First thing I'm going to say is we need to get Jamar Smith as far away from this team as possible...the guy is the worst ball-hog / shot-jacker I've seen in a Celtics uniform in the big three era. He plays decent enough defence but it doesn't even come close to making up for the fact that every time he touches the ball I cringe...
Second guy I'd get rid of is Downs. He did a nice job of grabbing rebounds, showed some nice hustle...but like Smith he seems to have no interest at all in passing the ball. When the ball is in his hand it seems like it's all about him trying to prove himself and be the man, and that's not the Celtic way.
Christmas I like a little better then those two guys. He's still a little too eager to chuck up shot for my liking, but he puts in some really nice effort on defense and he does at least show a willingness (if not a desire) to pass the ball. Plus unlike the other two, when he shoots it actually looks like it has a chance of going in.
Joseph I don't mind. He's not a super aggressive player but he seems like a solid one. He doesn't try to do too much out there, and he really seems to play more 'for the team' rather than for himself.
Melo I love far more then any of those guys. He may not be polished but when he goes out there he looks like he has no concern at all about getting his numbers..he just tries to play hard, get position and do the little things. With the struggles we were having defending the Pick & Roll I really thought we needed an interior defender out there, and have no idea why Doc didn't put Fab out there sooner alongside Sullinger. I feel those two guys could really play well together.
I don't really like any of our backcourt rookies. A few times there both Sullinger and Melo had nice position and a nice mismatch and none of those guys looked to get them the ball, all they wanted to do is show off. All they had to do is throw it up high to Melo - with his size and elevation there was no NY player who could have cought that over him. Sure he may have fumbled it, but give him a chance...he needs all the confidence he can get!
As for the regular guys I thought this game showed me a few things:
Sullinger
I've been saying it since the first game - he's is a better player right now than Bass.
Bass came in off the bench and he really struggled to get anything going...sometimes there he looked like he was trying too hard an trying to force things, and it didn't help the team. He's really been inconsistent so far - he played great in the second game, but in the other two games he's struggled.
Sullinger by comparison just does the right thing almost all the time, and he lets the game come to him. He's been very consistent with his effort and his production over the first three games, and it's getting to the point where you just know exactly what you'll get from him every night. That pass Sully made out of the double team was incredible - through two defenders while falling out of bounds right over to Terry on the opposite side of the court and right on the money. If that were Bass with the ball it would have been a guaranteed turnover. Sullinger has also REALLY improved defensively since the first game - he's getting good position, challenging shots, taking charges. I think he's already getting to be as good as (or better than) Bass on defense, and I'm starting to run out of reasons to start Bass...
Terry
I think Terry is being too unselfish (KG style).
There were at least 3 or 4 moments when he caught the ball with space to get a shot off, but passed up the shot and passed to a teammate who didn't have a betteer shot. I love that he's trying to be unselfish and get teammates involved, but we brought here to shoot and to score, and that's what we need from him!
He's shooting great out there, yet he's been hessitant to take shots. With his shooting ability he should be taking close to 10 shot attempts per night.
Lee
He's looking nice out there. His defense and his offense are both mproving and he's starting to look much more comfortable. Really liking this kid right now, and I think he's going to be a huge piece for this team.
Green
What can I say? Green has arguably been the best player on this team so far in the preseason, and he's led the team in scoring (or tied for the lead) every preseason game so far. His defense on Melo was also very solid and he forced him into some very tough shots That Melo just happened to hit.
Rondo
Rondo had a great game on the stat sheet today, but I thought he really looked like he was forcing things at times. He didn't seem to play with the same control that he had in the first two games, at least in the first half. In the second half he did look more controlled and patient, but I thought he looked like he was pressing in the first half.
Topic: Knicks (1-0) at Celtics (1-1) 10/13 (Read 41317 times)