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:
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i said after the game that holding the lakers to 89 points is great defense especially in staples center… but we have got to score better. i dont know why but i have a good feeling about sheed starting at center tomorrow. COME ON C’S ONE GAME!!
We just need to knock down shots and make our layups. We had a lot of good looks last night and couldn’t buy a bucket.
I have a great feeling that tomorrow we are going to shoot a whole lot better from downtown than we did in Game 6.
Rondo really needs to be unbelievable as well.
I am liking Ray from three and Paul from the ft. line tomorrow to come through from start to finish, they just need Garnett to knock down that wide open 18 footer he gets all the time.
We can do this, we just need the team to be under control from the get-go and that is what they lacked greatly in Game 6.
I am sooooo ready for Game 7, I can’t sit still at work and it isn’t even a game day.
First… The Celtics didn’t play terribly defensively, but 89 points on 41% shooting was entirely a product of the 4th quarter being ALL garbage time. The Lakers had 76 points through 3 quarters. Kobe has shown in the last 2 games that when he wants to score, he can pretty much score at will on this Celtics defense. I expect Kobe to continue in game 7 taking the lead and letting guys feed off of him rather than trying to get guys involved first.
Second… The Cs “we’re a no excuses team” crap is really becoming comical. Game 1 the Cs lost because of the refs. Game 3 and 6 were lost because of travel. These declarations aren’t just from fans but from players and coaches who have implied or outright declared their belief that these hindrances were a deciding factor (despite the obvious fact that the Lakers have suffered through the same travel schedule and foul trouble). Even on this site, every loss has been followed by a column evidencing how this loss was a statistical anomaly. An outlier. A startling example of regression to the mean. The best team will win on Thursday, and if it’s the Lakers I’m sure we’ll hear all about Perk and refs and probably the effects of some rogue vuvuzelas in the crowd. Whatever the case, to Celtics fans and players, it wont be because the better team won.
“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.”
Talk about predictable.
Pierce went to the rim strong on several occasions and attempted zero free throws last night, ZERO. Meanwhile kobe can’t finish over pierce one-on-one, there is minimal contact, and kobe goes to the line.
sigh.
I hope its called more evenly in game 7. But it’s not fair to say that simply the free throw discrepancy makes it a 15 point loss instead of 22. Part of the reason we took so many threes is because we couldn’t finish around the rim while getting hacked. this occurred in the first quarter and deterred us from going to the rim while the game was still in doubt.
I mean rondo goes to the rack, takes an elbow to the face that requires stitches and there is no call.
Would you drive to the rim next time? Don’t think so.
@Dustball: That’s because we the Celtic fans almost never see the Lakers as ever being the better team. We’re homers like that. And by and large, we don’t seem to have an issue with it either. I’m sure you’ll find the same thing is more common among Laker fans than you’d want to think.
Totally not surprised by this result, even if it makes me sick and miserable and my friends are unable to deal with me right now. The C’s played like they didn’t want to win this game, in something that appeared common all through the regular season where they’ve attempted to make things difficult for themselves.
The only solace I know right now is that this team responds *very well* to being on the losing end of a blowout. And then there’s the fact that after a loss in this postseason, the C’s are so far 6-1 after a loss, with the one loss being one where even the media was calling out the refs for deciding the game in the first quarter. I don’t like that they made it harder on themselves by giving LA confidence, but I still like their ability to bounce back from a loss.
@ willybeamin: shit yea the Celtics will attack the rim. They will get the calls tomorrow after the refs go back and watch the game tape and see the missed calls. I expect Boston to shoot way more free throws than they did in 6. The free throw line like a lot of other things is going to be critical in who wins and who loses tomorrow. I expect Paul Pierce to shoot around 10 free throws tomorrow.
Even the free throw disparity (which anyone and everyone, including posters here and the Celtics players should have expected in this NBA cashcow) does not explain the Cs looking out of sorts and discombobulated. I do get the feeling at some point they started looking forward to Game 7 (God knows I did) but give the Lakers credit for sowing chaos and Kobe for shredding the Cs interior multiple times on an entirely expectable Gasol pick and roll.
The Lakers played exactly the way they should have played. That is a credit to them. The Celtics did not.
And FOR THE LOVE OF PERK will posters on this blog STOP FEEDING THE TROLLS??
JMM made me do it…
I was trying to keep a nice level-headed vibe going after Game 6, but fine.
My comments remain the same from the last post , but I’ll add the extra spice:
- Perk being hurt sucks. Now I guess the Celtics fans will get to feel like Laker fans when Bynum is hurt and/or ineffective due to injury. Karma? Sucks, but sure does look like it huh? Who says it’s lucky being Green?
- What happened to the Celtics Bench? How many debates on this board did we have talking about how the Celtics were sooooo deeep? Looks like the story is the same as it always was: Bench players play good at home, suck on the road. Rondo+Allen+Pierce+KG all played decent. ZERO from the bench. That was pathetic. Kinda like the Lakers bench in Boston… This is why their is a little something called Homecourt Advantage. You play good in the regular season you get it..NEWSFLASH: Boston didnt play good then!
- And lastly, I think I was right in forecasting this series before it started on this very blog. If the Celtics are to win game 7, Rondo will be MVP. He’ll get crazy steals, blocks, and rebounds that’ll make us say wha, wha, whaaattt?! He’ll get all these ancillary (oh you like that word huh JMM?) players involved. On the flip side, it still comes down to Gasol. If he’s effective vs. KG (w/no Perk), it’s lights out for the Celtics.
What’s more likely to happen?Gasol, Rondo, or someone else? …I’ll take Gasol at home, but admittedly am a bit scared of what a motivated desperate Rondo will do…
they really looked on their heels due to massive laker pressure. should be more comfortable with it the second time round. they are vets.
the rest of the stuff (shooting %, freethrows, etc) will work balance itself out.
a dish is mix between a douche and a dick. You like that word korey? Oh and i dont care who your a fan for or whatever you think about basketball. You act like such a dish it makes your opinions meaningless.
And rondo+KG+Allen+pierce played decent? Have you seen them play before Game 6? Maybe Allen played decent but thats it. Thanks to great defense, but NBA teams dont shoot that bad. Period.
@willybeamin exactly i saw Pierce getting fouled on 2-3 of his layups attacking the basket yet he gets ZERO free throws…………….Pierce plays brilliant defense on Kobe and he gets called for fouls all night long.
And please listen to Jay Cutler…….STOP FEEDING THE TROLLS?? Dammit
And how in Martha Stewarts f****d up world does Rondo not get a call for those 17 stitches.
NBA Where Rigging Happens
Poor Boston…they had that won