Three Stars of Celtics’ Clutch Victory over Trail Blazers
The Boston Celtics have already done more than expected to begin their west road trip as Evan Turner hit a clutch three point game winning shot. The Celtics did a great job on the defensive side of the ball as they held the Portland Trail Blazers to 89 points, which is 15 better than their season average of 104.2. It was a victory that will give the Celtics the confidence they need to compete in the West and they secured the victory thanks of a lot of different contributors. Avery Bradley lead the team with 18 points. Unfortunately, he will fall outside of the three stars because of all around great and clutch performances from his teammates.
Third Star
10 Points, 8 Assists, 6 Rebounds, +8
Evan Turner deserves a spot in the three stars for his clutch game winning shot alone. In addition to that, Turner was involved in every aspect of the game. Turner managed to distribute and rebound all game and with his impact on the defensive side of the ball he managed a team best +8. Right now all the talk is about Marcus Smart being the guard of the future, but Turner continues to make a great case for himself. Turner sees limited minutes because of the role Smart plays but if he can continue to be as involved as he is the Celtics will have no choice other than to give him more minutes. Hitting big shots at the end of the game will also give the coaches all the confidence they need to keep him in for the clutch moments of games.
Second Star
21 Points, 7 Assists, 6 Rebounds
Damian Lillard was easily the best part of the Trail Blazers’ performance. Despite failing to put up 90 points as a team Lillard still managed to get close to his season average of 22.1 points. Throw in the seven assists and six rebounds and Lillard played at the level that the league has become accustom to seeing. With such a wide open MVP race this season Lillard cannot be counted out. With LaMarcus Aldridge sidelined for 6-8 weeks, Lillard will be taking over even more responsibility for the Trail Blazers. Lillard was already putting up spectacular numbers with Aldridge in the lineup and now he has the potential to elevate his production in every aspect of the game. The only problem Lillard may run into is if the team continues to lose games. Aldridge is a devastating loss for the Trail Blazers and if the Trail Blazers start putting strings of loses together they can fall in danger of missing the postseason. 6-8 weeks is more than enough time for a team as talented as the Oklahoma City Thunder to bring an eight game lead in reach. That being said, if Lillard manages to keep pace and remain a top four team in the West he will have a great shot at winning MVP.
First Star
13 Points, 10 Rebounds, 5 Assists
Brandon Bass continues to bolster his trade value as he was the most productive player in the Celtics’ win. He also came through with the second most clutch play of the game by securing the offensive rebound off of Jared Sullinger‘s three point try with under 10 seconds left. Bass was also the most active player on the boards collecting 10 rebounds. Rebounding is one of the Celtics’ biggest problems this season. If Bass can provide the Celtics with a physical rebounder he may become an asset that the Celtics won’t want to trade away. There is still plenty of time for Danny Ainge to trade Bass away and Bass has certainly been increasing his trade value. That being said, Bass has a salary of 6.9 million (less than Tayshaun Prince) and the Celtics have already freed up so much cap space that it may be a better move to keep Bass. Even if the Celtics search in free agency for someone better than Bass he has already proven that he can be one of the best parts of a second unit. Bass can be a valuable asset on the court for the Celtics and if Ainge does decide to trade him away it should be for a great return.