The C’s gave their 26-year-old rookie a vote of confidence before Tuesday’s game. By not waiving the seven-footer, Stiemsma’s contract will become fully guaranteed on Friday, allowing the shot blocker to breath a little bit and perhaps unpack some boxes for good in Beantown. Here’s Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston with some reaction from Stiemsma and [...]
I had a chance to talk with Bobcats rookie Kemba Walker prior to the Celtics game against Charlotte on Tuesday night. Here is what the UConn star, who is averaging 12.3 points, 4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game had to say. 1. How much communication have you had with Michael Jordan this year? Walker: [...]
Yes. This is a “pat myself on the back” post because a) I’m a jackass and b) I predicted something correctly. Back on January 8th, I predicted that the next ten games will tell us everything we need to know about this Celtics’ team. If they struggled, it was time to blow it up. If [...]
One day before he’s scheduled to pass Larry Bird for second on the Celtics’ all-time scoring list, Paul Pierce won the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award. Pierce averaged 22 points, 6.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds in four Boston wins, playing point forward in Rajon Rondo’s absence. Pierce is only 9 points behind Bird [...]
Via ESPN Boston’s Chris Forsberg, who knows a great, playful rant when he hears one, here’s Kevin Garnett discussing his not-so-newfound aptitude for three-point shooting after the C’s took down the Grizzlies. “When I walk around the streets, y’all stop acting like y’all shocked that I can shoot 3’s. Everybody in Boston, everybody in the [...]
I talked with Memphis guard O.J. Mayo prior to the Celtics-Grizzlies, Super Bowl Sunday game at the Garden. Here is what the 4th year man out of USC, who is averaging 12.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2 assists per game had to say. 1. You started every game your first two years in the league, [...]
The Miami Heat ranked 19th in offensive rebounding rate this season, but for the first 30 minutes of Game 1 against Boston, they were crashing the offensive glass like the Memphis Grizzlies. The Heat had 10 offensive rebounds at the 6:01 mark of the 3rd quarter, when they led 61-49.
They had just two the rest of the game. And it’s not a coincidence that Miami stopped getting second chances at the precise moment the C’s turned up their defensive intensity on the perimeter and with its rotations on screen/rolls. Because when the C’s give up offensive boards, the problem is often on the perimeter and not under the hoop.
Let’s check out two examples from the first 30 minutes of Game 1. First, from about the 5:57 mark of the 2nd quarter:
If you don’t pay close attention as you watch the game, you might think this rebound is Kevin Garnett’s fault, since he was guarding Michael Beasley on this possession.
But the rebound really happens when Paul Pierce decides to under the screen Jermaine O’Neal sets for Dorell Wright in transition. That’s probably the right decision, since a Dorell Wright 20-footer is a near ideal ending to a Miami possession, at least from a Boston standpoint.
Except O’Neal really never comes to a stop in setting the screen and instead continues sliding down to the foul line, which leaves Pierce a bit further from Wright than he’d probably like:
Kendrick Perkins sees this and does something he probably doesn’t want to do—and perhaps shouldn’t do: He charges out at Wright to disrupt the shot.
And this is where the offensive rebound is essentially created. O’Neal rolls to the hoop, and KG has to slide off of Beasley to take O’Neal. Here’s what things look like as the shot goes up:
Beas (on the left wing) has a clear path to the rim, and he’s going to get the rebound if it falls anywhere near him.
Could smarter or more aggressive defense at the start of this possession have prevented this ORB? I’m not sure.
Here’s another example from just inside the 3:00 mark of the 2nd quarter. The Celtics generally avoid all-out switching on defense, and this play shows why:
Udonis Haslem catches Ray Allen with a (semi-moving) screen, and Kevin Garnett is forced to switch onto Dwyane Wade. This in part shows the greatness of Wade, because the C’s would not switch here if Ray were guarding a normal player. Boston would much rather have Ray fall a bit behind and allow the interior defenders to rotate and have Ray’s back. But this is Wade, and you can’t give him an inch.
The problem: This leaves Ray guarding Udonis Haslem. Here’s what things look like as Wade releases the shot:
You can see Haslem at the left elbow, and if you look carefully, you can see Ray right beside him.
And here’s what things look like as Wade’s shot is about to hit the rim:
Haslem, like the beast he is, has darted right down the middle of the paint and is preparing to launch for the rebound from just outside the block/charge circle.
And Ray has basically let him go. Ray was in position to at least nudge Haslem, but instead he stopped and began leaking back out toward the other end of the court.
Is this Ray’s fault? I don’t know. I suppose Fundamental Basketball says he’s supposed to try and box out Haslem, right? Should he risk having Haslem plow him over?
I guess he should.
But the main point is this: The C’s get themselves in trouble when they switch or find themselves in situations when a big has to go further from the hoop than he—or the guys behind him—anticipated.
Boston fell this season from an elite defensive rebounding team to an average one. They don’t have the athleticism anymore to protect the defensive glass when an opposing offense dictates play and takes the C’s big men away from where they want and expect to be.
Over the last 18 minutes of the game, the C’s dictated play with their defense. Instead of reacting to what the Heat were doing, they bum-rushed Wade in a planned strategy in which they understood precisely how to attack Wade on the perimeter and recover inside. There were fewer improvisations; the C’s were scurrying around the court, but they when and where they were supposed to scurry.
It’s no accident that Boston sealed up the defensive glass even as Miami begin missing nearly all their shots.
We’ll take a look at exactly what Boston did defensively tomorrow.
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