You're not only concerned about how you did in your classes; you're also worried about taking your report card home to your parents. Basketball players aren't nearly as concerned with report cards as grade-school children (millions of dollars have something to do with that), but considering some of the grades I gave to the Celtics, they should consider staying after school.
(in descending order)
Rajon Rondo- Grade: B+. Rondo has missed almost of a third of the Celtics' games this season, but he's having the best season of his career offensively. He's averaging career highs in points (15.2), field goal attempts (12) and free throw attempts (5.1). Rondo's also third among point guards this season in total rebound rate.
Paul Pierce- Grade: B. Pierce's age is really beginning to show. His averages in points, field goal percentage, free throw attempts and minutes are all the lowest they've been in the past six seasons. The Captain's 5.5 assists per game are a career high, though. Most of his stats show that Pierce is still a top-five small forward in the league, but those same stats also signify a decline in his play compared to his own standards.
Brandon Bass- Grade: B. Bass is getting the most playing time of his career and making good use of it. He has career highs in points (11.6) and rebounds (6.1) per game. Bass not only gives the Celtics an inside presence off the bench. He is also the third-best shooter from 16-23 feet among power forwards this season (51 percent).
Ray Allen- Grade: B-. Nobody is shooting the three better than Allen. His 48.3 percentage from deep is the best in the league and the best in his illustrious career, but his points per game (14.3) are the lowest since his rookie year. Allen's free throw percentage is also tops in the league among players who play at least 30 minutes a game. Problem is he's only getting to the line 2.3 times per contest, the lowest of his career.
Kevin Garnett- Grade: C+. KG is no longer The Big Ticket, and he hasn't been for years. He's still very important to the Celtics, as his absence in Wednesday's loss to the Pistons showed. Garnett still leads the team in rebounds, but his total rebound rate is middling among power forwards, right between defensive juggernauts David Lee and Amare Stoudemire. He's also in the bottom half of power forwards when it comes to defensive plays per game.
Jermaine O'Neal- Grade: C+. O'Neal's almost played in more games than he played all of last season, and he's been more productive. He's not nearly the scorer he once was, but he's making contributions on the defensive end. He leads centers in charges taken per game, and he's seventh among centers in defensive plays per game (2.77), all while playing fewer minutes than the players ahead of him.
Mickael Pietrus- Grade: C+. Pietrus is giving the C's valuable minutes off the bench. He's arguably the team's second-best three-point shooter, and he's averaging the most attempts from long range (4.8) of his career.
Avery Bradley- Grade: C. Bradley's playing time has tripled from his rookie year (5.6 minutes to 16.7), and he's gotten the chance to start eight games. Though his offensive game needs work, he can finish at the rim, and he's one of the better on-the-ball defenders the Celtics have. Plenty of room for improvement.
E'Twaun Moore- Grade: C. Moore's only getting about 10 minutes of playing time per game as a rookie, and he hasn't been bad (3.1 ppg).
Sasha Pavlovic- Grade: C. Since his second year in the league (2008-09 with Cleveland), Pavlovic hasn't averaged more than 4.6 points per game in a season. He isn't a spark off the bench, but he isn't glued to it either.
JaJuan Johnson- Grade: C. The rookie's only played in 15 games, but he's had some standout games, most recently a 12-point, four-rebound performance against Chicago last Sunday.
Chris Wilcox- Grade: C-. Wilcox was brought in to provide a tough inside presence off the bench, and after some early injury troubles, he's been close to that. He's given the Celtics about five points and four rebounds in 15 minutes per game. (Side note: The 2002 draft was pretty bad, but this is interesting: Wilcox got drafted eighth overall--between Nene and Amare Stoudemire.)
Greg Stiemsma- Grade: C-. He's a D-League guy on the end of the bench, getting eight minutes a game. Low expectations and low returns. He's also no Scalabrine.
Marquis Daniels- Grade: D. Daniels is having the least relevant year of his career. He has career lows in points and minutes. He's missed a lot of time the past couple of seasons, and when he's played, he's been ineffective.
Keyon Dooling- Grade: D. After playing in 80 games for Milwaukee last season, Dooling has only appeared in 13 games for the Celtics this season. He had a season-high 18 points in the second game of the season and hasn't scored more than 10 in any game since.
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