Celtics player power rankings: Gerald Green emerges as a factor
Isaiah Thomas earned Eastern Conference player of the week honors after scoring a career-high 44 points last Tuesday
COMMENTARYThe Celtics have finally found a rhythm during their 2016-17 campaign, winning six of their last seven games. The hot streak has coincided with return of a healthy Isaiah Thomas, who has helped pushed Boston to a 13-4 record overall when their opening night starting five is takes the floor. That progress will be put to the test on Thursday night in Cleveland when the Celtics facing off with the defending champions in a nationally televised matchup on TNT. “We don’t really care about what they’re doing and I know they don’t care about what we’re doing,” Thomas said after Wednesday’s win. “We’re just trying to focus on us and getting better each and every day, and we’ve done that the past seven games. With a healthy squad we’re a pretty good team.”With the help of some new additions to Brad Stevens’ rotation, the Celtics will try to notch their first win over an elite opponent this year, before receiving a healthy dose of home cooking next month (8 of next 10 games at TD Garden). 15. Demetrius Jackson — A cool gesture by the Celtics likely highlighted Jackson’s week: The team called him up from the Maine Red Claws on Thursday, giving him the chance to visit with friends and family in Indiana prior to the team’s matchup with the Pacers. 14. Jordan Mickey —
The second-year forward has not appeared in a game for the Celtics or Red Claws since December 7th. He has played just five total minutes for the green dating back to Nov. 18.
13. James Young — The 21-year-old swingman’s spot on the depth chart became a bit more clear on Christmas Day when Gerald Green got the call over him to take some of Terry Rozier’s minutes.
12. Tyler Zeller – As Brad Stevens tightens up his rotation, the seven-footer has found himself on the bench more often. He only played 13 minutes in the past week and didn’t even see the court against a Knicks frontline with a major size edge. The big man can’t be dealt until January 15, but he’s a player to keep an eye on as a $8 million trade chip on an expiring contract.
11. Terry Rozier – There has been some surprise that the second-year guard has been benched for two consecutive contests, but a closer look at the numbers show the 22-year-old is in a major slump. He shot just 11 percent from the field in his last three games, and is shooting a mere 30.9 percent in the month of December.
10. Jaylen Brown — Brown’s athleticism in the open court continues to be a positive but he still doesn’t have the ability to create his own shot reliably against opposing defenses. That and an inconsistent jumper (26 percent from field in last four games) has resulted in Brad Stevens limiting him to just 10 total minutes in the past two games.
9. Gerald Green – Before Sunday’s win against the Knicks, Green had scored seven total points since Nov. 19. After more than tripling that total (26 points) in his last two games alone, has has made a strong case for being a regular in Stevens’ rotation for the first time all year.
8. Jonas Jerebko — After an impressive hot streak in the month of November, the 6-foot-10 Swede has fallen back to earth in a hurry this month. He’s just 2-of-18 from beyond the arc since Dec. 11, dropping his 3-point shooting percentage for season to 35%. The slump has cost him some playing time as well, as he saw floor for a season-low six minutes Tuesday night.
7. Kelly Olynyk — The seven-footer has been shooting well of late (42.9 percent from 3-point range in his last five games) and it is no surprise that development has coincided with the Celtics winning six of seven. Olynyk is shooting 51 percent from the field in Celtic wins this year and only 36.7 percent in defeats.
6. Marcus Smart — Intangibles have always been considered a strength of Smart’s, but this on-court value has been at its best during the last couple weeks. Despite considered subpar shooting numbers, Smart has a +6.2 net rating since Dec. 20. That’s the second-highest mark on the roster.
5. Amir Johnson — The veteran big man has played 20 or more minutes in six consecutive games for the first time all year, silencing any talk from critics that wanted him removed from the starting five.
4. Avery Bradley — Defense has been the shooting guard’s calling card during his career, but he’s gotten back to his roots of hounding ballhandlers on the perimeter. Highlighted by a game-clinching steal of Carmelo Anthony in isolation on Christmas Day, he’s nabbed 17 steals in his past nine games, nearly doubling his season average of 1.1 per game.
3. Jae Crowder — Efficiency continues to be the biggest improvement the swingman has made within his game this year. He’s averaging 13.2 points per game despite attempting just 9.5 shots a contest. Significant gains in field goal, 3-point, and free throw percentage from his career numbers continue to make him a reliable third option for Boston’s offense.
2. Al Horford — The 30-year-old may be past his athletic prime, but it hasn’t looked like it this year during his first year in green. His career-high 2.1 blocks per game continues to turn heads, as did this massive dunk on 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis on Christmas Day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AHUiVijLLc
1. Isaiah Thomas — 33.3 ppg, 7.3 apg, 48.8% FG, 90.7% FT and 10.8 FTA per contest over his four games last week made Isaiah Thomas a more than worthy Player of the Week choice for the Eastern Conference.
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