Jason Terry has been trying to become one of the vocal leaders of the Boston Celtics since coming to the team this past offseason, but by the numbers it doesn’t appear he has been all that effective. The Celtics are 13-12 and have been incredibly inconsistent, both offensively and defensively. Terry’s play has been the same.
Paul Pierce scored a season-high 40 points on Wednesday night in a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. After the game, Terry praised the Celtics’ captain while throwing a seemingly senseless jab at Ray Allen.
“His (Pierce) willingness to stick through the tough times and not just jump off, ‘I’m out of here! I’m going to join forces with Kobe (Bryant),’ or ‘I’m going to play with Dwyane Wade’ — that’s a shot right there,” Terry said according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
Terry is averaging 11.4 points and 2.2. assists per game this season. The Celtics have needed him to step up in a number of situations with Avery Bradley injured, and he has not consistently done that. He has done plenty of talking and shown he is a good teammate, but his play has to improve if Boston plans to contend again in the Eastern Conference.
Allen is averaging 11.9 points per game, so the scoring numbers are similar. However, he is shooting a whopping 47% from beyond the arc and has hit a number of clutch shots for the 16-6 Miami Heat. Allen left more money on the table to join the Heat to chase a championship. Many were understandably upset with his decision, but at the moment it looks like it was the right one if he wants to win another ring. If Terry really wants to stick it to Ray, he can start by helping the Celtics win more games.
