Celtics player power rankings: Avery Bradley on the rise
COMMENTARY
The Celtics are in the midst of their longest road trip of the season, a five-game, nine-day jaunt that will take them through three time zones.
A reunion matchup with Rajon Rondo in Mexico City and a date with the title contending Spurs remain on the docket as Brad Stevens attempts to navigate a second unit that’s been consistently inconsistent in recent weeks. The head coach tightened his minutes leash on the reserves in a win over Miami Monday, but will that trend continue moving forward? Let’s examine which of the players may be spending more time watching from the sidelines in this week’s Celtics player power rankings.
Not ranked: Marcus Smart (left leg injury)
Danny Ainge told Toucher and Rich on 98.5 The Sports Hubon Thursday morning that he expects the second-year guard to miss “a few more weeks’’ to recover from the injury. The Celtics are 3-3 since Smart went down on Nov. 20.
14. Jordan Mickey (Last week: 15)
Through seven games with the Maine Red Claws, Mickey is on pace to set a new D-League record for blocks. His current mark of 4.43 rejections per game would also nearly double last year’s league leading mark by former lottery pick Hasheem Thabeet (2.45 per game).
13. James Young (last week: 14)
The second-year guard has already been assigned to the Red Claws six times during the first month of the regular season. Brad Stevens attempted to sub him into the blowout win over the Wizards last Friday, but Young deemed himself unavailable with a sore shoulder after sleeping on it wrong. It’s been that kind of a year for the 20-year-old.
12. R.J. Hunter (last week: 12)
Brad Stevens elected to tighten the rotation in the past week, and Hunter was one of the players affected by that choice. The rookie guard played only garbage time minutes against the Wizards and Magic.
11. Tyler Zeller (last week: 10)
The center has played just 95 minutes in 12 games for the Celtics this season, and he was glued to the bench on the road trip in Florida. With free agency looming next summer, you have to wonder whether Zeller’s reps will eventually push for playing time or a trade in order for the big man to improve his stock.
10. Terry Rozier (last week: 13)
Rozier posted a career-high of seven points against the Magic Sunday and took part in his first NBA scuffle with Nikola Vucevic. After earning playing time in five straight games for the first time all year, Rozier’s stock is trending up in the eyes of the coaching staff.
9. Jonas Jerebko (last week: 9)
The Swede finally showed some signs of life in the past week, breaking out of a 2-for-23 shooting slump with a modest 3-of-5 performance against the Magic. Still, Jerebko’s 3.2 points per game is a career low for the 6-10 wing and less than half of his 7.1 ppg output in green last year.
8. Kelly Olynyk (last week: 7)
Did the Celtics win their last game? Olynyk’s offensive numbers are a good way of answering that question. The seven-footer is averaging 9.2 points on 44.1 percent shooting in victories, while those numbers plummet to 4.1 points on 25.6 percent shooting in setbacks.
7. David Lee (last week: 11)
After a slow start to the year, Lee is starting to show consistent signs of his former All-Star ability despite averaging a meager 15 minutes per game. He’s scored in double digits in five of his last eight games while shooting a scorching 61 percent from the field.
6. Evan Turner (last week: 6)
The Evan Turner experience this past week for Celtics fans summed up in three videos. As always, you take the good with the bad.
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5. Amir Johnson (last week: 6)
It took more than a month, but Johnson posted his first double-double as a Celtic Monday night against the Heat, posting 13 points and 10 rebounds in the victory. The big man also managed to remind the world he can shoot from beyond the arc, hitting a pair of 3-point shots thanks to some shoddy perimeter defense from Hassan Whiteside.
4. Jared Sullinger (last week: 4)
Sullinger is less than one rebound shy of averaging a double-double through 18 games. That consistent production, combined with the best defense of his career, is quieting his critics all around town and helping Stevens find some continuity in his frontcourt rotation.
3. Jae Crowder (last week: 3)
The small forward requested more regularity with his playing rotations from Stevens after Sunday’s loss to the Magic and his head coach appeared to take the advice to heart. In Monday’s win over the Heat, six players, including Crowder, played over 30 minutes. That was the first time that happened all season.
2. Isaiah Thomas (last week: 2)
Thomas continues to be the spark within the Celtics offense, but it’s worth wondering whether he should show a little more awareness with his shot selection. He’s averaging a career-high 17 field goal attempts in just 30 minutes per game, and not coincidentally is shooting a career-low 41 percent from the field.
1. Avery Bradley (last week: 1)
The hot shooting streak for Bradley continued in week six of the season, as he’s now on pace to achieve one of his preseason goals: shoot 40 percent from 3-point range. Bradley has connected on 41.9 percent of his long distance attempts and the shooting guard has not been shy about taking them either, putting up a career-high 5.7 per game.
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