Notebook: Celtics' Streak A Group Effort

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4718424/notebook-celtics-streak-a-group-effort



Notebook: Celtics' streak a group effort
March, 17, 2015
MAR 17 12:38 AM ET
By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com



BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics produced maybe their finest stretch of the 2014-15 season last week, but did not have a nominee for the league's player of the week award.

This isn't particularly surprising given that the team's top individual scorer -- Isaiah Thomas, who won the award late last month and was nominated again the following week -- was sidelined for three of Boston's four games. In fact, it speaks to the team effort that has helped the Celtics put together its current streak.

The Celtics made it five straight wins -- the longest winning streak in coach Brad Stevens' tenure -- with Monday's 108-89 triumph over the Philadelphia 76ers. Last week's action saw Boston post wins over two foes nearby in the Eastern Conference standings (Miami and Indiana) as well as one of the top teams in the West (Memphis).

The Celtics could have lobbied for three outside-the-box options for player of the week:

• Brad Stevens -- Yeah, yeah, we know, he's not a player. But consider, Stevens scribbled out a play that led the Celtics to victory versus Memphis, cursed out his team to inspire a second-half comeback versus the Magic, then got the first win of his NBA career in his native Indiana when his team edged the hottest squad in the league in the Pacers. He did about as much as you can to lead his team to victory without stepping between the lines.

• Team defense -- For the week, the Celtics owned a defensive rating of 92.4, second best to only the Washington Wizards (86.. For perspective, Boston ranks 14th in the NBA this season allowing 102.4 points per 100 possessions, meaning its defense was 10 points better this past week. If maintained, that would easily lead the league (the Warriors are tops with a defensive rating of 97.6 this season).

• Super subs -- In the spirit of Atlanta's entire starting five being named player of the week earlier this season, Boston could have lobbied for a similar nod for its rag-tag group of reserves. With Thomas injured, Phil Pressey got an extended run and was a steadying presence, Jae Crowder continued to be an invaluable asset capable of playing both forward positions, Luigi Datome built his cult-hero status, Jonas Jerebko remained a ball of energy, and Kelly Olynyk looked more like himself further removed from the ankle injury that cost him a month of the season.

Zeller's career night: Tyler Zeller scored a career-high 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting in Monday's win. Not surprisingly, most of his damage was done near the rim (7-of-9 shooting) but he kept the 76ers honest by burying four perimeter jumpers as he develops more confidence in his outside shot.

"I don't know, I mean the shots fell down," Zeller said. "Jump shot felt really good and then they kept leaving me open so I just kept shooting it. Once again, my teammates do a great job of getting me the ball on time and it makes it a lot easier."

Zeller's stat line while Boston has posted a 10-3 mark over the past 13 games: 10.4 points on 50.9 percent shooting with six rebounds over 22.8 minutes per game. The team's offensive rating during his floor time has been surprisingly low (95.7 points per 100 possessions), but Zeller has certainly been an efficient individual offensive player.

Love for Larranaga: A Yahoo! Sports report on Monday suggested that George Mason University might consider Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga for its head coaching vacancy. The interest is particularly noteworthy because Larranaga's father, Jim, coached the Patriots from 1997-2011, including a memorable Final Four appearance during the 2005-06 season.

Stevens said he was unaware if the university had contacted the Celtics about permission to speak with 39-year-old Larranaga and couldn't speak on his assistant's interest in the position, but said the university would do well to consider him.

"They'd be smart to pursue him," Stevens said. "I don't know what his interests are, I don't want to speak for him. But anybody would be smart to pursue him."

Added Stevens: "He's just a really good basketball guy. He's smart. He works really hard. He's very positive. I could talk about our staff and how great they've been all year. Any of those guys would be good for opportunities like that. One of the things that I'm excited about is that I get a chance to work with those guys everyday, because I learn a lot more from them than they learn from me."



bob



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I realize that the offensive and defensive ratings during a player's floor time may be the best summary stats that are publicly available.  But they still involve the same imperfections as the +/- stat that attributes the results of a combination of five players to each individual within the five.

But that's a nit-picker in a generally great time to be a Celtics fan.

Sam