Boston Celtics MidSeason Report Card

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Boston Celtics midseason report card: How Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, Jaylen Brown & more grade midway through
Posted February 19, 2018 at 06:00 AM | Updated February 19, 2018 at 09:30 AM
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New York Knicks v Boston Celtics
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The Boston Celtics are well past the midway point of their season, but the All-Star break gives us an opportunity to step back and take a look at everything that has happened so far.

That's a good thing, because the Celtics have had an absolute whirlwind of a season so far. It started with Gordon Hayward's foot pointing the wrong direction. Then there was a 16-game winning streak (followed by a bunch more wins), but most recently, there have been some dispiriting losses.


So to help us parse through everything, let's hand out some grades. Each Celtics player is graded on a curve, relative to expectations, and a "C" means you are meeting the expectations most reasonable Celtics fans, observers and analysts had prior to the season.

Here we go.

Cleveland Cavaliers v Boston Celtics
Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images
Kyrie Irving: B+
The expectations for Irving took a big leap five minutes into the season when Hayward went down, and for the most part, Irving has stepped up. The Celtics need him to be the primary initiator and also the best offensive player on the floor whenever he’s in the game. In answer, Irving has shot a few ticks below 50/40/90 (but not much) while still dazzling with his ball-handling. Irving has proven to be a willing facilitator, and he’s even playing a little more defense than he did in Cleveland.


As noted by Zach Lowe, the Celtics are a staggering 28th in points per possession since January 1 — a total which certainly helps explain their recent struggles — but that hasn't been Irving's fault. He’s in the 96th percentile league-wide in points per 100 possessions (on a high usage rate), and he’s +5.8 per Cleaning The Glass in differential between points scored and allowed per 100 possessions, which is in the 79th percentile.

A shorter way to say all of this: Irving has many of the same attributes and flaws he had in Cleveland, but his attributes are translating nicely to a bigger role in Boston, and he is contributing positively to a team that is currently second in the Eastern Conference. Irving has taken a step back in the general MVP conversation as the season has gone on, which is fair given Boston’s recent struggles, but compared to the lofty expectations placed on him, he has been very good.

Cleveland Cavaliers v Boston Celtics
Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images
Al Horford: A
Horford has been one of the more divisive members of the team this year — an indicator that even a some of the people who watch the Celtics on a nightly basis are missing something, because Horford has been excellent. He won’t ever be a consistent 25-point-per-game scorer or a take-over-the-game threat, but he greases the wheels and makes everything easier for everyone else.


Horford has been the glue holding together one of the league’s best defenses by defensive rating. He has locked up Ben Simmons, Kristaps Porzingis and other matchup nightmares in one-on-one challenges. He’s a super-intelligent team defender who is almost always in the right place, and his improvements on the glass have been part of the reason the Celtics are no longer a disaster — their 78.2 defensive rebounding percentage is 11th in the league. Offensively, Horford is hitting an absurdly high percentage of his 3-pointers and running the show from the high post.

The Al Horford/Kyrie Irving debate has raged online, and frankly, it doesn’t really need to happen. Like, at all. Irving is a star who complements Horford, who is also a star. Irving’s offensive prowess and usage rate combined with Horford’s defensive contributions and attention to detail make them one of the most deadly two-man combinations in the league.


Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Jaylen Brown: B+
Brown got a little overshadowed at the start of the season by his rookie teammate, but watching him a little closer, you can see the beginnings of a star starting to show. The Celtics have consistently asked Brown to defend the opponents’ best guard or wing, which allows them to hide Irving a little bit and save him for the offensive end. Brown has quick feet and long arms, and while he needs to learn to use it, his strength could be an asset as well in the future.

As a shooter, Brown is improving to levels many scouts wouldn’t have expected coming out of college. After a reasonably encouraging rookie season, Brown has climbed to 38.1 percent behind the arc, and he’s not just launching corner 3-pointers anymore (in fact, he has raised his percentage significantly while shooting a lower percentage from the corners). Brown’s free throws are still a real concern, but he’s more in control when he drives to the basket. That combination of 3-point shooting and control off the dribble makes Brown really dangerous, and it bodes very well for his future development.

Assuming the Celtics don’t win the championship this season, Brown’s development may go down quietly as one of the most encouraging signs. He’s already a major defensive contributor and a solid 3-point shooter, and he has both a skill set that offers plenty of room to improve and a mentality that makes you think he will do so.


Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Jayson Tatum: B
Tatum’s hot start may have raised expectations unreasonably high. Tatum is not the greatest 3-point shooter in NBA history, as his early percentages indicated. He is, in fact, a rookie. Rookies are inconsistent, and sure enough, Tatum has struggled in recent weeks.

But take a big step back. If you were told in July that the Celtics’ best rookie would be productively starting, averaging 13.5 points on 42.7 percent shooting from behind the arc and over five rebounds per game, you would be thrilled. Add in a solid start to the season defensively, and Tatum is still well above expectations, despite his recent cool stretch.

According to Cleaning The Glass, the Celtics are nine points per 100 possessions better with Tatum on the floor. The Celtics also have a 3.3 percent higher effective field-goal percentage with Tatum in the game, which suggests he both shoots well and opens up opportunities for everyone else.

When Hayward went down, the expectation was that Tatum and Brown would get opportunities to learn and make mistakes. Few thought they would both significantly contribute to winning basketball, but both have done so. That's a big positive for the Celtics.



Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Marcus Smart: D
It’s tempting to give Smart a failing grade given how his decision to smack a picture frame after the Lakers game has affected the Celtics’ defense over the last few weeks, but that’s the Smart paradox: The Celtics’ defense has fallen off a cliff since he cut his hand, both demonstrating how much they need him and also how questionable his decision-making can be. The Celtics miss his defensive versatility and his intensity.

Smart’s offensive improvements also save him from a failing grade. He still shoots a rather stunningly low percentage from three, but his pick-and-roll acumen seems better this year, and he’s become a real threat to throw lobs to Aron Baynes and Horford. He has plenty of time to improve his grade


Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images
Terry Rozier: C+
Before the season, Rozier was the Celtics’ running joke — Danny Ainge would trade anyone else, but NOT Rozier. Now? Ainge looks smart for hanging on to his young point guard. Rozier could be a starting point guard in the NBA at some point. He’s streaky, but when he’s on, he’s really dangerous.

As a 3-point shooter, Rozier has taken a big step up, going from 31.7 to 37.5 percent from deep. That opens up the rest of his game — Rozier’s athleticism allows him to get to the rim (although he’s only in the ninth percentile there), and he’s hitting a reasonable percentage from mid-range. Rozier has become a pest defensively with his length and speed.

The Celtics’ bench has been one of the team’s biggest issues, and Rozier is a key member of the bench, so it’s difficult to give him particularly good marks. But Rozier has been helpful at times, and while his potential remains extremely high, he is starting to show signs of reaching it.


Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Daniel Theis: B
Few people thought Daniel Theis would be one of the Celtics’ most useful big defenders, but he’s having a really nice season. His versatility is excellent — in many ways, he’s almost an Al Horford-lite with his quick feet and length that allow him to switch on the perimeter. Theis doesn’t have Horford’s IQ or his offensive polish, but he is a useful player off the bench, and he will almost certainly get playoff minutes.


The Celtics might have liked Theis in Germany, but it was far from a guarantee that he would be a regular part of the rotation. As a role player, Theis has been a pleasant surprise.


Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Aron Baynes: B-
Consistently the Celtics’ best defensive lineup includes Horford, Tatum, Brown, Irving and Baynes. While Horford’s rebounding has taken a step up this season, Baynes has also been solid on the glass — his 22.6 defensive rebounding percentage is second-highest on the team (behind Greg Monroe).

The Celtics needed a big body, and Baynes has delivered that, plus a little more. He makes his mid-range jumpers, sets big screens and doesn’t mind standing in front of the rim in the way of a would-be dunker (even if that would-be dunker turns into a posterizer). Against certain matchups in the playoffs, Baynes could be key — a big body with enough skill to be useful.


Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Marcus Morris: C+
Morris plays a necessary role for the Celtics — he creates his own shot with the second unit, and he helps defend LeBron James. In both of those roles, he has been fine. The Celtics haven’t been able to stop James (no one can), but Morris credibly stays in front of him. Meanwhile, Morris is shooting acceptable percentages from the field while mostly coming off the bench.

It’s difficult to project how Morris could raise his grade unless he just starts shooting better, but he’s already shooting his second-best percentage from three ever. The Celtics’ bench unit has just struggled mightily.



AP Photo/Charles Krupa
Greg Monroe: INC
Monroe has looked slow-footed in the Celtics’ defensive schemes, but we will cut him some slack because, well, he is slow-footed, and he hasn’t had much time to get used to everything.

The Celtics brought Monroe in to grab rebounds, pass and score as part of the second unit. Four games and 52 total minutes are nowhere near long enough to judge whether Monroe will be successful or not.


Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Shane Larkin: C+
Again, relative to expectations, Larkin has done his part. He plays hounding defense for 94 feet, and he can both get to the basket and knock down open 3-pointers on occasion.

Larkin probably won’t see many playoff minutes, but he plays hard, and he can reliably give the regular rotation point guards rest when necessary.


Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images
Abdel Nader: C
Nader has been fine off the bench in his very limited role. The Celtics don’t call on him often, but he can make open 3-pointers and defend a couple of different positions.




Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Semi Ojeleye: C
This grade is split directly down the middle, because Ojeleye has been much better defensively than rookies should be, but he also hasn't been able to make a 3-pointer to save his life. Ojeleye was a real offensive threat in college, and as he gets more comfortable, he should be able to raise his percentages.


Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Guerschon Yabusele: C-
Yabusele’s dab game is strong, but the Celtics might have been hoping to see a little more progress out of a 16th pick lauded for his versatility around the draft. Yabusele struggles to get on the floor with a bench that isn’t exactly lighting the world on fire.


AP Photo/Winslow Townson
Jabari Bird: INC
Fun fact: The Celtics’ best two-man lineup by net rating (without adjusting for minutes) is former Cal teammates Bird and Brown at 9.0.


AP Photo/Winslow Townson
Kadeem Allen: INC
Allen's 46-point outpouring in Maine remains the highlight of his year to date.


Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images
Gordon Hayward: INC
*pours out a whole bunch of alcohol for what might end up being a lost season*



AP Photo/David Zalubowski
Brad Stevens: A-
One of the most impressive things about Brad Stevens teams is how they overachieve and — for most of the season — the Celtics have overachieved. When Gordon Hayward went down, the Celtics became a poor man’s version of last year’s team, on paper. Instead of vets like Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder, they would rely on rookies and sophomores like Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Semi Ojeleye. Instead of supernova Isaiah Thomas, they would rely on a star point guard trying to fit into a new system.

To Stevens’ enormous credit, the Celtics have thrived. Brown and Tatum morphed into two of the brightest young players in the league, Irving almost immediately became a high-level game manager in addition to his isolation scoring, and the defense went from mid-level acceptability last season to the highest marks in the NBA. Horford ties everything together on both ends.

Per NBA.com’s stats, the Celtics have the best offensive rating in the league by a full point at 100.9. The offense has had issues when Irving or Horford goes to the bench (overall, they are 21st, at 104.4), but it’s difficult to ding Stevens too much when his best two-way player got injured five minutes into the season.

If there is a complaint about how Stevens has coached, it might be that he has been hesitant to make changes when things don’t appear to be working, but that has been true throughout Stevens’ tenure. The man likes his sample sizes and especially this season, when the Celtics are unlikely to win a championship, his desire to see what he is in various lineups makes a lot of sense.

Stevens' expectations are now very high, but he gets an A- against expectations thanks to the way he handled the near-disaster at the start of the season.


AP Photo/Winslow Townson
Danny Ainge: A
I would love to be critical of some of Danny Ainge's moves this offseason, but aside from the unpredictable, everything has worked out better than anyone could have projected. To recap:

Jaylen Brown (drafted two years ago) looks like a future two-way star.
Jayson Tatum (who Ainge targeted instead of the consensus No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz) looks like a future star, drawing comparisons to Paul George.
In acquiring Tatum, Ainge also got a high draft pick that will either convey this year or next year. If it conveys this year by a stroke of luck, the Celtics will have a top-five pick in a draft that may have multiple future stars. If it doesn't convey, the Celtics will have a top-one protected pick from a team that could easily be the worst team in the league next year.
The Kyrie Irving trade gave Boston a star point guard who fits their window perfectly, while nearly felling the Cavaliers (Koby Altman may have righted the ship).
Hayward's injury was a brutal blow, but the Celtics looked like a borderline contender without him. Adding the star wing to the rotation next year will feel like adding a star free agent to an already talented team. Again.
So yes, it's difficult to find many criticisms for Ainge's work this summer. The Celtics are one of the most interesting teams in the league, and despite their recent struggles, their future trajectory looks like a straight line up in the air.

Boy ,MY grades would be quit different.

grading against the curve, as the writer said he did:

Irving- B- his "curve" is an all-star talent, to rate much higher than a B Irving would have to be in serious consideration for MVP.

Horford- C- his "curve" IS a near all-star level player,. to be graded higher, Horford would have to be scoping and rebounding more to me.

Brown- B- his rookie year is was a rotational player, this year he's been one of the top 2-3 players most nights. That's above the curve to me.

Tatum- B- I agree he has played better than we could have expected, even from the 33 pick in the draft. i will note his B may drop to a C if he continues his crappy recent play.

Smart- C- he's been his usual all-pro defense, all stink shooting. As expected, even IF we all want more.

Morris- C- has done the same thing he's done each year in the NBA. Not an all-star, but a NBA starter non the less.

Baynes- C- Like Morris, he;'s playing the same game he's had for years in the NBA.

Rozier- B- mostly on his improved play recently, but I will upgrade him to a B.

Theis- A- come on man, Theis has outplayed his contract AND the expectations of any Celtic fan before the season started.

Ojeleye- B- a second round pick is NOT supposed to be a rotational player as a rookie. he has been.

Larkin- C- nothing special, as expected.

Yabusele- D- he was the #16 pick in the draft, we'd expect him to be playing over Ojeleye at least.

Nader- C- end of bencher was the expectation, he has succeeded.

Hayward- F- not his fault, but when you play 5 minutes after getting a $30M a year contract, I can't give him anything but a F.

Monroe- too soon to know, but if I had to guess I expect him to a a big fat C.

so that's my grades , for whatever it's worth ( its worth nothing)

I think giving Smart a D is a bit harsh.

Offensively, sure he does struggle. But he adds a certain toughness to this team, like how Draymond does for GSW.


KJ

http://celticswire.usatoday.com/2018/02/20/boston-celtics-mid-season-performance-review-terry-rozier/








Boston Celtics mid-season performance review: Terry Rozier




By: Greg Cassoli | 5 hours ago




We’re taking some time to provide performance reviews for every player on the Boston Celtics.  Today we’ll focus on Terry Rozier.
Now that we’re kicking our feet up during the All-Star break, it’s the perfect time to take stock of how everyone on the Boston Celtics’ roster has performed thus far. Today we’re meeting with Terry Rozier.

Rozier has had several monster performances this season, including posting a triple-double in his first career start. He’s continued to struggle with consistency at times, but has taken on a more meaningful role off the bench.

Rozier is developing into a meaningful X-factor for the Celtics, capable of swinging games with his scoring and energy off the bench.

Take a seat Mr. Rozier.


Employee Name: Terry Rozier

Employee ID: 12

Previous Employer: Celtics


PROJECTED ROLE

Second guy off the bench, the offensive explosion that runs wild in the second unit. Aggressive defender who can take on some major assignments.


FLOOR

Continues to be inconsistent as a scorer off the dribble, showing minimal growth from last year where he invariably went from second-unit microwave to towel waver. Still doesn’t dunk.


CEILING

Comprehensive scorer with a more polished pull-up game that can get anywhere on the floor and pull off a decent look. Shows composure attacking the lane and actually draw fouls. Demonstrates he can initiate sets with the second unit consistently enough to allow Marcus Smart to start when desired. Improves pick-and-roll coverage to reduce switches, while improving as a menace off the ball with his energy and athleticism.



PROGRESS AGAINST KEY OBJECTIVES

1. Play with consistency: This can be a difficult objective to quantify, so let’s focus on an example. The average variance in your night-to-night game score per Basektball Reference is actually smaller than Kyrie Irving, a player who is rightfully considered to be consistently great. Kyrie’s baseline performance is exceptional, which makes any divergence from his mean less of a concern. We’d like to re-frame this objective along this line of thinking. We’re comfortable with you having big nights that serve as statistical outliers, but we’d love to see your worst performances, games where you have little impact, occur less frequently. It’s hard to play consistently well in backup minutes, but if you focus on the rest of the domains highlighted here, it should go a long way.

2. Score at the rim: You’re making 48.0% of your shots at the rim. That’s a 4.0%  improvement from a year ago, but it’s actually worse relative to the rest of the league. We’re looking for internal improvement, however, and you’re trending in the right direction.

3. Run the offense: You’ve been more of a scorer than a traditional point guard this year. We’d love to see a bit more probing and dribble penetration that ends with you throwing more advanced passes. Often times you’ll get into the teeth of a defense and toss a simple kickout pass. You almost never turn the ball over because of it, but you also limit our offensive potential. We’d love to see you focus on making dropoff passes to teammates sneaking along the baseline or skip passes to open shooters on the wing. We’ve been impressed with how much your feel for the game has developed since your rookie season and expect that you can learn these things with time. Consider this a push for a bit more experimentation.

4. Be a shutdown perimeter defender: You can really defend, thanks in large part to your tenacity. We love the way you get into ball handlers and are often impressed by your ability to chase opponents darting around screens. Occasionally you allow for too much separation when we need you to be attached to shooters off-ball. We’d love to see you clean that up. The best defensive players aren’t just the most physically gifted or hardworking. They’re also the ones that are relentlessly focused. That’s what we want from you.




bob



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http://celticswire.usatoday.com/2018/02/21/boston-celtics-mid-season-performance-review-daniel-theis/








Boston Celtics mid-season performance review: Daniel Theis



By: Greg Cassoli | 3 hours ago



We’re taking some time to provide performance reviews for every player on the Boston Celtics.  Today we’ll focus on Daniel Theis.
Now that we’re kicking our feet up during the All-Star break, it’s the perfect time to take stock of how everyone on the Boston Celtics’ roster has performed thus far. Today we’re meeting with Daniel Theis.


Theis has acclimated to the NBA game nicely. He brings a blend of length and lateral quickness on the defensive end and has shown flashes of an ability to spread the floor with his jumper on offense.

Take a seat Mr. Theis.


Employee Name: Daniel Theis


Employee ID: 27

Previous Employer: Bamberg, Germany


Projected Role
A quality backup big with a versatile game on both ends of the court. Good at a number of things, but not necessarily great at anything.

FLOOR
An end of the bench big working towards finding an “NBA comfort zone” that will allow him to excel in year two of his contract.

CEILING
The first big off the bench. A capable rim protector with some switchability on defense and enough shooting and rim running ability to be a contributor on offense.

PROGRESS AGAINST KEY OBJECTIVES
1. Protect the rim: You earned the title of German League Best Defender in your final season in Europe. We expected that some of your impact on that end of the floor might be muted when you came to the NBA, but our hope was always that you could be a deterrent by the basket. You have the length and quick leaping ability to be a credible rim protector and you have been to an extent. Your 2.8 percent block rate ranks in the 82nd percentile amongst bigs throughout the league and has contributed to the 3.3 percent drop in opponent field goal percentage at the rim we’ve seen with you on the court. Unfortunately, teams are also taking 4 percent more of their total shots at the rim in your minutes. Let’s focus on getting into position to cut off driving lanes before they materialize. Aron Baynes can provide an excellent example of how to do this.

2. Adjust to NBA athleticism on the fly: You’ve acquitted yourself to the NBA’s elite-level athleticism nicely. Occasionally you get overwhelmed by opponents’ quickness or brute strength, but in the aggregate neither has been a real problem and you never get discouraged when it is. With our newest addition of Greg Monroe, we may be asking you to cover some smaller, stretchier players. That will be a new test in this regard, but we expect you will approach it with the same unflappable attitude you’ve brought all year.

3. Space the floor: You’ve got a good stroke and a track record of knocking down jump shots in Germany. We expected your percentage from three to take a dip with the increased distance of the NBA three-point line and that’s happened. You’ve converted just 30.2 percent of your three-point attempts. We know you can make these though. In January you shot 47.6 percent from deep. The only way you are going to get truly comfortable from beyond the arc is to keep launching. You don’t hit long midrange shots at a good enough rate for them to be an alternative method of floor spacing. Your offensive value will sky rocket if you can become an average three-point shooter.

4. Carve out an early role and expect to grow: We had higher expectations for you than some of our other rookies. We asked you to quickly find a specific role on the team, with the intent of developing your responsibilities throughout the year. You’ve done that. You opened the season as a defense-first energy player of the bench. Since then, you’ve rounded out your game on both ends of the floor. You’re one of the most reliable big man options we have. Coach Stevens raves about always knowing what he’s going to get from you. That’s a great quality to have and a testament to the way you’ve approached your transition to the NBA.



bob
MY NOTE: LOVE the pic of him fighting for position in the low post vs KD (and KD not looking very happy about it either).

When we first signed him I went out and looked at every bit of film on him I could find. The more I watched, the more I drooled. We needed a rim protector, BADLY, and he lit me up like a Christmas tree. He is old school. He boxes out. He rotates on defense. He rebounds. He hits mid-range shots and is averaging <1 3pt fga/game. On a Brad Stevens-coached team that shows remarkable shooting discipline. And boy oh boy does he protect the rim for us. He is averaging .7 blocks/game (14.5mpg) but there are a lot of shots he contests that don't show up in the boxscore.

He's making $815K this year and $1.38M next year. He has to be the best steal in the league, by far. A great job by our international scout. Scouting Theis was easy, he was a 3x German League Champion and DPOY, the hard part was convincing him to come to the US (probably with a pay cut too).


.

He has carved out some space in the Rotation.

Have Morris and Monroe fight for minutes based on opponent. Brad better play Moose. Maybe Baynes can play 10-15, Moose at 15-20 for the Perk beast role letting Horford stay nice and fresh for the playoff run.

The report cards don't mean much, imho. The playoffs will be the final exam and count much more for grades.

Speaking of grades. Here are some interesting team grades with brief analysis so far:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2018/02/20/nba-grades-where-all-30-teams-stand-after-all-star-break/356409002/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomnba-topstories

I have been seeing more and more chatter on the innerwebs about LeBron maybe signing with Philly next season.

Phillyhas less than $70M in salary's on their books next year (not counting cap holds for Redick, Amir and Booker).

with 11 players under deals and TWO first round picks likely.

So Giving LeBron MAX money is easy for them to do. IF he thinks they are the team to add to his rings in the next couple years I think it IS possible.

Scary thought of having to face lineup of:

LeBron
Embiid
Simmons
Saric
Covington
TLC
MCConnell
and Fultz