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Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 14, 2006 11:33:15 GMT -5
Its been 5 games since Jefferson was inserted into the starting lineup for the injured Perkins, and Big Al has not disappointed. With averages of 12.8 ppg, 11.6 rpg and 2.1 bpg during this time, there's optimism running through Celtics-land once again for Al after his approval rating took a hit in last season's injury plague sophomore campaign.
While no one is claiming that Jefferson has finally arrived, his continued improvements throughout this season has been highly encouraging (highlighted by his 29 pt, 14 board performance against the Nets). Many fans wondered what Jefferson could do with more minutes or what he would be capable of doing as a starter, and to our delight, he's capable of doing much. He's become a much better defender--blocking shots and staying in front of his man--and more importantly, staying away from picking up silly fouls. Rebounding and scoring were always a part of Jefferson's game that was obvious to see, but its nice to see that he's more than just that. We'll see more nights off offensive explosions coming from Big Al, but its nice to see the 4 assists, 3 blocked shots stat line like we saw last night (vs. Philly).
He's still just a 21 year old kid who has recently learned the value and importance of working his tail off and keeping his weight in check. He's got a lot more to learn and areas to improve, but lucky for him he's got Clifford Ray to seek counseling from.
By the end of this month, Jefferson could be averaging a double double (as long as he continues to get 25+ mpg) and this would be significant because we haven't had a big man averaging a double double since Antoine Walker's early days in Boston.
Keep on going, Big Al. We're behind you, 100%.
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Post by eja117 on Dec 14, 2006 14:22:50 GMT -5
When you look at the stats it is clear that Gomes has beaten out Al J at pf (he even shoots a higher percentage despite having greater range, being smaller, and playing further from the basket), but I think if not already, certainly by the time he gets back Al will have beaten out Perk at center. Perk could be a great backup since he gets paid like one and fouls so quickly. That means Powe could even move into a regular rotation as backup pf, and that isn't half bad rebounding and muscle in the paint. Imagine. Our 4 best big men getting the most minutes in a regular rotation. It would be great if we had a coach that could think of things like that.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2006 15:48:35 GMT -5
I felt Jefferson was playing out of the position from the get-go. Center is what Jefferson should be playing because he can go use his speed and strength against the bulky trees that teams put out there. While at PF, he's up against players who are faster and taller than him which puts him at a huge disadvantage causing quick fouls and lack of production.
Besides, its alot easier to learn to play center than chasing down pick-rolls. I like the Gomes-Powe and Jefferson combination. If anything, i wouldn't mind seeing a shooting big-man to add to our front-court.
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Post by ferbo on Dec 14, 2006 16:12:53 GMT -5
This story from Celtics.Com is a few days old, but I was intrigued by some of it. Here looks like a good place to drop it in.
Fed by Teammates, Jefferson Comes up Big Big Al was dominant in the post Saturday night against the Nets. Jesse D. Garrabrant By Peter F. Stringer Celtics.com December 10, 2006
After a summer of dropping some baby fat and working on his game with Clifford Ray, Al Jefferson spent most of training camp talking about how he wanted to "be a beast in the paint."
Saturday night, the Celtics were feeding the beast.
Jefferson had his best game as a pro, posting an impressive 29 points and 14 rebounds -both career highs - as the Celtics battled back from an early 20 point lead to beat the Nets 92-90 on Paul Pierce's buzzer-beater at Continental Airlines Arena.
"This is one of those games that proves that you shouldn't quit no matter how many points you are down. We were down 18-0 in the first quarter. We stuck together and we were out there fighting together," Jefferson said.
The Celtics looked to their center early as they mounted their comeback, and Jefferson scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds in the first half as the Celtics took their first lead at 38-37, and then went into the half trailing 48-45.
While Jefferson has had some nice first halves in other games this season, the Celtics made a conscious effort (NOTE THIS) to get Big Al the ball on the block in the second half, and you could see his confidence growing as the game went on and his teammates kept working to deliver him the ball.
Jefferson is now averaging 10.7 PPG and 8.0 RPG, and a quick start that was interrupted by an emergency appendectomy - is there any other kind? - seems to be back on track. And it couldn't be coming at a better time, with Kendrick Perkins on the sidelines for at least the next three weeks with plantar fasciitis, Michael Olowokandi still suffering from an abdominal injury, and Theo Ratliff nowhere near returning.
"They had one guy dominate the game (LOVE THE WORD DOMINATE LIKE THIS.) in Al Jefferson," said Nets coach Lawrence Frank. "[He] was getting to where he wanted (GREAT!) and he had a great game."
It's not like the Nets didn't try to stop Jefferson from posting up. On several possessions, New Jersey closed off the passing lane, and the Celtics swung the ball back to the top of the key to reset. With Jefferson re-posted, (SOUNDS GOOD!) they went back to Big Al and he went to work again on the block.
"A lot of my shots were falling tonight," said Jefferson, who had five offensive rebounds and also recorded two steals and a block. "I was getting more and more confident and everything just worked out for us."
After what amounted to a lost season last year thanks to ankle injuries that appear to be behind him (knock on wood), things appear to finally be working out for Jefferson as well.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 14, 2006 16:51:35 GMT -5
Gomes is a fantastic player, certainly underrated. But if you watch him, he doesn't get double teamed; Al does. What does that tell you?
Big Al can play Center, but he'll struggle against big and bulky Centers like Shaq, Big Z, etc.
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Post by eja117 on Dec 14, 2006 17:31:08 GMT -5
So they're doubling Al and playing PP man to man? I guess that tells me that Al should be getting tons of assists but Gomes does better than him at that too.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 14, 2006 18:15:44 GMT -5
So they're doubling Al and playing PP man to man?
If the ball is in Pierce hands, they'll double up Pierce. When Al has it in the post, some teams will doube up on him.
I guess that tells me that Al should be getting tons of assists but Gomes does better than him at that too.
Truth be told, Al needs to get better at passing out of the post. He needs to become a better decision maker when he's doubled. I think having Tony Allen slash on the side of Jefferson more when Al has the ball in his hands in the post will open up plays for both Al and Tony.
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Post by freshnthehouse on Dec 14, 2006 18:55:27 GMT -5
Truth be told, Al needs to get better at passing out of the post. He needs to become a better decision maker when he's doubled. This is something that doesnt worry me yet. All bigs with a post up game seen to struggle with the double team at first. IMO learning to pass out of the double team is something that comes from experience.
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Post by eja117 on Dec 14, 2006 18:58:37 GMT -5
Is Al j the only 10ppg player in the league being double teamed or are there others? I'll try to pay attention to that. I suppose if he is this makes him one of the best 10ppg players in the league.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 14, 2006 20:47:22 GMT -5
They realize that if they don't send double teams, Jefferson may put up big points. Fans know this, Ainge know this, opposing teams know this .... you gotta get with the program, Eja. Jfferson is starting to break out. You gotta open your eyes and stop holding grudges against guys with the "p" word.
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Post by esco33 on Dec 14, 2006 20:52:57 GMT -5
All I have to say is YEAR 3 BABY!
Al is our best rebounder and he is rebounding better than others who are playing more minutes than him.
I'm telling you, play him 35 minutes/night and feed him the ball down low enough and he will put up 15 points, 10 boards, 2 blocks this year.
Ya gotta love Big Al right now. Let's just hope his wheels stay on.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 14, 2006 21:00:35 GMT -5
And for those of you who didn't know, Esco is the senior chief of our unofficial Al Jefferson bandwagon club for correctly guessing what year Jefferson would have his breakout season ;D (good call, Esco).
If I'm Doc, I'd be feeding the ball into Al 15 - 20 times a night to prepare him for next season. If we want to establish him as a big time low post scoring threat next year, start working hard with him this year.
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Post by eja117 on Dec 14, 2006 21:26:03 GMT -5
Oh I totally agree that he's starting to break out. It's just that this is about the 4th time that's happened. I figure he's due to break a finger and miss 6 weeks. Then I'll point out how there was a girl I know that played a powderpuff football game a few weeks ago, and broke her finger and kept playing, and then you guys will tell me that it's completely different because the doctors found a slight muscle tear as well and then I'll get negative karma. I think we all know the drill by now. In the mean time we have a player who has been performing better over a long period of time who broke out and stayed broken out and nobody cares about him. I like Al. I really do. I think he can be good. i just don't think he can be a bronze medal player.
Derren. Do you think Al J can be a bronze medal player?
I think West and Gomes have talented hearts and guts. They block or outperform more talented players (whatever that means) routinely. They hit the floor for loose balls all the time. They play the game not just the right way, but the best way. The only reason they haven't been annointed as the next comings is that they never had the pword said about them on draft nite and cause TMac and JON weren't underrated upperclassmen, and were instead high schoolers that took an intolerably long time to break out.
I don't think Al has a lazy heart or gut. Just not a talented one. I think his heart has potential. But not his gut.
Now GG. His heart, gut, and ability all have potential. But for now that's it.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2006 11:53:30 GMT -5
3rd year is definitely Jefferson's break out year. I'm happy he's finally getting it. He actually putting up better numbers than i thought he was going to put up. Jefferson averaging a double-double and Gomes with his 11pts 7 rebs gives a pretty good front-court. When was the last time we had two front-court players average double digits in pts.
Far as talent goes, Jefferson is a better low-post player than Gomes and is more crafty from 6 ft and less. Gomes on the other hand has better range and knows how to use body to get his rebounds and room to make post moves underneath. They're both as talented as the other one, i'm glad we have both of these guys on our team. Hopefully we'll be able to sign both of them to a quality contract.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 23, 2006 23:45:24 GMT -5
Its been 9 games since Jefferson was inserted into the starting lineup and during this time, we are 5 - 4 (winning 5 in a row).
Here's his splits as a starter and sub:
STARTER[/i] PPG: 16.3 RPG: 11.4 BPG: 1.8
SUB PPG: 12.1 ppg RPG: 7 rpg BPG: 1.0
During these 9 games, Al has recorded 6 double doubles, including 8 double digit rebounding games (currently at 7 in a row).
Don't forget that this kid is only 21 yrs old, is still learning the finer points of being a big man, and has a lot of room to grow. He's legitimately got a chance to be a 22/11/2 guy in a couple of seasons (points, rebounds, blocks).
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