It might have to be this way moving forward -- I'm just not sure I'm going to have time to write after every game. Boston just wrapped up a stretch of four games in five nights that went thusly: a close win over Utah; a narrow loss in Brooklyn without Rajon Rondo, who sprained his ankle early in the second half of the Jazz game; a rout of Toronto; and then a blowout loss at the Palace at the hands of the woeful Pistons. I'm going to try to not let the fact that I just watched the embarrassment that was the Detroit game color what I'm going to say too much.
Rather than go game by game, I'm just going to throw out some random thoughts here. Like bullet points, only I can't figure out how to do bullet points on the "new" Blogger platform that came about a couple of years ago. Instead, I'll just use bold italics to signal my topic headings. If this technique is effective, then this explanation was completely unnecessary.
Last year, Doc Rivers put Kevin Garnett on the "5/5/5" plan, limiting KG's minutes to the first five of each of the first three quarters. The idea was to keep him fresh for the fourth quarter. Doc didn't really stick to it (Garnett averaged 31 minutes per game), probably in part because of how good Garnett was last year and in part because we didn't have much depth.
This year, it's been shortened to the 4/4/4 plan, and Doc seems to be committed to it, at least for now. With the frontcourt depth we have, he might able to get away with it, if he can keep Kevin on the bench that long. It's a little alarming to me, though, because we're talking about a goal of 25 minutes or so for a guy who, while he is in his 18th NBA season, averaged about 16 points and eight boards last year while anchoring one of the league's best defenses. Especially since Doc hasn't been shy about riding his horses (to his detriment, in my opinion) in previous seasons, it makes me worry that there's some nagging injury that we don't know about.
Jaston Terry hit six of 11 three-point attempts in the Brooklyn and Toronto games, sandwiching those performances between a terrible effort on Sunday and the Jazz game where he only took one shot. He's found his rhythm a bit, which is great. But I wish he was doing this in his customary sixth man role and not as a starter. A game like Sunday, with the first unit struggling, is the kind of game that you really need a scoring punch off the bench, a burst of energy, and Terry wasn't there to provide it. I suppose that Leandro Barbosa can be that guy, but when Barbosa comes in the game, the ball hardly goes to anyone else. Not that Terry is a great table-setter or anything like that, but Barbosa just dominates the rock. That kind of thing is bad for guys like Jeff Green, another guy we're counting on for bench scoring, and a guy whose attention seems to wander if he's not getting the pill.
Speaking of Jeff Green, I think if he were, say, Gerald Green, you'd hear a lot more people complaining about his lack of effort and basketball IQ. But we know that he's thoughtful and a great guy, and because of that, and perhaps because of the heart problem he had last year, he gets a bit of a break from a lot of Celtics fans. But right now, he's demonstrating a disturbing lack of effort and engagement that is a bigger problem than his limited offensive game and suspect defense and rebounding.
Brandon Bass is 10 for 30 over the past three games. He's gotten the same looks at jumpers that we are used to him making with regularity. At this point, some of it is psychological; he's hesitating on a lot of looks he'd normally pop right away. I assume that he'll get his mind right between now and Wednesday, when the Celts take the floor next.
Jared Sullinger keeps reinforcing my belief that we got a steal when we drafted him at 21 in this summer's draft. He had his first career double-double against the Raptors, then set a career-high in scoring with 16 against the Pistons. Most importantly, it wasn't until he took on Detroit's Jason Maxiell that he went up against someone who could push him around underneath -- and by the end of the night, he was moving Maxiell and Andre Drummond around. His strength is a huge asset for a guy his height who plays inside. Offensively, he's shown that he at least has Bass' range, and likely can step out a bit farther. He hit a couple 20-footers late against Detroit to keep Rondo's assist streak going.
Ah, the streak. With ten dimes on Sunday, Rondo now has 34 consecutive games with 10 or more assists. (He had 20 against the Raps, by the way.) That's the third-longest such streak of all time, just a few back of John Stockton's longest streak and a dozen short of Magic Johnson's all-time mark. He had to work to get it today, though, playing to the final seconds despite the game being well out of hand. Doc even called a random timeout under two minutes to set something up.
The streak is fun, and really it shouldn't have been an issue tonight (his teammates missed a bunch of open looks), but I don't love that he and Doc seem to be actively pursuing it. I mean, there's really no harm in going after it once the game is already in hand, but if it's something they're aware of deep in a blowout, how likely is it that it's not on Rondo's mind when the game is still in reach. On Sunday, we certainly could have used more scoring, something we know Rondo is capable of. Did he hold back to try and set up his teammates? It's not a huge problem -- generally, it's a good idea for a point guard to be most concerned with getting his struggling teammates going. But Rondo is already pass-happy to a fault; having the streak in the back of his mind, if he does, could turn his unselfishness into selfishness, actually, and a positive into a negative.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Monday, November 12, 2012
Boston 101, Chicago 95
[recap] [box score]
Been a long time since I last updated -- after starting 0-2, Boston beat Washington twice, lost to Philly, and then beat Milwaukee in a rematch on Saturday night to even their record at 3-3. Tonight against the Bulls was probably the teams best performance of the young season, at least until the fourth quarter.
On a macro level, Doc Rivers seems to have settled on a starting lineup. After experimenting for a few games with Jared Sullinger as our starting four, Brandon Bass has been opening the game up front alongside Kevin Garnett the last two times out. As much as I was lobbying to play the kid with the first team, I agree with this move. Sullinger wasn't getting going with the first unit, and Bass was struggling to find his offense, as well. The other big change has been Jason Terry starting at two over Courtney Lee, which seems to have gotten Terry off the schneid after a slow start to the season. This one may not be permanent -- Terry has a long track record of success in the sixth man role, and while the Celtics might be able to get away with Terry and Rondo in the backcourt against Brandon Jennings/Monta Ellis and Nate Robinson/Rip Hamilton, some bigger guard pairings could make Lee's size and defense important to have in the starting lineup.
One thing everyone has been talking about since the preseason is how Boston wants to run more this year, and indeed, our pace is way above what we're used to. What's interesting about it is that the Celtics are not, at least to my eye, getting a ton of fast break points. What they are doing, however, is getting a lot of early offense. It's a smart move and a welcome change from the bogged down offensive sets we've seen in recent years. I've noticed that it's particularly beneficial to Bass, whose bread-and-butter shot is the mid-range jumper. Instead of beating the ball downcourt, Bass has been trailing the plays a bit as Rondo rushes upcourt. Bass' defender, meanwhile, has to worry about Rondo (a threat to get to the basket at any time) and isn't used to picking up power forwards above the free throw line, so he sets up down low and waits for Bass. All Bass has to do, then, is stop at whatever spot he's most comfortable and await the feed from Rondo for the wide-open jumper. Once teams start to pick Bass up earlier, you can expect to see more layups for Rondo, whose Inspector Gadget arms and crafty finishing have befuddled many a back-pedaling would-be shotblocker.
The Cs were pretty much in control of this one until the fourth quarter, when they went ice-cold from the floor (Kevin Garnett in particular). It also coincided with increased playing time for rookie point guard Marquis Teague and power forward Taj Gibson, who shored up a defense that was surprisingly vulnerable to penetration over the first three quarters given that they are coached by Tom Thibodeau. Ultimately, the Celtics sealed the game with a couple nifty screen-and-roll plays with Rondo and Garnett that led to KG alley-oop dunks (the play involves staggered ball screens on the side, with the first screener, a shooter, flaring to the three-point line and KG, the second screener, rolling to the bucket).
This is a busy week for Boston, which is about to embark on one of those grueling four-games-in-five-nights stretches. We host Utah on Wednesday before playing Brooklyn on Thursday (that one's a national TV game), then play Toronto and at Detroit on the weekend. Those latter two opponents are currently a combined 1-14, but the Jazz and Nets are the team's toughest games since the opener against the Heat. These upcoming games should be a good bellwether for how the team is coming together.
Been a long time since I last updated -- after starting 0-2, Boston beat Washington twice, lost to Philly, and then beat Milwaukee in a rematch on Saturday night to even their record at 3-3. Tonight against the Bulls was probably the teams best performance of the young season, at least until the fourth quarter.
On a macro level, Doc Rivers seems to have settled on a starting lineup. After experimenting for a few games with Jared Sullinger as our starting four, Brandon Bass has been opening the game up front alongside Kevin Garnett the last two times out. As much as I was lobbying to play the kid with the first team, I agree with this move. Sullinger wasn't getting going with the first unit, and Bass was struggling to find his offense, as well. The other big change has been Jason Terry starting at two over Courtney Lee, which seems to have gotten Terry off the schneid after a slow start to the season. This one may not be permanent -- Terry has a long track record of success in the sixth man role, and while the Celtics might be able to get away with Terry and Rondo in the backcourt against Brandon Jennings/Monta Ellis and Nate Robinson/Rip Hamilton, some bigger guard pairings could make Lee's size and defense important to have in the starting lineup.
One thing everyone has been talking about since the preseason is how Boston wants to run more this year, and indeed, our pace is way above what we're used to. What's interesting about it is that the Celtics are not, at least to my eye, getting a ton of fast break points. What they are doing, however, is getting a lot of early offense. It's a smart move and a welcome change from the bogged down offensive sets we've seen in recent years. I've noticed that it's particularly beneficial to Bass, whose bread-and-butter shot is the mid-range jumper. Instead of beating the ball downcourt, Bass has been trailing the plays a bit as Rondo rushes upcourt. Bass' defender, meanwhile, has to worry about Rondo (a threat to get to the basket at any time) and isn't used to picking up power forwards above the free throw line, so he sets up down low and waits for Bass. All Bass has to do, then, is stop at whatever spot he's most comfortable and await the feed from Rondo for the wide-open jumper. Once teams start to pick Bass up earlier, you can expect to see more layups for Rondo, whose Inspector Gadget arms and crafty finishing have befuddled many a back-pedaling would-be shotblocker.
The Cs were pretty much in control of this one until the fourth quarter, when they went ice-cold from the floor (Kevin Garnett in particular). It also coincided with increased playing time for rookie point guard Marquis Teague and power forward Taj Gibson, who shored up a defense that was surprisingly vulnerable to penetration over the first three quarters given that they are coached by Tom Thibodeau. Ultimately, the Celtics sealed the game with a couple nifty screen-and-roll plays with Rondo and Garnett that led to KG alley-oop dunks (the play involves staggered ball screens on the side, with the first screener, a shooter, flaring to the three-point line and KG, the second screener, rolling to the bucket).
This is a busy week for Boston, which is about to embark on one of those grueling four-games-in-five-nights stretches. We host Utah on Wednesday before playing Brooklyn on Thursday (that one's a national TV game), then play Toronto and at Detroit on the weekend. Those latter two opponents are currently a combined 1-14, but the Jazz and Nets are the team's toughest games since the opener against the Heat. These upcoming games should be a good bellwether for how the team is coming together.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Milwaukee 99, Boston 88
[recap] [box score]
Before anyone starts to panic about the Celtics being 0-2, let's take a deep breath. The Lakers, the presumptive Western Conference champions the moment the Oklahoma City Thunder shipped James Harden to the Rockets on the eve of the season, are 0-3 in the Dwight Howard/Steve Nash era. The Heat, the defending champs and odds-on favorites to repeat, got blown out Friday night by the Knicks in New York.
It's a long season. There's no reason to panic.
With that said, this was as bad a performance as we've seen from the Celtics in recent years, and a big step back from the season-opening loss on Tuesday. Against Miami, Boston at least played well offensively. Against Milwaukee, the Celtics limped to just 30 points at halftime, falling behind by double digits in the second quarter and never really challenging thereafter. A flurry of garbage-time points is the only thing that made the score respectable.
Defensively, though, Boston was at least as bad Friday as they were on Tuesday, and probably worse -- the Bucks are nothing close to the offensive outfit that the Heat are. The pick and roll defense was bad, and there were a ton of blown rotations. It's disconcerting to see a Boston team struggle this much on that end of the floor, but you have to think things are going to improve. The Celtics were good defensively last year, and while none of the key guys we added are known as outstanding defenders, none of the guys we lost are, either. Doc mentioned in the pregame interview with Mike Gorman that some of the guys are used to different defensive rotations/responsibilities due to having played in different systems last year, and it's actually something that Hubie Brown mentioned in the Lakers-Clippers telecast tonight with regards to former Celtic (and current Clipper) Ryan Hollins. So hopefully a lot of this stuff will clear itself up.
There isn't a whole lot to talk about for this game: Paul Pierce got into early foul trouble and never found a rhythm; Boston played with zero energy for most of the night (seemingly standard for Friday night games with this team); Kevin Garnett had an encouraging stretch in the third quarter where he was the assertive offense force we saw in the playoffs last year. Overall, on the offensive end, I think a lot of the new guys are trying to fit in too much. Courtney Lee, in particular, needs to be more aggressive offensively.
One thing I'm going to be watching closely is how the frontcourt rotation works itself out. Jeff Green was the first guy off the bench, replacing Garnett, but he struggled again and I thought Jared Sullinger was one of the few bright spots. The rookie struggled with pick and roll defense, which was the knock on him heading into the year, but he plenty of company wearing white uniforms in that regard. But he wasn't completely exposed the times he switched out on to a guard on the perimeter, and he drew two charges on Ersan Ilyasova in the first half -- a sure sign that he's buying into our defensive philosophy and that he's in the right place at least some of the time. He had a very productive first half, but played significantly less in the second.
I get that the team has a lot invested in Green, that Danny and presumably Doc believe in him, and that he's in dire need of some confidence. And I know that Doc is hesitant to give rookies major minutes. But if we're really not going to play any of our centers meaningful minutes -- Darko Milicic got a handful in the first half tonight, and Chris Wilcox came in during garbage time (he may get more time as the season progresses and he plays his way back into shape) -- then I don't think we can afford to play Green alongside Bass too often, particularly against a decent-sized frontline like Milwaukee's. Green is a notoriously poor rebounder for his size, whereas Sullinger has some real potential in that area -- he's already quite advanced at using his considerable width to gain position on the glass. And I would hate to see Sullinger's development delayed unnecessarily. I hope I'm wrong about Green, and obviously the team's not going to give up on him, but I'm thinking that everyone's interests would best be served with the young buck replacing KG first, bringing in Green afterwards to spell either Bass or Pierce.
Back at it Saturday night, 7 Eastern, at Washington.
Before anyone starts to panic about the Celtics being 0-2, let's take a deep breath. The Lakers, the presumptive Western Conference champions the moment the Oklahoma City Thunder shipped James Harden to the Rockets on the eve of the season, are 0-3 in the Dwight Howard/Steve Nash era. The Heat, the defending champs and odds-on favorites to repeat, got blown out Friday night by the Knicks in New York.
It's a long season. There's no reason to panic.
With that said, this was as bad a performance as we've seen from the Celtics in recent years, and a big step back from the season-opening loss on Tuesday. Against Miami, Boston at least played well offensively. Against Milwaukee, the Celtics limped to just 30 points at halftime, falling behind by double digits in the second quarter and never really challenging thereafter. A flurry of garbage-time points is the only thing that made the score respectable.
Defensively, though, Boston was at least as bad Friday as they were on Tuesday, and probably worse -- the Bucks are nothing close to the offensive outfit that the Heat are. The pick and roll defense was bad, and there were a ton of blown rotations. It's disconcerting to see a Boston team struggle this much on that end of the floor, but you have to think things are going to improve. The Celtics were good defensively last year, and while none of the key guys we added are known as outstanding defenders, none of the guys we lost are, either. Doc mentioned in the pregame interview with Mike Gorman that some of the guys are used to different defensive rotations/responsibilities due to having played in different systems last year, and it's actually something that Hubie Brown mentioned in the Lakers-Clippers telecast tonight with regards to former Celtic (and current Clipper) Ryan Hollins. So hopefully a lot of this stuff will clear itself up.
There isn't a whole lot to talk about for this game: Paul Pierce got into early foul trouble and never found a rhythm; Boston played with zero energy for most of the night (seemingly standard for Friday night games with this team); Kevin Garnett had an encouraging stretch in the third quarter where he was the assertive offense force we saw in the playoffs last year. Overall, on the offensive end, I think a lot of the new guys are trying to fit in too much. Courtney Lee, in particular, needs to be more aggressive offensively.
One thing I'm going to be watching closely is how the frontcourt rotation works itself out. Jeff Green was the first guy off the bench, replacing Garnett, but he struggled again and I thought Jared Sullinger was one of the few bright spots. The rookie struggled with pick and roll defense, which was the knock on him heading into the year, but he plenty of company wearing white uniforms in that regard. But he wasn't completely exposed the times he switched out on to a guard on the perimeter, and he drew two charges on Ersan Ilyasova in the first half -- a sure sign that he's buying into our defensive philosophy and that he's in the right place at least some of the time. He had a very productive first half, but played significantly less in the second.
I get that the team has a lot invested in Green, that Danny and presumably Doc believe in him, and that he's in dire need of some confidence. And I know that Doc is hesitant to give rookies major minutes. But if we're really not going to play any of our centers meaningful minutes -- Darko Milicic got a handful in the first half tonight, and Chris Wilcox came in during garbage time (he may get more time as the season progresses and he plays his way back into shape) -- then I don't think we can afford to play Green alongside Bass too often, particularly against a decent-sized frontline like Milwaukee's. Green is a notoriously poor rebounder for his size, whereas Sullinger has some real potential in that area -- he's already quite advanced at using his considerable width to gain position on the glass. And I would hate to see Sullinger's development delayed unnecessarily. I hope I'm wrong about Green, and obviously the team's not going to give up on him, but I'm thinking that everyone's interests would best be served with the young buck replacing KG first, bringing in Green afterwards to spell either Bass or Pierce.
Back at it Saturday night, 7 Eastern, at Washington.
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