4 Game Losing Streak!

wideclyde wrote:The Cs four game losing streak is now in the past, but I thought that making some comments on said streak are now appropriate.

My first thought relates to too many folks pointing the finger at individual players much more than looking at some team issues.
It was easy to target Marcus Smart when he missed the last shot in the Lakers game, but prior to that shot (his 10th three pointer
of the night) he had been 4 of 9 on threes.  There should have been zero negative thoughts regarding if he should take that shot,
in my opinion.  He is a pro player, had shot well the entire game and had the ball in position to shoot.  Yes, he missed the shot, but??

Secondly, lets look at some other "team" related issues and stats.  For me, rebounding is always a key team stat as it very often decides the
outcome of most games.  Getting out rebounded by 20 points in a one point loss seems to be a much bigger problem than Smart
missing the last shot.  Regardless of team size there is no reason to get beaten by 20 on the boards by another team in a league where
the talent levels are so very close to equal.  The entire team needed to be blasted for the pounding the Lakers put on them.

When our assists to baskets made numbers drop is another "team" issue.  If a team can get 40% of their baskets off assists on a
regular basis, dropping down to 18% shows too much hero ball to me.  The team offense has proven to work over and over again
when the players and the ball moves, and certainly not work so well when the ball gets held and players get glued to the floor.
Jabbar, Jordan nor Chamberlain could win any games by themselves so it makes sense to me that none of the current Cs
were badder, bigger of better players than the mentioned HOFers.

Your thoughts??

Wideclyde

I partly agree with your comments regarding team related issues as opposed to individuals. However it is not one versus the other. I think an appropriate analysis should highlight the overall team issues. (i.e. rebounding, turnovers, passing, etc) Those things are the responsibility of individuals. Behind every win and every loss is the quality of play by individuals who are part of the team. Therefore to ignore how a player does his job or to spare him from criticism or praise is pretty unrealistic.

Marcus Smart should not be blamed for missing a last second 3 point shot. That was not the reason why Boston loss to the Lakers. Having said that Marcus should not have taken that shot. Whether he was 1-10 or 4-9 during the game, it is pretty clear that he is a dreadful 3 point shooter and he still takes too many 3 point shots every single game. Marcus Smart takes, on average, 9.7 shots per game. 4.6 of those shots are 3 pointers. In sum 47% of all of his field goal attempts are 3 pointers and he shoots below 30%.

So when he has a rare game where he makes a few deep balls it does nothing to change the reality that he is an unreliable offensive player that lacks the discipline to reduce his penchant to shoot the 3 ball.

I have stated many times on this forum that unless he improves his shooting I do not think Danny Ainge will give him a new contract. We are already half way through the season and Smart is as bad as ever. The Celtics are a great defensive team. Marcus is primarily a defensive player but there are several other guys who play defense but they also can play offense. Marcus is essentially a one way player and that does not command a big salary.

I am convinced that the Celtics can be a good team with or without Smart on the roster. Danny should move him before the trade deadline and be done with it.

dboss