The Game 6 Offense: Offensive

Posted by Brian Robb on Jun 16, 2010 881314 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2010%2F06%2F16%2Fthe-game-6-offense-offensivel%2FThe+Game+6+Offense%3A+Offensive2010-06-16+17%3A40%3A24Brian+Robbhttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D8813

A few telling numbers to swallow after what was easily Boston’s most dismal offensive outing of the season last night:

* The Celtics shot 33.3% from the field, their lowest FG percentage out of all 105 regular and postseason games this year. 67 points was also their lowest scoring output of the year.

* The Celtics took 23 3 point attempts, the most they have attempted in any postseason game this year.

* Boston attempted just 10 free throws, their lowest number out of all games played during this 2009-10 season. Their second lowest total? 13 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

So what can we take from all of this? Well first off, this game was an outlier. The Celtics had a lot of offensive stinkers this year as we will know here at CelticsHub but this one took the cake in more ways than one. The C’s weren’t finishing at the rim (12 of 29), and were forced to rely on their weakness, shooting a ton from downtown to try to make up an early deficit.

Kobe entered alpha dog mode early for a change, wisely carrying his team to a strong start (5 of 6 shooting, 11 points in 1st quarter) before handing off the reigns to his teammates who were ready and willing to step up in back in the familiar confines of the Staples Center.

Instead of a smothering Celtics D, it was the Lakers that were on the attack all night on the defensive end. Double and triple teaming at every opportunity, forcing drives to the middle where the help was, and looking sharp on rotations all night long.

The Celtics failed to make the extra pass all night long and when they did it was a lazy passing, opening the door for several easy transition opportunities that sparked the Lakers offense and Staples Center crowd.

I do have a bit of a beef with the amount of free throws taken by the C’s. A lot of this was by their own doing, but the C’s took more shots at the rim than the Lakers (29-28) and still came up short by nearly a 2-1 margin in the free throw department. Now for the purposes of this game, the free throw discrepancy would have been the difference of the C’s losing by 15 points instead of 22. Nonetheless, the C’s will still need a much friendly whistle if they are to have a chance in game 7.

Except for the 1st quarter, the C’s defensively did a solid job on the Lakers last night. Hell, if you told me entering last night’s game the C’s would hold the Lakers to 89 points on 41 percent shooting at home, I would have taken that instantly. The rebounding clearly has to be cleaned up or the C’s will be going nowhere, but it’s the offense that has to step up the most if the C’s are to have a chance in LA.

The number I’m looking for is 94 points. The Celtics are 12-1 this postseason when they cross that plateau on the offensive end. It’s a tough task against a stingy Laker defense that looked more desperate and made a number of smart adjustments pressuring the ball at all angles in Game 6. The C’s need to counter this pressure tomorrow night and make the Lakers pay.

For a further breakdown of the Lakers defensive performance in Game 6, be sure to check out this terrific video put together by Kevin Arnovitz over at TrueHoop who has been working great magic with these video masterpieces all postseason long: