Hey. A losing streak.
[recap] [box score]
This game was frustrating, not just because we lost, but because there was a relatively simple way we could have won this game, and we didn't do it.
Two, actually. Due to injury to Troy Murphy, current Indiana coach and former Celtics boss Jim O'Brien started a small lineup of Earl Watson, Brandon Rush, Dahntay Jones, Danny Granger, and Roy Hibbert. That created an obvious mismatch of Granger on Kevin Garnett. It's a mismatch on both ends, but Garnett should have the advantage because there's really nothing Granger can do to stop his shot.
The simplest way to win would have been to ride Garnett all evening. The Celtics went to him early and went to him effectively (he shot better than 63 percent for the game), but they didn't go to him often enough (he only took 11 shots). The Pacers, on the other hand, rode Granger to 29 points and the victory. What's frustrating is that Boston knows how to exploit a mismatch; they just only seem to do it when Paul Pierce is involved.
The other way would have been to counter with a small lineup, replacing one of the bigs with Marquis Daniels. I don't like this as much, as it lets the other team dictate the game and takes one of our top defenders off the court. But if we weren't going to exploit our size mismatch, at least trying a lineup of Daniels, Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, and, say, Garnett (or Kendrick Perkins or Rasheed Wallace) would have made sense.
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To be fair, it's not clear to me that Garnett being guarded by Granger is that much of a mismatch. No, Granger can't stop Garnett from jacking jumpers - but that's not a particularly valuable shot for him (or most anyone else in the NBA). Unless Garnett's going to be posting him up - and his failure to do so throughout his career is the reason he's not in the upper pantheon of great players - I don't know that getting KG to jack 18' jumpers all day long is a good thing.
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