Blakely's Celtics report card: Final grades are in

CSNE

A. SHERROD BLAKLEY


BOSTON — Another season is in the books for the Celtics and like the previous four, it ended without Banner 18.

Coming up short of their goal, there were several Celtics who didn't grade out nearly as well as they or the C's would have liked. Here we take a look at each member of the Celtics squad and see how they graded out during the regular season, the playoffs and, for those who were able to participate in both, an overall grade for the season.


AVERY BRADLEY
His return in January brought about a much-improved defense that was instrumental in the Celtics becoming a more competitive team. But most will remember him for the way Raymond Felton completely overwhelmed him for all but the final eight or nine minutes of the C's-Knicks playoff series.

Regular season: B
Playoffs: C-
Overall: C+

BRANDON BASS
Spent way too much time early in the year worrying about Jared Sullinger taking his minutes. Started to come on near the end of the season and flourished defensively in the playoffs against Carmelo Anthony.

Regular season: C
Playoffs: B.
Overall: C+

JORDAN CRAWFORD
Acquired at the trading deadline, Crawford seemed to fare well in his role as an X-factor type player in the mold of the guy he was brought in to replace, Leandro Barbosa. He had a fairly nondescript playoff run on the floor, but his verbal exchange with Carmelo Anthony after Game 5 did not go over well with many, including the Celtics' brass.

Regular season: C
Playoffs: C-
Overall: C-

KEVIN GARNETT
The oldest player on the team, Garnett seemed to get stronger as the season went on. And once the playoffs arrived, there was not a single Celtics player who performed at the level Garnett displayed on a nightly basis with the last five games of the series, resulting in double-doubles for the future Hall of Famer.

Regular season: B+
Playoffs: A-
Overall: A-

JEFF GREEN
A slow start, but steadily gained momentum near the end of the season and carried that into the playoffs with a slew of strong scoring games.

Regular season: B-
Playoffs: B
Overall: B-

COURTNEY LEE
Never really developed into the steady defender, corner three-ball shooter, that the Celtics were banking on him becoming this season. Things got worst as the regular season went on, bottoming out with him falling all the way out of the rotation in the playoffs.

Regular season: C-
Playoffs: D
Overall: C-

FAB MELO
Melo appeared in just six regular season games, with none of his appearances coming when the game actually mattered. Throw in the fact that he did not play in any of the C's six playoff games, and you have a player that has a lot to prove this summer.

Regular season: INC
Playoffs: INC
Overall: INC

PAUL PIERCE
When Rajon Rondo went down with a torn ACL injury, Pierce assumed the point-forward role and was one of the Eastern Conference's top players, averaging 18.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and six assists per game from after Rondo's Jan. 25 injury. But Pierce struggled as much as any Celtic in the playoffs, putting his future in Boston in serious jeopardy with C's able to buy him out for $5 million instead of being on the hook for $15.3 million.

Regular season: B
Playoffs: C-
Overall: C

SHAVLIK RANDOLPH
One of the three additions from the Chinese Basketball Association this season, Randolph showed a knack for rebounding the ball in his limited minutes during the regular season, but that didn't translate into many opportunities to play in the postseason.

Regular season: B
Playoffs: INC
Overall: B

RAJON RONDO
Was well on his way to being an All-Star starter for the first time, before suffering a season-ending torn right ACL on Jan. 25 at Atlanta. In 38 regular season games, he averaged 13.7 points and 11 assists per game.

Regular season: B
Playoffs: NA
Overall: B

JARED SULLINGER
A shock to the Celtics when he slid all the way down to the C's at No. 21, Sullinger didn't waste much time proving he was indeed a much better talent than his draft position. However, the very thing that caused him to drop -- concerns about his back -- ultimately ended his season sooner than expected when he opted to have season-ending back surgery. Only time will tell if the surgery will do as it intended, which is to make his back problems something he doesn't have to worry about in the future.

Regular season: B
Playoffs: NA
Overall: B

JASON TERRY
The talk didn't quite mesh with the shooting touch for most of the regular season. It wasn't until he took an elbow to the chin from New York's J.R. Smith in Game 3 did Terry seem to come alive and play at a high level. But by then, it was too little too late.

Regular season: C-
Playoffs: C+
Overall: C

D.J. WHITE
He showed a decent shooting touch when given a chance to play, but the Celtics needed him to be a better rebounder and defender than he proved to be. He too was among the non-factors for Boston in the postseason.

Regular season: C
Playoffs: INC
Overall: C

CHRIS WILCOX
His return from heart surgery well, well ahead of schedule is to be commended. But Wilcox never played with the kind of consistency the Celtics were looking for in a backup big man. And although he didn't play much in the playoffs, his time on the floor then was similar to his minutes during the regular season -- good in spurts, but those spurts were few and far between.

Regular season: D
Playoffs: C-
Overall: C-

TERRENCE WILLIAMS
One of the most athletic players on the team, he showed flashes of both the promise to be a decent playmaker as well as the problems that led to this former lottery pick having to take his talents to China before the C's added him in February. In the playoffs, he came through with solid production and, to the surprise of many, was actually a decent defender which gives the C's something to build on heading into next season.

Regular season: C
Playoffs: B-
Overall: C+

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