REPORT CARD: CELTICS MIDSEASON GRADES

WEEI - REPORT

Despite his team's poor performance, Celtics president Danny Ainge has earned high marks. (AP)

The NBA season has inched past the midway point, but since the league just announced the All-Star Game starters, now’s as good a time as any to hand out Celtics midseason grades.

We’ll give Joel Anthony, Jerryd Bayless, Vander Blue and Chris Johnson a pass, since they essentially transferred to the Celtics after the first semester. Same goes for Rajon Rondo, who clearly hasn’t been himself since returning from ACL surgery just four games ago.

So, without further ado, class is in session.

BRANDON BASS: B-minus

As we’ve grown accustomed to over his two-plus seasons in Boston, Bass has been wildly inconsistent. When he’s good, he’s capable of putting up double-doubles regularly, like the month of December, when he averaged 11.5 points (on 8.3 FGA per game) and 7.3 rebounds while generating three double-doubles in 12 games. Outside of that, though, he’s the same 10 and 6 guy that’s been a solid but underwhelming contributor since joining the Celtics.

KEITH BOGANS: F-minus

Upset over a lack of playing time for an apparent lottery-bound team, Bogans somehow convinced the Celtics to pay him $5.1 million to sit home and “spend more time with his family.” Then Jordan Crawford got traded, Jerryd Bayless and Avery Bradley suffered injuries, and Rajon Rondo remained on a minutes limit, leaving Phil Pressey and the newly signed Vander Blue as the lone members of the Celtics backcourt against the Wizards. And he’s still home.

AVERY BRADLEY: A-minus

This would’ve been the lone A grade among Celtics players until Bradley suffered an ankle injury that will keep him out for a couple of weeks -- another reminder that the fourth-year guard has had trouble staying on the court in his young career. Despite being members of the same team since 2010, Bradley and Rondo have played just 51 games together. Still, Bradley remains an All-Defensive player who made a significant leap offensively this season and also improved his rebounding. Should he finish the season healthy, he stands to earn a significant raise.

VITOR FAVERANI: D-plus

After averaging 12.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocks in his first two NBA games, Faverani’s production has fallen off a cliff. He still produced 5.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and a block per game in November, but those averages dipped to 2.6-1.8-0.6 last month and resulted in just 41 total minutes in January. Fifth on the frontcourt depth chart, Faverani remains an NBA project.

JEFF GREEN: B-minus

Green leads the Celtics in scoring, even if his true-shooting percentage has dipped since last season (from 56.1 to 53.7), but don’t let his 39 points against the Wizards fool you. He’s still capable of not showing up on occasion -- like his recent four-point, four-turnover stinker against the Rockets -- and remains an average to below-average shooter from everywhere but beyond the arc in the right corner and along the left wing. He’s a third banana thrust into a primary role.

KRIS HUMPHRIES: A-minus

Quietly, Humphries has submitted a remarkably impactful season. As has been the case for the previous seven seasons, he’s averaging a double-double per 36 minutes (14.2 points, 11.1 rebounds) in addition to leading the team in on/off production (+7.7) and player efficiency rating (19.1). Looking over the list of potential contending trade partners, the Celtics would likely need a third team to complete a deal involving Humphries, whose salary makes it difficult for playoff-bound teams to match outgoing assets. Regardless, Hump has indicated he’d like to see the rebuilding process through, and at the right price he could be a valuable member of that effort, considering his production and willingness to mentor younger players in a limited role.

KELLY OLYNYK: C

While this past June’s No. 13 pick submits the occasional reminder of his offensive potential -- as his 25-5-7 did against the Lakers last week -- Olynyk’s defense has a long way to go. His passing game has been a welcome surprise, but his defensive assignments are passing him by.

PHIL PRESSEY: B

A while back, we argued for Pressey playing over Crawford, and it appears Steez’s departure directly correlated to finding more minutes for the Waltham product. Remember, this is a 5-foot-11 undrafted rookie. He’s averaging 6.9 assists per 36 minutes and has a toughness that belies his size, although it remains to be seen whether his scoring output the other night was simply an aberration. Oh, and he’s under the C’s control for minimal dollars over the next three seasons.

JARED SULLINGER: A-minus

Off the court, this hasn’t been the best of seasons for Sullinger, but you can’t argue with his performance on the court as a sophomore. He’s played in 42 of the C's 44 games this season after undergoing season-ending back surgery this past February. That’s an accomplishment in itself. And his interior scoring and knack for the ball (5.1 offensive rebounds per game in January) are proving those who doubted his impact at 6-foot-9 wrong. Sully’s jump shot from straight on and at the elbows has also proven remarkably effective (26-52 FG) even if his 3-point shot hasn’t (his 27.8 3P% is fifth-worst among NBA players who have attempted at least 100).

GERALD WALLACE: D-minus

Calling out one’s own teammates more than Jackie Moon gets tiring at a certain point, and that point is probably when it’s coming from the guy who averages 4.4 points for $10.1 million a year. Wallace has been held scoreless on five occasions this season, and he’s playing 23 minutes a night. While he’s contributing in other phases (3.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.2 steals) and showed signs of life in one of his three appearances alongside Rondo, he hasn’t showed any indication that his trade value might improve before his contract becomes an expiring one in 2015-16.

BRAD STEVENS: B

The fact the Celtics have continued to play hard under the first-year coach is a positive for the future (they’ve been within five in the final five minutes of 17 losses), but their 15-29 record remains. While he’s had a few questionable moves (it took a month for Humphries to get regular minutes, for example), the three pieces that should provide the foundation for the C’s rebuilding project have thrived under Stevens -- Bradley and Sullinger on the court and Rondo off it. And the losses aren’t such a bad thing, particularly when there’s effort and development behind them.

DANNY AINGE: A

Honestly, if a lottery-bound team ever deserved consideration for an NBA Executive of the Year, this could be it. Ainge turned three aging stars overlooking the Grand Canyon of career drop-offs and a coach who wanted no part of rebuilding into four unprotected first-round picks. He saved $13.2 million over the next two-plus seasons by swapping Courtney Lee for Bayless, and picked up a couple more picks for Crawford, whom he acquired less than a year ago for two guys who have played a combined six games since. The number of assets and amount of cap flexibility for the future Ainge has generated since blowing it up this past summer appears to have sped up what once looked like a lengthy process. Now, if he could ever deal Wallace, just give him the award.

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I've always thought these grading things were just a way of pandering to the public, and I usually ignore them. And I have no idea who wrote this one—I guess some AP writer. But it's ridiculous to place so much weight on non-performance factors (salary and Wallace's comments which, after all, were designed—perhaps poorly—to inject more life into the team). And then, when he does mention performance, he completely ignores (except for a fleeting reference to steals) Wallace's most important contribution to the team—defense.

Sam

D minus seems harsh even for the Dark Energy

A  Bradley
A Sullinger
A Humphries

B Bass
B Green
B Pressey

C Kelly
C  Vitor
C Wallace

I  Bayless
I  Rondo
I  Johnson
I  Blue
I  Bogans
I  Anthony

Stevens C
Danny   B

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