Robb: Jerebko Showing Celtics He's More Than Just Trade Throw-In
BOSTON (CBS) – At first glance, the acquisitions of Jonas Jerebko and Luigi Datome from the Detroit Pistons at the trade deadline seemed to be a mere cost-cutting maneuver for the Celtics.
By moving Tayshaun Prince and his $7.7 million salary in the trade, the Celtics trimmed their payroll by roughly $1.5 million despite taking on the salaries of the former Piston duo. Both Jerebko and Datome are set to have their contracts expire at the end of the 2014-15 season, so neither was considered a part of Boston's potential rebuilding plan moving forward upon their arrival.
Things may have changed quickly on that front in the past week. The Celtics' depth chart took a serious hit on Sunday, with the announcement that Jared Sullinger has suffered a left foot fracture and will miss the remainder of the season.
What first appeared to be a logjam in the frontcourt for Jerebko to battle through for minutes has morphed into an opportunity, especially with Kelly Olynyk still sidelined with an ankle injury. Tyler Zeller and Brandon Bass were left as the only truly healthy "bigs" on the roster outside of Jerebko and journeyman Shavlik Randolph.
Jerebko, 26, has split time between the 3 and 4 spots through his career with the Pistons, but he had only seen inconsistent playing time in Stan Van Gundy's rotation in Detroit this year. Now, at 6-foot-10, he's the only healthy big-man option on the Celtics roster that has both the size and 3-point range that Sullinger provided.
Those traits hold great appeal for Brad Stevens' fast-paced offense, which is largely predicated on ball movement and shooting from downtown. In his first major minutes as a Celtic on Wednesday night, Jerebko scored a season-high 20 points in just 21 minutes of action. 12 of those 20 points came via a season-high four 3-point field goals, as Jerebko helped spark the 20-0 run that turned the win over the Knicks into a rout.
The sharpshooting performance should not be considered a fluke. Jerebko is shooting 38.5 percent from 3-point range this season and hit 41 percent of his attempts from downtown in 2013-14. Those are superb numbers for a team that ranks in the bottom third of the NBA in 3-point field goal percentages and should give Stevens incentive to take an extended look at the hybrid forward over the remainder of the year.
Jerebko is looking forward to taking advantage of the opportunity to make a strong impression and has enjoyed his experience with the Celtics thus far.
"I just see a young team that plays hard," Jerebko said after Wednesday's game. "They play great defense and share the ball."
With Jerebko in the fold, along with Isaiah Thomas, Boston's second-team offense should provide plenty of firepower over the remainder of the season. If Jerebko continues to thrive with his open looks from downtown, he may being a bench weapon that sticks around for years to come.
Brian Robb covers the Celtics for CBS Boston and contributes to NBA.com, among other media outlets. You can follow him on Twitter @CelticsHub.
