25-year old Kendrick Perkins has really stepped up for the Celtics this season. He has played in 52 games (all starts) for the Celtics this season and he is averaging 28.6 minutes, 11.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.9 blocked shots per game. Perkins is shooting an outstanding 61% from the floor this season. Perkins has now played in 416 games (302 starts) in his seven years with the Celtics and he is averaging 22.0 minutes, 6.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.4 blocked shots per game. The Celtics will gradually give Perkins more responsibility as the rest of the team continues to get older.

Rajon Rondo has been getting a lot of credit ever since the Boston Celtics won the 2008 NBA Championship.  A lot of it was deserved, with Rondo putting up some great stat lines as the starting point guard for an NBA championship team, along with his continued improvement since 2008.  The only problem I have is that Rondo has been doing this with three future Hall-of-Famers in Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen.  Now with Paul Pierce not at 100% and missing some games recently, an ailing KG, and an aging Allen, will Rondo continue to put up his near triple-double stat lines?  I’m not so sure he will, and I’m also not so sure that is what the Celtics need out of him.  Without Pierce and KG scoring like they used to, Rondo needs to put some more points on the board.  He is young and healthy, and the Celtics really need a boost when it comes to scoring, especially without Pierce.  Rondo is averaging a career-high 14.4 points this season, but in his last 5 games he is averaging 18.8 points.   He deserves a lot of credit for this, as he still has been dishing the ball well.  He has even been extending his shooting range a bit, going 2-3 from three against Miami last Wednesday and 2-2 last night against Orlando.  The Celtics need him to continue to score like this until Pierce and KG get back to their old form (if they can).  If Rondo can not continue to score at this pace, the Celtics may be in big trouble.

A month ago it seemed like the Celtics were going to run away with the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. But they have only won 3 of their last 10 games and don’t look now but the Raptors are only 4.5 games behind them. They have also fallen to fourth in the Eastern Conference. Part of the problem is the Celtics have been playing poorly at home as they are 13-8 there this season. The good news is that they are 16-8 on the road this year. They need a little more out of the offense as they are averaging 99.1 points per game but they are still tough on D allowing only 93.8 points per game. I think the Celtics will need to monitor the minutes that Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnestt get in the second half of the season because these guys are getting a little long in tooth.

The Boston Celtics have hit the low point of their season after losing to the Detroit Pistons (15-26) last night, making it their 5th loss in 7 games.  However, you cannot blame Paul Pierce for the Celtics current losing ways.  Pierce is playing hard, leading the team in scoring, and shooting a great percentage (especially from three).  Pierce is shooting 47% from the field and 47% from three, while averaging 18.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.3 steals.  With Kevin Garnett out, the Celtics have really struggled.  He is expected to return tomorrow, but it will take some time for KG to get back into form.  In the meantime, perhaps Pierce should get some more shots since he is shooting the ball so well.  He is only averaging 12.4 shots per game and has not shot more than 19 shots in one game all season.  The Celtics’ point totals have been hovering in the 80’s and 90’s lately, so maybe it is time for Pierce to put up some more shots and take on more of the scoring load, especially with the way he has been shooting the ball this season.

Kendrick Perkins is having by far his best season with the Boston Celtics this year. He has played in 39 games (all starts) for the Celtics this season and he is averaging 29.3 minutes, 12.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 2.1 blocked shots per game. His shooting range seems to be expanding a little bit every game as he is hitting 63.9% of his shots from the floor this season. Perkins’ next trick should be improving his free throw shooting as he is only hitting 59.6% from the charity stripe. Perkins is looking like he and Rajon Rondo will be the major players for the Celtics down the road in the future.