Notes from Golden State

Posted by Zach Lowe on Dec 29, 2009 50856 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2009%2F12%2F29%2Fnotes-from-golden-state%2FNotes+from+Golden+State2009-12-29+15%3A29%3A21Zach+Lowehttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D5085

Pace: 100 (ultra-fast)

Offensive Efficiency: 99 point scored/100 possessions (league worst)

Defensive Efficiency:  103 points allowed/100 possessions (top five)

* As you can see, the C’s lost this game on offense, not defense, and they lost it primarily because they turned the ball over more times (26 team turnovers) than in any game since KG and Ray Allen arrived here before the 2007-08 season, according to Basketball Reference. 

The C’s turned the ball over on 26 percent of their possessions. To put that in context: The most turnover-prone team in the league this season (Charlotte) coughs it up on 16 percent of its possessions. 

* Rajon Rondo became just the 3rd player in Celtic history to record a 30-point, 15-assist game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPNBoston). He’s the first Celtic to do this in a loss. 

If it takes you more than three guesses to get the other two C’s that have pulled this off, your C’s fan credentials are in jeopardy—and, really, giving you three guesses instead of two is generous here. 

* The Warriors were able to rebound 14 of their 47 misses—29.8 percent. If the Warriors grabbed that percentage of offensive rebounds every game, they’d rank 3rd in the NBA in offensive rebounding percentage.

They rank last. 

And the C’s, meanwhile, have settled into the 15th spot in defensive rebounding after finishing in the top 10 the last two seasons. 

This is worrisome.

* Also worrisome: Rasheed Wallace attempting zero two-point shots against a team that doesn’t really defend the post. 

In fairness to Sheed, this is the first time he’s abandoned the low block after making a commitment to score there over the last two weeks.

* Finally, this loss was extremely rare in one sense: It is the C’s first loss in the last two seasons against one of the league’s five fastest-paced teams in which the C’s played closer to the fast club’s pace than their own middling/slow pace, according to my prior research.

Bizarrely, the C’s have had a lot more trouble against the hares of the league when they drag the hares down to Boston’s own tortoise pace. When they give in and run like crazy at the hares preferred speed, the C’s have been 6-0 against Golden State, Indiana, New York, Phoenix and Minnesota since the start of last season. 

The C’s played Golden State at an ultra-fast tempo last night and lost anyway. 

Worth nothing, that’s all. 

Look for a lot more from Brian Robb today on last night and (maybe) some more injury updates (yay!).