder, WANTS the ball.

Your preaching to the choir here, Bob, I've been screaming (on the game on threads) for Doc to give him more time and for all the reasons you've listed above.
As far as rebounding and defending the low post I think he's the best option we have until KG returns (and I hope to God, that he can!).

My guess is that Doc has selected this as experiment time. He tried two last night:(1) tall ball at the outset of the game and (2) playing Green at PF with Bass at SF. And giving Randolph plenty of minutes might qualify as another, longer-term experiment.

I expect Doc subscribes to the notion that he can try only so many experiments at the same time if he doesn't want to risk outright chaos on the part of the Celtics. Wholesale monkeying around can actually give a false reading of the results of all the experiments.

I'd like to see more of "Shav" (I guess that's what Doc is calling him) too. I wouldn't be surprised if it happens tonight.

Sam

Bob,

I'm adding my own, if that's OK...

'Go ahead and play him; what can it hurt at this point?'

Just about anything is fair game now. We're a seven or eight seed and about as banged up as we can be. Might as well see who can do what, maybe we'll uncover someone worth keeping for next season.

Regards

Just continuing to feed this thread...


http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4703727/randolph-on-the-rebound-with-cs


Randolph on the rebound with C's
March, 30, 2013
MAR 30
12:01
AM ET
By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com



BOSTON -- Few would have blamed Shavlik Randolph if he was the last one out of the Celtics' locker room on Friday night. After flirting with his first career double-double -- posting nine points and a career-high 13 rebounds over 22 minutes during a 118-107 triumph over the Atlanta Hawks -- Randolph could have basked in the glow of maybe his finest NBA performance with breathless reporters ready to document his high-energy outing.

Instead he was the first one gone.

You see, the Duke game was on. And Celtics coach Doc Rivers and captain Paul Pierce had the media's attention, so the 29-year-old Randolph slipped out of the locker room practically unfettered, even if he didn't quite make it out of the arena without a couple questions from reporters left a slightly different sort of breathless after chasing him to the elevators.

So what did Friday's performance mean to a player who had been out of NBA employment for three seasons before the Celtics swooped him up from the Chinese Basketball Association?

"It meant one more win for us," said a selfless Randolph. "It wouldn't have meant anything if we had lost. The most important stat for me is not rebounding -- it is, what is my plus-minus? When I go in the game, is our team plus or minus, as far as overall points, and I can care less if I have a rebound, a point. Obviously, those are things I'm going to need to do to add value to the team and help the team do that, but the Celtics brought me here to come in and give their rotation guys some rest and be able to come in and buy minutes. When I'm out there, hopefully the team can still play well and have a big man out there."

For the record, Randolph was plus-12 for the night, second only to Pierce's plus-28. Over the last four games that Kevin Garnett has been sidelined with ankle inflammation, Randolph is plus-19 when he's on the floor (and Boston is minus-26 when he's not). It's safe to say he's accomplishing his primary goal.

And that will help keep him on the floor, maybe even after Garnett returns, if Randolph maintains this sort of production. Randolph was otherworldly at times on Friday, most notably on the glass, where his rebound percentages were off the charts. He grabbed 36.8 percent of all available offensive rebounds, 37.5 percent of all available defensive caroms and 37.1 percent of all rebounds overall while he was on the floor. Those are insane numbers for someone playing nearly half the game.

To put it in perspective, Pierce grabbed 10 caroms, and his rebound percentages were 0.0 offensive, 28.6 defensive and 15.4 overall. And what Randolph didn't corral, he often got a hand on -- just a tireless effort to rebound the basketball -- and his teammates clearly fed off his play.

"He does what he does. He’s proven that he can rebound, and he mixes it up," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "And he’s been put in those positions and he’s been doing it. So I’m really, really happy for him. Our guys -- I thought he gave us so much energy. You can see the bench jumping around for rebounding -- that’s really impressive. And then I thought he did a lot of good things with the ball once he got it. Some of the times he put it back up, a lot of times he threw it back out. I just thought he did a lot of good things. I'm really happy for him."

Randolph's numbers came on a night when Pierce registered his third triple-double of the season, Jeff Green went off for a team-high 27 points and Jason Terry added 24 more while hitting five 3-pointers. But the talk afterward centered around Randolph.

"He’s player of the game to me," Avery Bradley said. "He played great tonight. I have a lot of respect for him. He plays so hard. And it’s hard to learn our system so fast, and I felt like he did a great job."

Echoed Terry: "Huge. You talked about a guy executing his role, this is his role for us. Come in, provide energy, rebound, bang, be a presence in the paint -- and he did all that tonight. He earned every bit of that money he's been getting."

After playing through two 10-day contracts, Randolph signed on for the remainder of the season earlier this month. He'll make about $250,000 total with Boston, likely far less than his payday overseas. But his skill set, built on rebounding and defense, might allow him to carve out a role with this team, even when Garnett is healthy. And the Celtics hold a low-money option to bring him back next year.

It's fair to ask if Randolph ever wondered if he still had this in him.

"To be honest, I really didn't think about it. Basketball is basketball," said Randolph, who hadn't played in the NBA since a few 10-day contracts with the Heat and Blazers during the 2009-10 season. "I was trying to be the best player I could be, whether that's playing in China, whether that's playing in Puerto Rico, or whether that's in the NBA. And I was just, every day, working on my game. It's the same approach I've had since I was 14 years old. And I feel that I've shown that if I can string together a few years without having some kind of career-threatening, career-altering injury, that I can be an efficient player on any level. I've been able to develop for a couple seasons, I've gotten better, and I'm here."

Just overcoming a major injury history has put him in position to thrive.

"When I was in high school, I started losing cartilage in my hip, I had to have surgery when I was at Duke," he said. "I dislocated my ankle my second year when I was with Philadelphia. Two years later, that re-aggravated my hip, I had to have microfracture surgery on my hip about 2½ years ago. So, here I am, fully recovered from it, feel good."

The injury to Garnett -- and the underperformance of some of Boston's other rotation bigs -- has opened a door for Randolph, and he's looking to jam his foot in there.

"I knew I was coming here to a playoff team. I knew what the situation was," he said. "I'm not coming in here to a team that was tanking, that wants to develop guys for next year or anything. I was coming here in a situation where, if they needed big men, I was going to have to be ready, and I have to be ready right now because KG is out for a while. The coaches have worked with me and I've paid attention and gotten better since I've been here, so it's worked out for me."

It's worked out just fine for the Celtics as well.



bob


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