Jason Terry, Courtney Lee Vow to End Scoring Woes for Celtics Bench

NESN
Ben Watanabe

WALTHAM, Mass. -- Jason Terry does not come across as one for statistics. The 35-year-old combo guard seems to be more into counting game-turning 3-pointers and making bold boasts with his body ink. The former Sixth Man of the Year recently saw one stat he took seriously, though.

A week before opening his first training camp with the Boston Celtics, Terry was told exactly how many points the Celtics bench scored in their Game 7 loss to the Miami Heat in last season's Eastern Conference Finals. The final point tally for all of Boston's nonstarting players in that game: Two. Deuce. Dos. Zwei. More than one, but less than three. Two measly points by Ryan Hollins -- who is no longer with the team. "When that stat was thrown out to me a week ago, I was embarrassed," Terry said. "I was disappointed.

They said in Game 7 the bench scored two points. That's unacceptable and it won't happen while I'm a Celtic." Terry has made several audacious pronouncements since he signed with the Celtics -- most noticeably getting a tattoo on his inner left biceps of the Celtics logo twirling the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy -- but this one should be the most comforting to his new employers. Injuries sacked the Celtics' depth last season, and it was shocking to see those injuries befall so many players in their 20s and not the elder statesmen in their mid-30s.

The loss of Jeff Green before the season and Avery Bradley midway through the playoffs decimated the team's depth, and the list of players who started but did not finish the season for the Celtics included Chris Wilcox and Jermaine O'Neal. When swingman Mickael Pietrus' shooting touch disappeared in the postseason, the Celtics' scoring options became even more severely limited.

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge aggressively sought to add depth on the wings and in the post, even before he was sure whether or not Kevin Garnett would return for an 18th season. Terry decided right away to join the Celtics when he received a call from Doc Rivers on the first day of free agency, and Green, Wilcox and Brandon Bass expressed desires to return to Boston well before they officially signed.

After Garnett agreed to a three-year contract, the Celtics executed a surprise sign-and-trade to land Courtney Lee, who is expected to start at shooting guard while Bradley recovers from two shoulder surgeries. Terry is more vocal, but Lee's versatility in the Celtics' schemes should not be overlooked.

Lee has been a valuable spot-up 3-point shooter and occasionally a tough defender in the past, and the Celtics could even utilize the 6-foot-5 Western Kentucky product as a super-small small forward in lineups with Rajon Rondo and either Terry or Bradley. "We can be explosive," Lee said. "We've got a lot of different combinations Doc can throw out there. We can play small ball, and go big at the same time."

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