Three Stars of the Night: Old Man for Rivers

[Deb]

Three Stars of the Night: Old Man for Rivers

D.J. Foster
Feb 26, 2013, 12:43 AM EST




The Celtics were already pretty old to start the season. When Rajon Rondo tore his ACL, they got older. When rookie forward Jared Sullinger went out for the season, they were about as young as a men’s rec league team.

Older doesn’t necessarily mean worse, of course. Doc Rivers called it when the injuries happened — the Celtics weren’t going to expire so easily. A game in Utah against one of the youngest and best home teams in the league (21-6 at home going in) wasn’t going to be easy, but Rivers called on his old man to bring it home. To the stars!

Third Star: Bradley Beal - (20 points, 6 rebounds, 8-for-13)
Beal just keeps getting better and better. Every month this season Beal has improved his field goal percentage and points per game. Does it help he set the bar so low? Sure, but it’s clear to see Beal is becoming more confident and really figuring the league out. In January and February, Beal is shooting nearly 50 percent from behind the arc, and this month, he’s scoring 17.3 points per game. It’s too late for Washington to make the playoffs (they’re 9 games back of the 8-seed), but is it too late for Beal to steal some first place Rookie of the Year votes from Damian Lillard? If he keeps trending this way, it might not be.