Here's Doc on Moore and a bit on 3J:
http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/postups/index.htmlThursday, January 13 - Bulls at Celtics
Pregame - With Dooling Out, Moore Will Get Minutes
There have been some calls for rookie E’Twaun Moore to get some minutes this season for the Celtics, and it looks like he’s going to get that chance tonight.
Keyon Dooling, who has been Boston’s first guard off of the bench, will not play tonight due to a sore knee and that frees up minutes in the backcourt. Moore is set to grab hold of some of those minutes tonight, and as Doc Rivers said during pregame, it may be the start of a long-term trend.
“I can make the case that running the pure point guard spot he may be the best option,” Rivers said when speaking about his reserves. “We’ve gone to Keyon because of experience, and I like Keyon at the two, I think you guys know that, so this may be the start of it.”
It will definitely be the start of it if Moore can produce and play a mistake-free game. He has shown since the moment he showed up in Boston that he can slow the game down and at times look like a vet. He looks like a four-year college player, and that’s a great sign for the C’s.
The issue tonight, though, is that when he’s on the court he may have the reigning MVP staring him in the face. Derrick Rose, who will play tonight despite a tweaked ankle, is one of the most dynamic players in the league. He can blow by great defenders on a nightly basis, so a rookie like Moore would have his hands full.
Rivers knows that Moore isn’t exactly a defensive specialist like Avery Bradley, but the rookie is apparently holding his own at the defensive end..
“Him and JaJuan, for rookies, they understand it pretty well,” said the head coach. “I think E’Twaun is learning that the game is played at a different intensity.”
Moore is bound to get a taste of that intensity tonight, because these are two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. The records may only indicate that one of these teams is elite, but we all know that the Celtics will be in the thick of things come the end of the season. We’ll get a good idea tonight if Moore is going to be one of the players who helps Boston get there by the end of April.
- Marc D'Amico
Topic: Bulls (10-2) at Celtics (4-5) 1/13 (Read 93060 times)