Can Evan Turner defend point guards to save his life? We’re about to find out.

As it is, it’s hard enough for Turnstile Turner to stay in front of anybody without the added challenge of inserting one of his feet in his open mouth. That was the situation last month when Kyle Korver’s 24 points (6-for-7 three-point shooting) left him with a case of Bitter Beer Face in the postgame locker room. With the Atlanta Hawks coming to town to visit his Boston Celtics (8:00 PM Eastern, SportSouth, CSN New England) and the prospect of a full evening with Dennis Schröder and a rested Jeff Teague on the horizon, E.T. may very well wish to Phone Home.

Holding the starting point guard seat warm for rookie Marcus Smart, Turner is finding himself in this newfound predicament thanks not only to his big yap but to Trader Dan. It’s not so much that Celtics GM Danny Ainge is trading players away for new talent as it is he’s dissolving them into thin air.

Western Conference clubs are seemingly trading with one another via Boston (13-23). The Celtics’ franchise face, leading passer and leading rebounder Rajon Rondo moved on to Dallas last month. The haul of bodies Ainge received back included Jae Crowder, Jameer Nelson, and Brandan Wright, the latter a young player with shotblocking and offensive rebounding poten -- oh, wait, he’s already gone to Phoenix. Meanwhile, Vitor Faverani got himself a one-way ticket back overseas.

Boston’s leading scorer, Jeff Green? He’s now in Graceland after a three-team deal last week with the Grizzlies and Pelicans. In return, Ainge acquired Austin Rivers, who is about to test his father’s patience once he’s dealt to the Clippers, and Tayshaun Prince, who may actually suit up with a green “$” as his uni number while Ainge negotiates a buyout deal.

Nelson (22.0 FG% in six Boston games) essentially declared, “Get Me Off This *&^#% Roster, or I’ll Shoot!” and Ainge has obliged, sending him to Denver this week for Nate Robinson, one of the former Celtic pieces who brought Green here back in 2011. Robinson brings back fading memories of the championship-contention days of Celtic yore as he -- whoops, holdat! Ainge just bought out Nate, too.

So, Boston’s net haul since they last played the Hawks? Rondo, Faverani and Green out; Crowder, three future protected first-round picks and one second-round pick in.

You can best believe Trader Dan isn’t done wheeling and dealing, certainly not with a deadline still over a month away, guys like Brandon Bass and Marcus Thornton essentially hanging out with their expiring contracts, and more future draft picks and prospects out there for the taking.

What about the remnants on Boston’s roster, especially those likely to hit the floor tonight for second-year head coach Brad Stevens? Even the young players aren’t immune from getting that tap on their shoulder. The only Celtic who seems to be “safe” this season is Gerald Wallace with his immovable $10 million per year contract.

Avery Bradley got himself a nice four-year contract extension during the offseason. But with only modest defensive (0.9 SPG) and shooting numbers (34.3 3FG%), is the 6-foot-2 guard a mainstay, or merely a stopgap? The same can be asked of Turner, whose per-36 steals and blocks and shooting percentages (career-high 37.0 3FG%) are improved, but not enough to raise anyone’s eyebrows.

Jared Sullinger (27 points and 10 boards vs. New Orleans; 9-for-17 shooting, 8-for-9 FTs) did a nice job offsetting Anthony Davis in Boston’s home win on Monday. But while he has vastly improved his conditioning over last season, is Sullinger the kind of big man Stevens projects as a long-term option for his fast-paced offense (98.1 possessions per-48 post-Rondo, 3^rd in the East)? Jae was bae (22 points on 9-for-14 shooting, 4 steals) for Stevens against the Pelicans as well, in just his third start for Boston. But despite the praise provided by Ainge and Stevens coming in from Dallas, the right offer could have the Villa Rican Crowder heading out of New England within a month or so.

Kelly Olynyk (58.0 2FG%, 6^th in NBA, but just 34.9 FG% on jumpers) was not brought into the fold with the mindset that he’d be a foul machine (3.6 PF/game, 3^rd among active players). Tyler Zeller (64.3 TS%, 6^th in NBA) has vastly improved his offensive game, but does he project to be the long-range answer at the 5-spot? For Stevens, Ainge, and the Celtics’ brain trust, their true answers may arrive via the next six years of draft choices.

“You can’t dig a hole and come out of it.” Atlanta head coach Mike Budenholzer could have just as well been referring to the challenge Hawks opponents have been facing. As Bob Rathbun has noted, and following Philadelphia’s phutile efforts last night, the Hawks (30-8; nine straight wins) are now 25-1 when they obtain a double-digit lead in any game this season (Atlanta went up 16-6 during November’s double OT loss in Charlotte).

But on that December night, Coach Bud’s commentary followed a game in which the Celtics raced to a 53-30 lead with seven minutes to go in the first-half, Rondo dishing out his nine of his season-high 19 assists along the way. The Hawks gave up 42 points to Boston in the first quarter alone. “I think it speaks to the resiliency of this group,” Budenholzer remarked, “but you can’t keep doing it.”

Shooting 61 FG% by halftime and up 66-50, the big margin left Celtics players feeling like their logo, fat and grinning, but wholly unprepared for the offensive onslaught that would ensue. The Hawks went on a 20-5 third quarter tear, led by Korver and Al Horford, then used a combination of defensive pressure from DeMarre Carroll and offense from Schröder (ten 4^th-quarter points) to seize the lead for the final time early in the fourth. Kent Bazemore’s runout off a hectic defensive rebounding effort and layup in the closing seconds sealed the deal for Boston’s eighth loss in their last nine games, perhaps setting the stage for Rondo’s departure from Beantown.

When the Hawks have been able to coast in the closing quarter, it has come from earning trips to the free throw line (7.8 4^th-quarter FTAs/game, 2^nd most in East) and taking care of business once they get there (79.1 4^th-quarter FT%, 3^rd in NBA). If they’ve fallen behind, the Celts will rely on pressure defense from Bradley and ball-control from Smart and Turner (6.0 4^th-quarter A/TO Ratio post-Rondo, 12^th in NBA) to try to pull themselves close. Since that December 2 game, the Hawks’ 3.8 fourth-quarter TOs per game are the fourth-highest in the league. Even since Rondo’s departure, Boston’s 24.5 APG ranks 6^th-highest in the NBA, including a league-leading 6.9 APG in the final quarter.

Should it come down to a close game in the clutch (last five minutes of games, ahead/behind by five points), the Hawks can always turn to the steady hands of Horford, who enjoyed his first career triple-double and season-high ten assists at Philadelphia yesterday. Al’s 11.0 clutch-situation A/TO ratio currently leads all NBA players, guards included.

The record to date shows that Korver’s defensive rating in clutch situations (94.8 defensive rating, 23 games, net rating plus-23.8) dwarfs that of Turner’s (117.1 defensive rating, 13 games; net rating minus-18.6). If his own life depended on it, could Turner do anything about Teague’s 5.9 fourth-quarter PPG on 56.6 FG% and 91.5 FT% shooting? Or Schröder and Teague’s drives, effective enough to place both among the NBA’s top-5 in per-48 scoring? Or even Korver’s 4.1 PPG on an NBA-high 68.2 3FG% in the fourth-quarter? Thankfully for Turner and the Celtics, such questions are merely supposition.

Let’s Go Hawks!

~lw3