Does Daniels Solve the Turnover Crisis?

By Zach Lowe, CelticsHub.com @ February 8th, 10:46 pm 1 comment »

After the Celtics turned the ball over just three times in the first half yesterday against Orlando, Greg Payne of CelticsBlog tweeted a question: Did the return of Marquis Daniels, the C’s steady back-up point guard/shooting guard/small forward, have something to do with the decline in Boston’s turnovers?

I had been wondering the same thing before the game. Here are the C’s turnover figures in games with and without Daniels, not including Sunday’s loss to Orlando.

With Daniels (19 games): 15.1 turnovers per game

Without Daniels (28 games): 16.1 turnover per game

That’s not much, but it’s also not nothing. If the C’s season-long turnover average were 16.1 per game, they’d be leading the league in turnovers per game despite playing a very slow pace. Cut out one turnover, and the C’s would rank about 20th in raw turnovers per game—still bad, but not far from league average. 

Of course, Golden State turning the ball over 15 times per game isn’t the same as Boston turning the ball over 15 times per game; the Warriors play fast and use about nine more possessions than the C’s, so if the teams’ raw turnovers are equal, it means Golden State—Golden freaking State!—takes better care of the ball than Boston. (And they do).

But let’s get back to the Daniels Effect. » Read more: Does Daniels Solve the Turnover Crisis?

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Monday Practice Report: Communication Breakdown, Rondo in All-Star Horse Competition

By Brian Robb, CelticsHub.com @ February 8th, 5:23 pm 6 comments »

I was able to make the jaunt down to Waltham today for the C’s practice, which I figured would be an active practice session after Sunday’s massacre. A few notes from the session in which Doc Rivers and Rajon Rondo were the only two prominent members of the C’s to speak:

Notes from Doc’s session:

  • The team had a very good practice overall tonight and responded well to the criticism Doc laid on them yesterday
  • Paul Pierce was not moving around very well and was pulled early from the session. He is questionable for Wednesday night against New Orleans but Doc thinks he will play
  • Tuesday, the team had planned to practice, but will have to fly down to New Orleans in the morning in order to make it into the city before the parade. Had they left at the time they planned on at 3 after a practice, they wouldn’t have been able to get into New Orleans until 10, 11 or midnight, city officials told them.
  • It was the “little things” that killed in the C’s in the 3rd quarter yesterday, on both ends of the floor. They couldn’t get stops when they needed to and it wasn’t just one guy who was the problem.
  • Team needs to reclaim their position as best defensive team in the NBA and need to stop relying on missing guys as an excuse for their play.
  • The main problem Doc emphasized was the team changing its execution on the fly without consulting its coach and lacking communication. For example, Doc said the team was making switches on pick and rolls when the team shouldn’t be switching. Little problems like that.
  • It’s a veteran team that is relying too much on its past success right now, instead of doing what they need to be doing.
  • On the agenda talk, still thinks everyone is on the same page, “no bad guys” on this team. There was a conga line outside his office today but it’s been all talk from everyone thus far, not getting done on the floor.

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Posted in Commentary, Notebook

Orlando: Video Highlights and Lowlights

By Zach Lowe, CelticsHub.com @ February 8th, 8:52 am 6 comments »

Ah, the first half against Orlando, when everything was going well and I imagined what I was going was to say 90 minutes later to all the critics who had written the C’s off following the LA loss.

Boston’s offense was humming over the first 24. One reason why: The team (as Doc has implored them to so many times) stuck with their sets and remained active off-the-ball.

Example: They used Rajon Rondo as a screener on several early plays. This is an effective tactic against teams that play off of Rondo when he has the ball, daring him to shoot jumpers and ducking far under screens when the C’s try screen/rolls. A general counter to this strategy: Make Rondo a weapon off the ball. Sometimes that means having him rove along the baseline, waiting to receive quick passes from KG or Pierce on the interior.

Other times, it means getting a bit more creative and using Rajon as a screener. Like this:

» Read more: Orlando: Video Highlights and Lowlights

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Posted in Commentary, Features

Disturbing: Magic 96, C’s 89

By Brian Robb, CelticsHub.com @ February 7th, 5:29 pm 24 comments »

ESPN Recap * Orlando Pinstriped Post * Orlando Magic Daily

48 consistent minutes. Celtics fans have been pining for it all season long. Today looked like The Celtics had a genuine shot at putting it together for the first time in a long time after a terrific 1st half . The C’s were fighting hard on the glass, taking care of the ball (only 3 turnovers in 1st half), defending well (Orlando shot 38 percent), and perhaps most importantly got Dwight Howard into foul trouble, limiting his minutes. The bench looked great, everyone was healthy for once, finally it was all coming together.

With the entire team finally at full strength and the C’s holding an 11 point lead heading into the locker room, the C’s could have answered the legitimate questions about their struggles against elite teams and uneven performances.  Instead, they came out of the tunnel with their worst quarter of the season, got outscored by 25 points and dug a hole far too big for them to climb out of.

There are a laundry list of problems with this team this year. No need to delving into them all now. But I think one of the main issues with this team right now is their psyche. It’s hard to believe this team is composed of the same key players as last year. Ever since KG went down last year, they’ve lost that mental toughness. That 3rd quarter effort never happens in the last 2 years with KG on the floor, definitely not at home.

Yet, this year, the C’s have not been responding well, or even at all to adversity. The walls start to cave in on the team and instead of looking to escape, they play basketball with a deer in the highlights look on their face and aren’t able to resolve the problem until it’s too late. They’ve gone through this situation so many times this year of blowing the big leads, that it’s safe to say getting over that mental hump right now is almost just as crucial to this team as anything else right now.

Yes, they showed fight in the 4th quarter,  but again were never able to seriously threaten the Magic until it was too late. And there was always something waiting to slow the C’s down, whether it was a blocked shot, a dumb foul, a missed layup or missed free throw (by Ray Allen!), you name it, it kept the C’s from making a major run until it was too late.

So, what are Celtics fans left with? Well, we’d be foolish not to give a lot of the credit to Dwight Howard and the Magic. The C’s gave them opportunities but they fought hard, defended well and shot the lights out when they needed to. They also kept their cool and weathered the storm.

This is just one game, C’s fans have the remember this. But, it’s safe to start asking real questions about whether this team can put it all together. The focus just hasn’t been there yet. I want to say I trust it will be there when it counts, but after so many breakdowns in games that should matter, I’m not so sure myself anymore. Without a doubt, this team has a lot to prove to themselves and their fanbase in the coming weeks. Luckily, they have 32 more games to put it altogether.

A 3rd quarter breakdown, bullets, and is there anything positive C’s fans can take out of this one? All after the jump » Read more: Disturbing: Magic 96, C’s 89

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Posted in Commentary, Game Recaps

Crisis? Magic Crush C’s in 2nd Half

By Zach Lowe, CelticsHub.com @ February 7th, 5:18 pm No comments »

It’s probably too early to use that word. Right? 

Brian’s going to chime in with full bullets. I just wanted to say one thing:

• Fans always heap blame on their own team, and the Celtics have plenty of blame to go around for this second half dud. Committing eight turnovers in one quarter is inexcusable in a big game.

But there were two teams on the floor today, and you have to give some credit to the Magic. Specifically to Dwight Howard. It is not a coincidence Orlando rallied in the 3rd quarter with Howard finally back on the floor. He completely dominated the interior on defense and had a lot to do with the C’s reliance on jump shots in the 3rd quarter. 

I am about to drink beer and watch football. That is all.

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Posted in Commentary