25 Games on the Books

We have hit a milestone now with 25 games played. The Celtics are 20-5 and we have had a chance now to see how this team is performing. Their 4 losses at home is surprising and I do not have a clue as to why they have not been dominant in their own building. By the same token their road record has been nothing short of fantastic.

My MVP through the first 25 games is Rajon Rondo who leads the team with 13 double doubles. Honorable mention goes to Kendrick Perkins (6 double doubles) These two young players are playing more consistently this year than the big three although KG has come alive and is rounding into form. If we had concerns about his comeback this year I think those concerns can be put to rest. His offense has been great and now he has become more active on the defensive end and the glass.

Paul Pierce started the season off like gang busters but as the cool winds started to blow in December his overall contribution has also cooled off. Paul is a tremendous player but the balance of the team has changed significantly since the 08 run. He has deferred to his teammates more than anytime in his career. At times he looks to be pacing himself and you cannot help but wonder if his stamina will stay at a competitive level all year

Ray Allen is a streaky shooter and a great shooter. When he is hot he can carry this team offensively. Ray has one of the toughest jobs on the team because night in and night out he is matched up against some young athletic 2 guard.

I think that both Paul and Ray are playing too many minutes. They are both over 35 per game and I think they should be in the 30-32 minute range during the regular season. I do not think they will be able to play big minutes all season and still perform at a high level in the playoffs. Last year Rondo, Perk and baby played very well in the playoffs. Both PP and RA faded badly because they were tired. Yes we missed KG but Paul and Ray were not able to raise the levels of their games to another level.

Rasheed Wallace has started to find his niche on the team. I know he likes to shoot three’s but I like him better on the block where he is virtually unstoppable. He presents a matchup problem against everybody. His post defense is especially important when he is in there with the second unit. Now if he can learn to check his frustrations in the locker room and handle adversity on the court, I think he can be counted on to help this team win.

Eddie House is still a great shooter but a lousy playmaker, ball handler and average defender. But he is a great off the ball shooter. The going on 3 year experiment with him playing backup point guard needs to end. Why marginal the best skill that a player has to offer by playing him out of position? Oh that’s right. We do not have a pure BU PG (no offense Lester but you are not ready yet)

Marquis Daniels is a decent BU at SF but he is a lot slower than I thought.. And he is no point guard not even as a BU. The fact that he is out with an injury should be considered historically. 56, 60, 62, 45, 74, 54 games played per year and 19 this year. Celtics fans may not want to hear this but Marquis is injury prone. I mentioned this when he was signed. But if he can get healthy he definitely adds strength to the rotation.

The Celtics miss Glen Davis. They miss his ability to set mammoth picks, they miss his elbow jumper, they miss his rebounding and most of all they miss the energy he brings. The good thing is that he will be back soon and it will be very interesting to see how he plays and who he plays with and how many minutes he will get.

Shelden Williams has played ok but he is no Leon Powe. I expect baby to get most if not all his minutes when he gets back. Baby is just a better player overall than Williams.

Tony Allen is an enigma. For someone who has not played since last year he looks pretty good out there. But we should keep in mind that he already knows these guys and has been playing with them for a while. Tony is a very good defender at the 2 and the 3 spots. As a matter of fact he is our best defender at the 2 and the 3 spot. He can also defend the bigger point guards. That makes him a 3 position defender. Tony’s two biggest problems are (1) he cannot bring the ball up the floor consistently and (2) he is not a reliable play maker. Yet as I look at the defensive needs on this team Tony could emerge as an important option off the bench who can come in and guard Ray or Paul man one on one. Tony can also get up and down better at the 2 or 3 spot better than PP, RA, EH or MD. I would use him off the bench as (1) a defensive stopper and (2) to uptempo the game.

Brian Scalabrine is the handyman on the team. He does everything. He never knows when he is going to play or what position he is going to play. His biggest problem is self confidence. Too many times this year the ball rotates over to him for an open look and he hesitates just a fraction of a second and then passes the ball. he needs to shoot the damn ball when he is open. He waits too long for the defense to react and then it is too late for him to get off a good shot. My wish list for him for the remainder of the year is simple' be a quick trigger'

Giddens, Walker and Hudson are all collecting dust. They will never develop until they get to play.

How to get better

The Celtics have displayed excellent ball movement this year. Everyone enjoys passing the basketball. Their offense is very strong. The offense could be even stronger is they push the ball more instead of relying on their half court offense most of the time.

On defense Boston picks and chooses when they want to play defense. They are a good defensive team and will be even better once Wallace is fully integrated and when Tony Allen plays more minutes and Ray and Paul play less minutes. There is a balance between offense and defense that needs to be found.

Good on the ball defense reduces the need for constant rotations which reduces the instances where the Celtics find themselves out of position for defensive rebounds. In other words Boston needs to improve their man on man defense and that will have a positive impact on their defensive rebounding. Other teams will get less offensive rebounds and fewer shots at the basket.

Everything begins with the defense.

dboss

Dboss,

I'm coming to the conclusion that occasional pushing of the ball is what we're going to see. I don't contrast that with halfcourt basketball; I believe the ball should be pushed to start the halfcourt game before the defense gets set.

BUT I'm starting to feel that lapsing into a walkup game is deliberate and is due to either or both of two factors. (1) In order to play intense defense, the Celtics need to take periodic "breathers" on offense. (2) The Celtics are particularly conscious of not letting the other team set the pace, and walking it up interrupts a foe's uptempo pace.

For better or worse, the Celtics are a team that depends a lot more on rhythm and precision (at both ends of the floor) than some teams do. Rhythm and precision are more difficult to maintain with consistency, because they're subject to disruptions from mood swings to over-thinking. In contrast, a sputtering model based on athleticism is usually easier to correct simply by trying harder. So perhaps we should expect periodic lapses in the rhythm and precision during the regular season and hope that playoff games demand enough focus that such lapses won't occur.

Sam