Hardwood Houdini
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Greg Monroe turning into a steal for Celtics

By Liam O'Brien

BOSTON, MA - MARCH 20: Corey Brewer
BOSTON, MA - MARCH 20: Corey Brewer /
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The Celtics made the right move by scooping up Greg Monroe.

Each season, a new group of players we like to call “Celtic killers” arises.

Throughout his tenure with the Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns, big man Greg Monroe was just that. In 26 appearances against the Boston Celtics since entering the league in 2010, Monroe dominated the Green to the tune of 15.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per outing.

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Every time the Bucks faced off against the Celtics over the last few years, a monstrous showing from Monroe awaited. On January 28 of last season, he schooled Boston to the tune of 14 points and 13 rebounds in a Milwaukee loss. Two months later, he carried the Bucks to a win with 16 points and eight rebounds while shooting 6-of-9 from the field and making all four of his free throws.

The Celtics brass was treated to many bashings from Monroe over the past few seasons, making him an intriguing option on the buyout market in early February when he was dropped by the rebuilding Phoenix Suns.

It took Monroe a little while to get his feet wet in Brad Stevens’ system, but with more minutes in his path thanks to an injury to Daniel Theis and Al Horford‘s recent illness, Monroe has become accustomed to life as a Celtic.

After averaging 6.9 points per game on 47.4 percent shooting, far below his season average of 59 percent, in his first month in Boston, Monroe has revitalized his game in March. His minutes are up from 14.7 to 19.8 per game and his shot attempts have increased from 5.4 to 8.4 per night, bumping up his production as a result.

Monroe is putting up 12.5 points per outing this month while hitting 62.7 percent of his shots. Over the last two weeks, Monroe’s 61.2 percent conversion rate ranks 18th in the NBA (the top pair are former Celtics draft picks Ante Zizic and Dwight Powell).

The Georgetown product began the month with a bang, scoring 18 points and hauling in six rebounds in just 19 minutes in a narrow loss to the high-octane Rockets on March 3 before putting up 10 points and nine boards in the same amount of playing time versus the Bulls two nights later.

Monroe scored just ten points in 26 minutes combined in the two games which followed, but he has been on a tear over the Celtics’ last four appearances, averaging 15.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per night.

His activity level has skyrocketed, and big numbers have followed. In a double-overtime loss to the Wizards on March 14, Monroe made eight of his nine field goal attempts for 16 points and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes.

The night next out in the Magic Kingdom of Orlando, Monroe dominated the Magic for 17 points in 21 minutes. In the Celtics’ thrilling win over the Thunder on Tuesday night, Monroe balled out for 17 points in 22 minutes, faring 6-for-12 from the field.

Unlike Theis and Horford, who prefer to pop out to the perimeter after setting screens, and Aron Baynes, who likes to spot up for 10-15 foot jump shots following a pick, Monroe concerns himself only with rolling to the hoop after standing in the way of a defender with a screen. Him and Jayson Tatum have formed some connectivity on the pick-and-roll, and it helps to have a weapon like Monroe who can roll to the rim every time and create space for the ballhandler to drive.

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The increase in Monroe’s minutes has paid dividends for Boston on the boards as well. In February, the Celtics ranked 15th in the league with 43.7 rebounds per game and had a rebounding differential of -0.2 per game. In March, Boston ranks fourth in the NBA in total rebounding with 46.8 per game and their differential on the glass has improved to +2.9 per night.

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