The Triangle Offense

Question

Should the Celtics mix more zone defenses in to counter the triangle offense?

It worked for the Suns in games 3 and 4.

dboss

Funny, I asked the same question in another thread. I didn't see the last two games that the Lakers won. Did they find a way to deal with the zone, or did Phoenix do away with it?

I don't recall the Celtics zoning very often, but there's probably time to install it.

I also asked whether the staggered picks that Orlando used might have some appeal to free up Rondo more. And I wondered if it would work only with a very good step-back jump shooter.

Sam

Personally, I think the Celtics should do the same things they have been doing. We have the best defense in the playoffs, by far. Neither the Lakers nor anybody else in the WC has seen ferocious, suffocating defense like we've been throwing at Miami, Cleveland and Orlando. Let's see how they fare against what we do best before we go making a ton of changes. Trust in The Thib.

Furthermore, none of the teams that have played LA so far have been able to match up with their frontcourt. Gasol has had a free rein (or, considering how well he has dominated his position, perhaps I should have said "reign"). He can go over players to get rebounds because they lack the beef and/or height to keep him off and nobody on any of those teams were dedicated and capable of slowing Bryant down. We have KG and Wallace to make life harder for Gasol and Tony, Pierce, Ray and (hopefully before the series is over) Daniels to wear Kobe down. Nobody else in the WC had the depth of talent to do those things and, unlike the Celtics, the Lakers are primarily "The Big Two" and posse. We are more balanced and have more players that can "go off". Pierce, Allen and Rondo are all capable of 30 point games. Nate, KG, Wallace, Tony Allen and Davis are all capable of 15-20 point games in significantly less minutes (KG, more minutes than the others). Artest can have 15-20, as can Fisher, but they are far from reliable. Bynum used to, but his injury has diminished him to where the chances of him scoring 20 points is pretty unlikely. Brown can score, but also is not a sure thing. Other than Bryant and Gasol, the only other player on the Lakers who can have a 15-20+ ppg series, is Odom.

The "X" factor, to me, is Odom. He's the only player we really can't match up well with.

bob

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bobheck

I got to get on a plane and go to northern montanny to scout a feature. Sorry I missed you and thanks for the updates.

Odom lacks the strength of will to hurt us in the playoffs. They are all so deferential to Kobe they better hope he stays hot.

bobheckler wrote:Personally, I think the Celtics should do the same things they have been doing. We have the best defense in the playoffs, by far. Neither the Lakers nor anybody else in the WC has seen ferocious, suffocating defense like we've been throwing at Miami, Cleveland and Orlando. Let's see how they fare against what we do best before we go making a ton of changes. Trust in The Thib.

Furthermore, none of the teams that have played LA so far have been able to match up with their frontcourt. Gasol has had a free rein (or, considering how well he has dominated his position, perhaps I should have said "reign"). He can go over players to get rebounds because they lack the beef and/or height to keep him off and nobody on any of those teams were dedicated and capable of slowing Bryant down. We have KG and Wallace to make life harder for Gasol and Tony, Pierce, Ray and (hopefully before the series is over) Daniels to wear Kobe down. Nobody else in the WC had the depth of talent to do those things and, unlike the Celtics, the Lakers are primarily "The Big Two" and posse. We are more balanced and have more players that can "go off". Pierce, Allen and Rondo are all capable of 30 point games. Nate, KG, Wallace, Tony Allen and Davis are all capable of 15-20 point games in significantly less minutes (KG, more minutes than the others). Artest can have 15-20, as can Fisher, but they are far from reliable. Bynum used to, but his injury has diminished him to where the chances of him scoring 20 points is pretty unlikely. Brown can score, but also is not a sure thing. Other than Bryant and Gasol, the only other player on the Lakers who can have a 15-20+ ppg series, is Odom.

The "X" factor, to me, is Odom. He's the only player we really can't match up well with.

bob

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Bob-

outstanding analysis, as always. I think it would be a mistake for the Cs to get away from who they are defensively. What they do works. Trying to install a lot of zone schemes in a short time seems like a mistake, as it would open up the potential for a lot of confusion and blown assignments since they're not used to playing it.

Cs and Lakers match up well with each other. I don't expect either to deviate very much from how they've played each other the last two years.

Suns played a zone because it was the ONLY way they could come close to matching up with the Lakers. It worked a couple of times, but overall the Lakers picked it apart and won.

Celtics dont need a gimmick defense to stay with the Lakers - so I see no reason to deviate from what they do best. It is the Lakers who will need to make adjustments to the Celtics lock down D - not the other way around.