Celtics Player Power Rankings: Crowder continues to shine
COMMENTARY
The Celtics faced one of their toughest stretches of the season in the past week, facing off with five likely playoff teams in seven nights. Boston emerged with four double-digit wins in those games, including road wins over a pair of Western Conference contenders in Oklahoma City and Houston.
The hot streak has created plenty of competition in the power rankings this week, as Brad Stevens has had to juggle a rotation that featured multiple players putting together several solid performances in a row. Who is moving up the charts? What players may be on the way out of the rotation? And did any unseat Isaiah Thomas at the top? Let’s explore all those questions in this week’s rankings.
15. James Young (last week: 15)
The 20-year-old is getting plenty of chances to work on his long-distance shooting with the Maine Red Claws, albeit with mixed results early on. He has hoisted up 10 3-point attempts per game in two Red Claws games, but has connected on just 30 percent of those shots.
14. Jordan Mickey (last week: 14)
The rookie out of LSU was the top shot blocker in the SEC last year, and he’s picked up where he left off on that front in the D-League. Mickey has rejected nine shots already in just two games with the Red Claws, while also averaging 19.5 points and 13.5 rebounds in those contests. The biggest eye-opener from the power forward’s early season play? Mickey’s already showing off NBA 3-point range in Maine.
13. Terry Rozier (last week: 11)
With the Celtics backcourt back at full health, Rozier is on the outskirts of the rotation once more. He struggled in his first opportunity at big rotation minutes (four points on 2-for-9 shooting) against Indiana last week and is shooting a ghastly 18.5 percent from the field during six games this year. Look for him to get some additional seasoning with Mickey and Young up north.
12. R.J. Hunter (last week: 13)
Hunter is the only rookie who has stayed out of a Red Claws uniform to this point and that’s for good reason. He’s played in four of Boston’s past five games, and the head coach is already drawing plays for him out of timeouts.
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The sharpshooter will remain as a rotation outlier some nights with the rest of the experienced backcourt playing well, but his early signs of production show him to be a first round steal at No. 28.
11. Tyler Zeller (last week: 12)
The waiting game for playing time continued for Zeller last week, as he remained inactive in three of Boston’s last five games. Stevens summed up his conundrum quite well on Friday night in regards to Zeller’s lack of minutes: “Tyler’s a really good player. We just have a lot of bigs. I don’t know how else to say it. We haven’t shot it great, so you want to play some guys that can stretch the floor and be guarded when the floor is stretched. And that leaves at least one person out.’’
10. David Lee (last week: 10)
The best chance Zeller has of squeaking back into the rotation right now is replacing the 32-year-old Lee. The veteran’s minutes have been on a steady decline, dropping to just five against Houston on Monday night. With small ball working for Stevens in recent games, Lee might be stuck watching most games with Zeller on the bench unless he becomes more consistent offensively.
9. Jonas Jerebko (last week: 7)
Jerebko’s fall in the rankings this week is not indicative of his play. Instead, it’s representative of how well his teammates are playing. The playing time have been limited (13 minutes per game), but Jerebko’s making the best of his opportunities (55.6 percent shooting) while he’s out there.
8. Kelly Olynyk (last week: 9)
Olynyk’s offense remains up-and-down, but the one of the most encouraging developments on the year has been his improved defense. The seven-footer has the third best defensive rating on the team (93) and is starting to make up for his shortcomings with proper positioning and better awareness.
7. Evan Turner (last week: 7)
Heading into the season, most pundits couldn’t quite figure out how Turner would fit into Boston’s crowded backcourt. Stevens has remained loyal to the former No. 2 overall pick however, and has been rewarded with an eye-opening stat: Turner leads the entire roster in plus/minus (+94). The all-around stats may be pedestrian, but there’s no denying the Celtics are playing well when Turner’s on the court.
6. Amir Johnson (last week: 6)
After an underwhelming first couple weeks in green, Johnson finally broke out with a 19-point, eight rebound performance against the Hawks on Friday night. He’s also finally getting comfortable with Boston’s defensive scheme, directing traffic well on the back line while stepping up his shot block numbers (seven in last three games).
5. Avery Bradley (last week: 4)
A strained calf sidelined Bradley for a pair of games last week, but he showed no signs of rust against Houston and Oklahoma City. After looking so sharp off the bench in both games, Stevens will have a tough decision to make about whether to re-insert him into the starting five or roll with the hot hand in Isaiah Thomas.
4. Marcus Smart (last week: 6)
The shooting numbers remain atrocious on the season, but Smart’s doing enough on the other end of the floor to make up for his offensive shortcomings. Defensively, he’s been a menace for opposing offenses to deal with and he also made a point to show off his versatility on Monday night with his arm strength.
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If the Patriots ever need a third-string quarterback, they should give Smart a call.
3. Jared Sullinger (last week: 2)
Sullinger’s steady ascent to No. 1 suffers a minor setback this week, but his rebounding numbers have him among the league’s best. Sullinger is grabbing nearly 20 percent of all available rebounds when he’s on the court, putting him ahead of superstar names such as DeMarcus Cousins and Kevin Love with his boarding ability this year.
2. Jae Crowder (last week: 3)
While Sullinger is excelling on the glass, Crowder is doing his best work picking the pockets of opponents. His three steals per game leads the NBA and has helped transform the Celtics defense in a top-5 unit ten games into the season. Once his 3-point jumper starts to fall (27.3 percent), Crowder will be one of the best bargains in the NBA at small forward.
1.Isaiah Thomas (last week: 1)
Four weeks, four straight No. 1 rankings for Thomas who is averaging over 19 points per game during Boston’s recent 5-1 stretch. After an early season shooting slump, he’s also bounced back with his jump shot, going 11-of-25 from downtown during the team’s three-game winning streak.
Photos: When they tore down the old Boston Garden
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