The Green, Krstic eras begin with a win against Clippers, 99-92
The Nenad Krstic era began with a wispy mustache, a barrage of offensive rebounds, and hustle galore. The Jeff Green era did not begin quite so seamlessly, but judgment on the C’s blockbuster midseason trade — for good or for bad — will not come instantly; it will not come until the Celtics either win the NBA championship or are eliminated trying. That said, a win tonight is a win, and the four mainstays still in Boston’s starting lineup remain talented and unselfish.
Krstic, Krstic, Krstic. He’s not a terrific offensive rebounder (though he’s competent), so don’t expect so many Krstic-related second chances every night. But he worked hard; oh, did he work hard, like a young boy at his first day of basketball tryouts. He battled for each rebound, which — despite tonight’s prolific rebounding, at least on the offensive side — normally is not Krstic’s strength. He hedged each screen-and-roll with his feet quick and his hips on a swivel. He fought, and he clawed, and he won over some members of Celtics nation who did not expect so much from the Serbian seven-footer. He even made moves with smoothness and canned a couple of pretty jumpers, sentiments (I promise) I never once wrote about Kendrick Perkins.
The Celtics will still need to replace part of Perk’s (11th-best in the NBA) 27.3% defensive rebound rate, and his hulking, intimidating presence down low. But the early returns on Krstic were terrific, even if, when Chris Kaman bullied Krstic in the fourth quarter for a far-too-easy lefty lay-in, I briefly worried how Krstic would ever defend Dwight Howard.
That’s a worry for another day, as tonight was about the two newcomers helping the Celtics to a win. Green wasn’t perfect, as his one “fall flat on his face while trying to penetrate the defense” maneuver evidenced. But you can see why Danny Ainge desired Green, and why Doc Rivers raved about Green’s versatility. Late in the third quarter, Rivers trotted out a lineup of Rondo-West-Pierce-Green-Davis. Speed, everywhere. Size, nowhere. But that’s the versatility Green brings (he can guard threes or fours, but handles the ball like a guard), and Rivers will enjoy his new toy.
Watching Green’s defense closely allowed me to see why he earned a poor defensive reputation in Oklahoma City. It was only one game, but Green’s positional defense seemed good. He was mostly in the right spots, and his rotations — especially considering he was playing in his first game as a Celtic — seemed mostly timely. But when Green’s man penetrated, Green’s hips opened right up and he escorted his opponent to the hoop. Once, after Green allowed an opponent direct passage to the hoop, he even recovered to block his opponent’s shot. It’s weird, but the block was actually a product of bad defense. Green’s impressive athleticism allowed him to recover, but improper technique let his opponent drive by him in the first place.
Green and Krstic made their debuts, but Delonte West impressed in his new role. West was everything I always wished Nate Robinson could have been. Poised. Controlled. Electric. Balanced, between scoring and passing. Taller than 5 feet 9 inches. Unwilling to randomly pull up for contested three-pointers on the fast break. West ran the team, in a way Robinson never learned how, in a way that allowed the Celtics to excel while Rondo sat on the bench for extended periods of time.
Watching Blake Griffin was fun, in ways you don’t realize unless you watch him on a regular basis. The dunks are great, sure, but there have been prolific dunkers before and there will be many more prolific dunkers. It’s Griffin’s feel for the game — his ability to pass and notice things most don’t — that really sets him apart. Griffin’s bounce pass to Randy Foye — the one that precluded Foye’s “welcome to the Celtics” dunk in Green’s face — left me far more awed than any display of Griffin’s mutant athleticism did. He knows how to play like point guards know how to play, and, once his defense catches up (if his defense ever catches up?), Blake Griffin will go down as one of history’s greatest power forwards. And, if tonight’s any indication, Randy Foye will go down as one of history’s greatest combo guards.
The Celtics are supposed to beat the Los Angeles Clippers, and they did. Paul Pierce scored 24 efficient points, the Celtics shot one million free throws, and Kevin Garnett played his normal well-rounded game. This Boston outfit hasn’t completely meshed, and fully breaking Green and Krstic in could take a little while. But you could see what the Celtics saw in each of them. You could see why Danny Ainge made this trade. Even while you still wonder whether Ainge made the right decision.
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Celtics Blog | Jay King | February 27, 2011
Smh WOW jay you’re better than this.. i can feel the sting of every back handed compliment you give the new guys…. hope this doesn’t become a habit..
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I was unimpressed with Griffin’s All Star dunk contest win, but during the All Star game itself, you could see that his feel for the game matches his athleticism, especially on passes. If his career doesn’t turn into a traveling-fueled dunkathon, he could be a great one.
The second half last night was impressive, even if it was against the lowly Clippers. It must be very difficult for the Big Four to buy into The Trade, but if the new guys, especially Krstic try really hard, especially on defense and rebounding, it will be much easier. And still, the whole thing hinges on Shaq, which is not encouraging. While Krstic is obviously a big improvement over Semih, assuming he continues to play hard, and Green is a big improvement over not having anyone behind Pierce, we still don’t have a championship-quality starting center, unless Shaq comes back strong and doesn’t continue to struggle so much with health problems. That’s a lot to hope for.
The guy who really stood out was West. On one hand, it was Rondo more than anyone who really won the game, leading the team with rebounds and assists, providing a lot of energy and controlling the offense as the Cs took over in the third quarter; but West played well enough in the fourth quarter to keep Rondo sealed on the bench! I think this could be very good, both for the team and for Rondo, if West continues to play so well. One gets the impression sometimes that Rondo could benefit from having someone to push him, someone on the bench who is good enough to spell him, so that he doesn’t have to ‘pace’ himself so much, and also good enough to push him to play better – good enough to challenge him.
Now let’s keep things in perspective – we won a game against the Clippers last night.
But The Trade promised to give the Celtics considerably improved firepower without losing us so much in terms of defense and boards. The first half last night did not testify so well for Ainge’s wisdom, as opposed to his kraziness, but the second half last night spoke well for him. It was heartening. When talented people try really hard, good things can happen.
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@Uhoh
I wasn’t just trying to offer backhanded compliments. I was trying to provide a view of the two players that encompassed everything they bring (and taketh away) from the Boston Celtics. I think I did that.
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Fair enough….
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KP’s currently ranked 30th on rebounding as he is up this year over his career average (8.1 vs career of 6.1). That’s for 12 games. If he was based on his career average (better gauge) then he doesn’t make the top 50 so please let’s stop trying to ‘mandate’ that KP was a great rebounder (5.8 in Finals last yr) –
http://www.nba.com/statistics/player/Rebounds.jsp
That said; it is going to be center by committee as it has been all season. It’s not just Shaq but JO, NK, and even C. Johnson if he sticks. And Green’s defense will improve because now he is in a culture of defense. OKC doesn’t play good defense the Celtics play great team defense. So I expect Green to get a very good education from the coaches but also KG and the others and his current bad habits will be obvious less and less. The line-up with the starters out is something this team hasn’t had in a very long time and while I appreciated MD’s effort having Green is really going to be fun to watch but also keep the team from fading in the 3rd and 4th qtrs when the starters are resting. And the scary news is there are still players to add and two excellent centers to get back from injury. Go Cs…
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At some point, if you want to be a fan long-term, you have to stop with the loyalty to particular players. I have learned that the hard way with the Red Sox and the Patriots. Even the revered RA shipped DA out of Boston, in his prime off a championship team.
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len…My Giants shipped Willie Mays to the Mets and that’s when I learned about ‘love as a fan’. You love the team and players but it’s still the goal of every team to win championships. Sometimes the trades/FA signings work and sometimes they don’t. I truly believe these latest moves are really going to help the Celtics this year but also next year when we go for the repeat! Go Cs…
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trough this whole trade ordeal james has been level headed and analytical sans emotion thanks for joining the club ien.. Jay will snap out of it soon.. i hope
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UhOh!! – careful, you’re going to ruin my rep as an “angry” Celtic fan on here (another poster’s comments a while back). Thanks for the comments. Go Cs…
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james – lls i’ve seen some of your previous work i may even have commented on it once or twice but i have to applaud you for being on of the very few Cs fans that’s been actually looking at the trades sans emotions.. everyone else has jumped the shark calling for Ainge’s head and some more shit…. its unbelievable what i been reading the past couple of days
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one*
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