Who Will Stop The Bleeding?

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4707898/tourniquet-needed-stopping-the-bleeding



Who will stop the bleeding?
November, 2, 2013
NOV 2 8:00 PM ET
By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com



WALTHAM, Mass. -- Already disheveled after watching the visiting Milwaukee Bucks roar back from a 22-point deficit, the Boston Celtics founded themselves down five with 15.1 seconds to play in Friday's home-opener. Coming out of a timeout, Boston needed a quick 3-point look go simply give it a chance to come from behind, but it took the team nine seconds before Courtney Lee launched an off-target triple from the left wing sealing their fate in a 105-98 loss.

That sequence was simply a slice of a discombobulated second half in which the Celtics stopped sharing the ball and went stagnant on offense, all while allowing Milwaukee to put up 55 points over the final 17 minutes. The Celtics desperately needed someone -- anyone -- to step up in the fourth quarter to stop the bleeding, but no one did.

"It’s one of the things that separates great players," said Celtics coach Brad Stevens. "[Celtics president of basketball operations] Danny [Ainge] was talking about it this this morning. A guy like [Larry] Bird, as many big shots as people talk about guys like that hitting in situations to win games, the shots they hit to stop runs were just as big. The willingness to step up and make that shot in that moment is a huge moment."

The question posed to Stevens and his Celtics players Saturday was whether Boston is in need of that sort of go-to guy, whether it be for a late-game 3-pointer, or just someone who can take the ball and stop an opponent's run.

"I think it could change game to game," said Stevens. "That’s part of who we are and that’s OK. I don’t think that we would be able to say, 'This person is going to be the go-to guy every single night.' Because I think numerous guys can make that shot. But it takes a special group to wrap their arms around that and get there. Usually it doesn’t happen in the first month of the season. Usually it happens over time. Usually, it’s a case of matchups. And then it’s usually a case of guys coming together and really really deciding that we gotta get our best look, and if our best look is our third option, we trust he’ll knock it down."

The Celtics never got to a third option in the second half of Friday's game, the ball sticking early in the offense. The team generated just two assists on seven second-half field goals.

Jeff Green, who was 0 for 7 in the second half, is the de facto go-to guy on offense with Rajon Rondo rehabbing from ACL surgery. He maintained that having multiple options in those type of situations is better for Boston.

"I look at it as a blessing that we have multiple guys that can make plays, not just one guy," said Green. "If we had one guy to focus on, one focal point, now we have multiple guys that can make plays and who can do good things out there on the floor to help us win. It’s hard to pinpoint who is going to make the plays, I look at it as a blessing."

Echoed Gerald Wallace, "We don’t have one, but we don’t necessarily need one. I’ve never liked teams that have go-to guys, because to me they are easy to guard. You just load up on them. My main thing is, if you can execute your offense, get what you want out of your offense, then that’s your go-to play. Every go-to guy has a play to get him where he wants to be. You just have to put a guy in that position to make a shot."




bob
MY NOTE:  Green was 0-7 in the 2nd half?  Well, it doesn't look like he's fixed his inconsistency problems.  What Wallace said is right, though.  Having a "go to" guy makes them easier to defend, since you just overload him. Then again, to use Brad Stevens' favorite word, process, you don't want to be in the position where you need a Big Shot to pull your chestnuts out of the fire, you want to keep it going all game and be up by 8 and not down by 5.





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You can't play for 36 minutes and expect to win many games.

I think one problem is minute distribution. There is no logical reason for KH to not play any minutes on a team where keeping up the intensity is a crucial aspect to even having a chance of winning. There is no reason PP shouldn't be able to play, either. You have to keep a steady rotation of guys, otherwise, your team will get tired, lazy, settle for jumpshots, not get back on defense, not fight for rebounds, and will not be pushing the ball. Boston won't win without relentless tenacity because they lack the pure talent that other teams have.



KJ