Boston Celtics Regular Season Report Card: Superstars shined, role players faltered
By Kelvin Mejia
Marcus Smart Grade: C+
This one right here was tough, but it was the right grade for Marcus Smart. Last year, Smart won the Defensive Player of the Year award, and this year he was average a best. There were certain points in the season where Smart was downright awful.
When Smart came back from his ankle injury he seem like a slow player. The stats showed he wasn’t the same player.
Smart finished at a 112 defensive rating per 100 possession, and his defensive win shares went down to 2.7.
His regression on defense is the reason why he is getting a C+
Grant Williams Grade: C+
This was another tough one to grade because Grant Williams was playing through an elbow injury. Williams’ minutes were also yanked around, and Grant was also a DNP-CD during the March 1 Cavaliers game.
His stats showed he took a step back as well last season Grant was shooting 46% from the corner three. This year Grant was shooting 42% from the corner 3-point angle, and overall he was shooting 39% from downtown.
Al Horford Grade: B
Not much to say about ol reliable. Going into the season, Al Horford planned to manage his minutes and not have him play on back-to-back nights.
In the games that Horford did play he was solid, and he shot the 3-pointer a lot better his season at 44% compared to last season where he struggled at 33%.