Rondo to Kings….C’s Need to Pull Trigger Now!

If the Boston Celtics can move Rajon Rondo to the Sacramento Kings for either or both starting guards, Isaiah Thomas or Ben McLemore, I say they had better pull the trigger faster than Quick Draw McGraw ever did.

First and foremost, Rondo can’t shoot a lick from outside of 15 feet and that, in my estimation, will always be a major hindrance to whichever team does acquire the defensive-minded former all-star.

However, if Boston can get either of Sacramento’s gifted backcourt players, they should not hesitate to pull the trigger on this hypothetical trade. In the case of Thomas, sure, he may be small, but he’s as explosive as it gets offensively and he’s really starting to come into his own even more this season after not having much consistency, minutes-wise from former head coach Paul Westphal.

Now, I’m absolutely shocked that the Kings would even consider trading the clearly talented McLemore, seeing as how the rookie shooting guard was one of the most prized picks in last year’s NBA Draft and has an upside as high as any young guard’s in the league.

The Celtics have been on the better end of many, many trades, but this one is a whopper that make even the most dedicated McDonald’s fan switch to Burger King.

Doc Rivers is elite, but Glaring Blunders Have Been Costly to Celtics!

Doc Rivers is an elite NBA head coach, 

but his mistakes are costing the Boston Celtics right now.

Having won one NBA title back in 2008 and nearly two others during the last five years, there is now, no doubt that Boston Celtics respected head coach Glen ‘Doc’ Rivers is as elite as any head coach in the game today.

However, Rivers certainly isn’t perfect and to be honest about it, has actually committed a series of glaring blunders that have hurt the Celtics more than most casual observers may realize.

This review of Rivers’ missteps will inform NBA fans and Celtics diehard followers how even a widely respected NBA head coach can make more than his fair share of mistakes.

Back in the Day: The Kendrick Perkins Trade

I know that Doc Rivers is just the head coach and that GM Danny Ainge is the man actually responsible for pulling the trigger on this franchise-altering trade, but I genuinely believe that if Rivers had vehemently vetoed this transaction, then it would have never happened. The bottom line is that the Celtics haven’t been the same team since ‘back in the day’ before Kendrick Perkins was jettisoned to Oklahoma City, causing the team to lose its once unrivaled defensive mindset and toughness within the interior defense.

He’s No Bill Bradley: Avery Bradley over Ray Allen

Avery Bradley is a fine young player that plays absolutely outstanding perimeter defense, almost ensuring that he’ll have an NBA job for years to come. However, he’s certainly no Bill Bradley, if you’re old enough to remember the New York Knicks Hall of Fame guard and that in itself is quite a statement seeing as how Bradley only averaged 12.4 points per game for his career

Still, Doc Rivers was wrong to give Bradley the starting nod late last season after the Hall of Fame-bound Ray Allen went down for a short stretch with an injury and now the move is backfiring on the Celtics as they look towards the near future.

Once a terrific high school scorer, Bradley has shown himself to be nothing more than mediocre offensively at the NBA level, choosing to focus first and foremost on defense. While that’s fine and admirable, the lack of offense from the shooting guard spot has left Boston at a major offensive disadvantage against elite opponents, particularly when the Celtics’ other top offensive options are all getting a bit long in the tooth. Putting Bradley in Allen’s spot a year ago was one of the moves that made Allen feel unwanted and this costly mistake by Rivers is hurting his offensively-challenged ballclub right now.

Petulant Over Professional: Rajon Rondo over Ray Allen

How Rivers – and Ainge for that matter – could ever choose petulant point guard Rajon Rondo over classy veteran professional Ray Allen is beyond me, but this is another costly blunder that Rivers allowed and one that should have never occurred in my estimation.

The enigmatic Rondo has never been able to shoot the ball consistently from the perimeter, not even from as close as 15-feet away and that flaw in the fleet-footed point guard’s arsenal has been a detriment to Boston’s offense that many seem to have overlooked. While Rondo is undoubtedly an excellent defender and passer, many NBA analysts (me included) believe almost any point guard with a heartbeat could consistently average double digits in assists playing alongside three future Hall of Famers as Rondo once did.

Another problem with making Rondo the unquestioned leader of the team moving forward is the fact that he’s still lacing in the maturity department. Rondo was set to assume the mantle of team leadership from aging stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce this season, but prior to tearing his ACL, he showed almost as many flashes of the same petulant me-first attitude as he had in previous seasons.

Putting the ball in Rondo’s hands too much this season also turned the Celtics into an even more stagnant offensive ballclub than they previously had been, with most of the mercurial floor leader’s teammates standing around waiting for him to make a play.

This former notion has now become more of a concrete fact since Rondo went down with his season-ending ACL tear. The Celtics now move the ball more fluidly and willingly than they had all season and the team’s other players like Courtney Lee and Jason Terry, among others, seem to have benefited nicely from the team’s now more cohesive offense.

By basically choosing Rajon Rondo over Ray Allen, Doc Rivers lost not only his best perimeter shooter, but arguably the greatest three-point shooter of all-time and that has to hurt no matter how you look at it. Combine that with the fact that Allen was also one of the teams’ best locker room leaders (mostly by example) and Rondo, the teams’ new ‘leader,’ a mostly immature youngster and it’s easy to see how this move has hurt the Celtics as they move forward into what now looks like a murky postseason awaiting.

Bygone Big Bodies: Ryan Hollins and Greg Stiemsma

Go ahead and laugh all you want. I know Ryan Hollins is a journeyman big man that hasn’t been able to stay on one team for very long and that rookie Greg Stiemsma bolted for the greener financial pastures the Minnesota Timberwolves offered him, but the loss of these two unheralded big men has hurt the C’s in a big way if you ask me and Rivers is partially to blame.

The Celtics don’t have nearly the competent big men they had when they were contending for NBA titles, not just Eastern Conference championships. Now, outside of Kevin Garnett, who has never been what anyone would call an ‘interior’ player, Boston is nearly bereft of big men that can come in off the bench and make a consistent positive contribution while grabbing a few offensive rebounds, but hey that’s a story for a different day. The bottom line is that Rivers should have found a way to keep Hollins on the cheap while giving a bit more money to Stiemsma, like maybe some of the money they overpaid for Jeff Green.

Jeff Green

Speaking of Jeff Green, Boston really overpaid this likable guy by giving him a whopping $36 million over four years. Still, that’s not what is getting him mentioned in this column.

No, it’s the fact that Doc Rivers found little use for him during the early going this season when clearly, he should have been a more featured part of Boston’s offense. Green is as versatile as any forward in the game today and needs to be on the floor…now.

I mean, it’s not everyday a guy scores 43 points on LeBron James and the Miami Heat. Green is averaging 21.5 points in games he has started this season. For Rivers to wait so long in the season to really give Green some burn is a mistake of epic proportions and one that likely cost the Celtics a couple of wins this season.

He’s No Speedy Gonzalez: Pitiful Pace of Play

Another area I believe that Rivers has made errors in is with his style of offense, which, to put it mildly, is akin to watching paint dry. The Celtics continually play a half court style that limits their ability to get easy baskets in transition. Combine this with the fact that the Celtics are an absolutely abysmal offensive (and defensive) rebounding team and now, not nearly the defensive ballclub they once were and it’s easy to see how they lose games because of the pace of play Rivers likes to play at.

Gotta’ Have My Pops: Doc’s No Gregg Popovich

Two things I love about San Antonio Spurs head coach is his ability to make his style of play fit his personnel and the ability to incorporate young players into the team from the moment they’re either drafted or acquired.

While today’s Spurs are still centered around their terrific trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, anyone that knows a thing about basketball knows this perennial title contender plays nothing like they did, let’s say, five years ago.

The Spurs were once a defense-first team that played at a fairly slow pace offensively with the offense running through Tim Duncan. Now, that the Spurs’ trio is getting up there in age, head coach Gregg Popovich has altered his style of play accordingly. San Antonio now plays at a faster pace and run their offense through Parker first and foremost. Popovich has also done an absolutely masterful job of resting his veteran stars when they need it while seamlessly incorporating young contributors like Gary Neal, Tiago Splitter, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green.

Rivers would do well to take a page out of Pop’s venerable coaching manual and start giving more meaningful minutes to his younger bench players, starting first and foremost with Terrence Williams and Jordan Crawford.

With Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce really nearing the end of the line, the Celtics are in the midst of a huge transition even if they don’t admit it and Doc Rivers had better start making more adjustments in his coaching style and roster management than we’ve seen recently.

If the Celtics respected leader doesn’t, then the NBA’s most storied franchise could be headed back to their ‘pre-Big Three’ days early this millennium when wins were so hard to come by that just competing for a postseason berth meant a good season.

KG turning back the hands of time too!

Kevin Garnett has turned back the hands of time since 

moving to center a few months back.

Okay Eye On Sports hoops fanatics, I know we just finished talking about the rejuvenation of Boston Celtics’ future Hall of Fsmer Paul Pierce, but what kind of guy would I be to leave out Boston’s even bigger rejuvenation, that of power forward-turned center Kevin Garnett?

KG, ‘The Big Ticket’ or whatever you prefer to call him, has truly turned into a revelation for the C’s and their rabid fans.

Garnett has been transformed from an aging power forward that could barely keep up with today’s younger counterparts, into a suddenly, fleet-footed, sweet-shooting center that has the advantage over almost every 5 in the league not named Andrew Bynum or Dwight Howard.

KG is averaging an impressive 17.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in the postseason while playing at least 40 minutes in each of the last three games.

Clearly, Garnett has turned up the level of his play after averaging 15.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game during the regular season – and now, Boston looks like it has as good a chance of winning the Eastern Conference as any team – even the Miami Heat!

Pierce shows Hawks why he’s ‘The Truth’… twice!

                Paul Pierce gets his 'Tebow' on after sticking a 

dagger in the Atlanta Hawks in Game 2.

The Boston Celtics’ Big Three have routinely been referred to as an ‘aging team’ whose window of opportunity is either now, closed – or as close to closed as it gets.

Apparently, someone forgot to tell that to Paul ‘The Truth’ Pierce.

The Celtics’ sure-fire Hall of Famer has led Boston to a commanding 3-1 lead over the Atlanta Hawks in their first round Eastern Conference playoff matchup by averaging a stellar 23.3 points per game while completely taking over games 2 and 4 to lead Boston to a pair of convincing victories over the underachieving Hawks (what else is new?).

Pierce scored a game-high 36 points to lead Boston to a solid 87-80 win before coming back with 21 points in Game 3 and an even more impressive 24 points on 10 of 13 shooting in Sunday’s 101-79 rut of the Hawks. Most impressively, Pierce did his damage to Atlanta in just 17 minutes of play after injuring his knee in the second half.

After Boston’s Game 2 win last Tuesday, Pierce said "These types of moments are what being a professional is all about."

Call me crazy, but Paul Pierce doesn’t look very old these days – even against his much younger Atlanta Hawks counterparts. 

I see the light, I see the light! Eating crow on Rajon Rondo!

Rajon Rondo's seriously consistent 

play has made a believer out of me. 

I stand corrected - Rondo is now,

undoubtedly, elite!

It was approximately just one month ago when I continued my career-long bashing of Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo by saying the Boston Celtics should trade their often enigmatic, split-personality floor leader in the hopes of rebuilding a team that is aging faster than Methuselah himself.

However, as I always say, I have to ‘keep it real’ at all times – even when it means eating some humble pie – like I’m about to right now.

Let me begin by saying that I was wrong about Rondo – and can now clearly see that the still-offensively limited point guard – is indeed, elite – even if he doesn’t score the ball the way some of the league’s other ‘elite’ floor leaders do.

Unlike many of today’s shoot-first point guard, Rondo prefers to get his teammates involved first – and that fact has had serious advantages for the Celtics – and Rondo’s mostly veteran teammates.

Rondo’s ability to find an open man and get him the ball in rhythm – is unsurpassed by any point guard in the league right now – and when you combine his often jaw-dropping passing ability with his outstanding on-ball defense and unmatched rebounding – you get an elite point guard.

Better yet for the Celtics is the fact that Rondo appears to have worked really hard on improving his glaring weakness – his inability to connect from the perimeter from beyond approximately 15 feet. Recently, Rondo has displayed a surprising ability to take – and make – several jumpers that have been in the 20-foot-plus range – and that should be a scary thought to point guards around the league.

Man in the middle! Garnett turns back hands of time!

Veteran power forward Kevin Garnett has been

absolutely dominant for the Boston Celtics since 

moving to center almost a month ago.

The Boston Celtics have been steamrolling their opponents for the better part of the last month or so – and maybe it should come as no surprise – seeing as how future Hall of Fame forward Kevin Garnett has raised the level of his play following a national barrage of criticism from his detractors that harped on his previously declining play – and advancing age.

Of course, a move to the center position after Boston lost Jermaine O’Neal for the remainder of the regular season, has also seemed to work wonders for the svelte 6-11 career power forward.

While Garnett has been as active as ever at the defensive end of the floor, it’s KG’s offense that has really been an eye-opener.

Garnett has scored at least 20 points in three straight games, six times in his last 10 games overall and 10 times in his last 18 games overall. Not only that, but Garnett’s sweet jump shot has turned him into a ‘two-fold’ offensive force as he pulls the other team’s center away from the basket with his high-arcing rainbows from 15-20 feet.

"He's on a wonderful stretch," Celtics captain Paul Pierce said after Wednesday night’s win over Atlanta. "The last 20 games, he's been playing just unbelievable." 

Garnett torched the Hawks by nailing all six of his field goal attempts in the game’s fourth quarter

"That was huge," Rivers said. "It was funny because we were about to sub him. I used a timeout because his minutes were low, but he was going on that 12-minutes-in-a-row stretch, which we try to avoid with him. But we had to keep him out on the floor." 

Rookie center Greg Stiemsma said Garnett’s offensive explosions fire the team up

“That’s what he does, that’s KG all day,” Stiemsma said. “We will take those looks any time we can get them, and he can get them whenever he wants. It gets us fired up.” 

Boston baked beans …C’s are scorching!

Kevin Garnett has turned
back the hands of time!

If you’re a Boston Celtics fan (like I am) then you’ve got to be one happy camper these days Eye On Sports hoops heads! The red-hot C’s have won four straight heading and a blistering nine of its last 11 games overall heading into Thursday night while looking like a completely different team than the inconsistent one that played struggled at both ends of the floor earlier this season.

Rajon Rondo is dishing
the rock like never before!

Since I last took to the keyboard, the Celtics have moved Kevin Garnett to center, Avery Bradley into the starting lineup – and most recently, Ray Allen to the bench. Garnett and Rondo in particular, have both raised the level of their play significantly and now, I’m’ thinking the Celtics could be big trouble for every team in the Eastern Conference playoffs, including Miami and Chicago.

Stay tuned Eye On Sports NBA hardwood lovers as the Celtics gear up for one more run at an NBA title!

Um, about that trade Boston!

The Boston Celtics are 

mediocre.

The Boston Celtics were rumored to be involved in talks to move one or more of their ‘Big Three’ just prior to last Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, but the C’s stood pat and didn’t blow up their roster in hopes of making one final championship run in this truncated NBA season.  Now, after seeing the C’s get absolutely crushed 120-95 by the lowly Sacramento Kings on Friday – and smacked down solidly in Saturday’s 98-91 road loss to Denver – and I’ve got to believe the C’s are no threat to do much of anything in the postseason – if they get there.  At an uninspiring 23-21, Boston is currently in seventh place in the Eastern Conference playoff race, just 2.5 games ahead of resurgent New York.

Where's Doc? Celtics in need of a doctor!

Eye On Sports says Boston Celtics head coach
Doc Rivers isn't doing a very good job this season.

The aging Boston Celtics are on life support as they head into the annual all-star break with their collective heads spinning from a trio of emphatic losses to Detroit, Dallas and Oklahoma City – and now, they need a doctor in the worst way … as in Doc Rivers.

Despite being regarded as one of the best head coaches in the game today, I think Rivers has actually done a poor job this season in failing to recognize – and adjust to a couple of very important facts this season.

Celtics' second-year
point guard Avery Bradley.

First and foremost, Rivers should now clearly be able to see that the team’s aging core trio or Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are playing at a much slower pace now – and simply can’t keep up with their younger counterparts. Making matters even worse is the fact that the veterans are being pushed to their physical limits because of the truncated regular season.

Instead of taking a cue from Western Conference counter[art Gregg Popovich and playing his younger players a lot more, Rivers continues to ride the same aging veterans, even on the second night of back-to-back games.

Celtics' rookie center
Greg Stiemsma grabs rebound.

Instead of playing young players like Greg Stiemsma, Avery Bradley, JuJuan Johnson and E’Twuan Moore, Rivers plays his young players far too sparingly – while leaning on his veterans far too much at this point.

Playing his younger players would also serve a twofold purpose for Rivers and the Celtics as Bradley and his reserve teammates would gain invaluable experience while also saving the Big Three’s tired legs for the stretch run portion of the regular season.

Jajuan Johnson (L), E'Twuan More (R).

I know not many people will call Doc Rovers to task for his recent failures as the Celtics’ head coach, but I will! I always say that I call it like I see it … and from where I’m sitting, Doc Rivers has failed to help his team over the first half of the season – and I’m going on record right now to say that if Rivers doesn't start playing his younger players immediately, Boston could be on the outside looking in come playoff time!

Boston getting beat down!

Kevin Garnett is fading fast.

Despite being a lifelong Boston Celtics fanatic, I think the state of the C’s right now is quite funny!

I know that may not sound right, but I’m sorry … I’m just blown away at the fact that Doc Rivers and President Danny Ainge have let the aging team reach its current state.

I mean, how obvious is it that the Celtics are as slow as a damn turtle?

Ray Allen is still playing at a high level.

Last night’s games against the Thunder further exposed the C’s as a team that can no longer keep up with its younger counterparts’ up-tempo pace – and one that is no longer the defensive juggernaut they once were.

Paul Pierce is slowing down.

Ainge’s trade of Kendrick Perkins last season was absolutely nuts and changed the entire identity the team had formed since putting its current ‘Big Three’ together prior to the 2007-08 season.

Boston’s struggles to score the ball are laughable at this point despite the fact that the team has plenty of capable scorers in Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Garnett, Brandon Bass and Mickael Pietrus.

If the Celtics don’t find a way to speed up their offense and score the ball easier, then I think they could struggle just to reach the playoffs in what is still a mediocre Eastern Conference!

‘The Truth’ and ‘The Big Ticket’

While Ray Allen looks like he could very easily play until he’s 40-plus, I’m thinking it’s becoming clearer by the second that Paul ‘The Truth’ Pierce and Kevin ‘The Big Ticket’ Garnett are no longer the same players they once were, even last season apparently. Pierce is averaging a paltry 14.6 points per game while shooting a pitiful; 37.2 percent from the field in eight games. 

For his part, Eye On Sports hoops heads, Garnett is averaging just 13.5 points per contest while shooting an uninspiring 49.2 percent from the field. The worst part for Boston though is that it looks like both players are going to be wearing Celtic green for the foreseeable future!

Celtics, Big Three's Woes Crystal Clear!

Okay Eye On Sports NBA hoops fans, the Boston Celtics are officially in trouble – and I mean trouble with a capital ‘T’ people. The C’s have lost four straight games heading into tonight’s home date against Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder, including a disturbing pair of losses to the blossoming Indiana Pacers. Boston hasn’t scored more than 87 points in any of their last four games and just looks … well …. Okay, I’ll just say it damn it! They look as old as Methuselah. 

Big Three Not So Big Anymore!

If you don’t know already NBA fans, then I guess you’re hearing it for the first time … the Boston Celtics and their Big Three are in trouble!

Yep, the beginning of the end is here for the Big Three NBA fans and things are not looking very good at all right now with the team clearly lacking the youthful energy necessary to win in the NBA.

The Celtics have some wonderful veteran players – and three clear-cut, future Hall of Famers in their fading Big Three, but what the Celtics don’t have is any young players that can come in and contribute now, more or less, consistently.

In Wednesday’s nationally-televised loss against the Dallas Mavericks, Kevin  Garnett scored 16 points but shot just 4-for-11 from the field, while Paul Pierce scored a paltry seven points on 2 of 5 shooting – and the best player in the Big three trio these days, Ray Allen, nine points on 3-of-8 shooting.

Yep, Boston’s ‘Big Three’ clearly isn’t so ‘big’ anymore.