Post Game Philadelphia - Game #1

This is for 112288, where ever you are!!

Fast Break: Rondo, Garnett help Celtics survive 76ers

By Ben Rohrbach


If it’s possible, the Celtics didn’t even play all that well, yet Rajon Rondo recorded his eighth career playoff triple-double (21st overall) and Kevin Garnett submitted his best back-to-back postseason performance since the 2008 NBA title run, as they escaped Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 92-91 win over the 76ers.

Rondo finished with 13 points, 17 assists and 12 rebounds (oh, and 7 turnovers) while Garnett totaled 29 points and 11 rebounds two nights after amassing 28 points and 14 boards to eliminate the Hawks in the first round.

Leading 92-91 with 3.4 seconds remaining, Doc Rivers took a gamble coming out of a timeout, calling Rondo’s number. The C’s point guard ran to the backcourt and escaped a rushing defender to dribble out the clock.

Paul Pierce had a dreadful shooting night (3-11 FG), but managed 14 points thanks to eight free throws. The C’s trailed by double digits in all four quarter, but outscored the Sixers 25-14 over the final 10:52 of the fourth quarter.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Still not old: Last May, two nights after Garnett totaled 28 points and 18 rebounds in the C’s lone win of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Heat, he managed just seven points (1-10 FG) in an overtime loss. The Celtics had to wonder how Garnett would respond two nights after his epic 28-point, 14-rebound Game 6 against the Hawks. This time, he picked up where he left off, scoring 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the first half alone.

Allen’s ankle: After Thursday’s Game 6 against the Hawks, Allen admitted the bone spurs in his ankle had returned to the pain level that caused him to miss Games 1 and 2 of the first round. A game-time decision prior to Game 1 of the 76ers series, Allen declared himself ready for action despite an abbreviated pregame routine. Not that it mattered, as he got his shooting in during the game. His two 3-pointers early in the second quarter kept the Celtics within striking distance of the surging Sixers. Playing 14:28 of the first half, Allen entered the break with a plus-12 rating despite the C’s trailing by five at the half, 47-42.

Small ball: Outside of starting 7-foot center Spencer Hawes, the next biggest guy in the Sixers playoff rotation is Elton Brand at 6-foot-9. Often, Doug Collins has no other choice but to run small lineups, and that’s generally a good thing for a young, athletic team that likes to get out and run. For the final 3:25 of the first half, Doc Rivers countered by subbing Allen in for Greg Stiemsma, leaving a lineup of Allen, Garnett, Pierce, Rondo and Bradley on the parquet. Together, they finished the second quarter on a 10-2 run to get back into it.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Rondo-meter on low early: During a first quarter in which the Celtics scored 18 points on 6-of-20 shooting (30.0 FG%), Rondo played all 12 minutes but appeared downright disinterested at times, and the C’s trailed by 10 after one. He had three assists and one of his three first-half turnovers while shooting 0-for-2 from the field. In order to be successful against the 76ers — or anybody for that matter — the Celtics need more of the Good Rondo than Bad, as he’s one of few young, healthy players on the roster. Obviously, the best of Rondo emerged in the second half, when he totaled 11 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.

Forward thinking: The matchup with the biggest spotlight in this series is at small forward, between 34-year-old Pierce and 28-year-old Andre Iguadola. Pierce is the professional scorer and 10-time NBA All-Star, and Iguadola is a returning Second Team All-Defensive selection and first-time All-Star this season, but it was the latter who established his offensive game in the early going of this series. He scored 10 of 12 first-half points in the second half, staking the Sixers to a 47-42 advantage entering the break.

Youth serving: The Celtics are old and tired; the 76ers are young and hungry. So goes the narrative of these Eastern Conference semifinals. And so went the first two minutes of Game 1. Evan Turner got the visitors going on their first possession, and in the opening 1:55 they built a 7-0 lead that stretched to as much as 13 and lasted until an Avery Bradley layup 2:45 into the third quarter. While the Celtics eventually erased the deficit, nine 76ers scored in the first half, and that depth could cause the Celtics problems as the series continues.

http://greenstreet.weei.com/sports/boston/basketball/celtics/2012/05/12/fast-break-rondo-garnett-help-celtics-survive-76ers/

Rajon Rondo's triple-double and Kevin Garnett's 29 lead Celtics by 76ers

BOSTON -- Rajon Rondo has made dozens of last-second dashes to the basket.

This time, he went in the opposite direction.

The Celtics point guard ran into the backcourt, grabbing the inbounds pass in stride, avoiding a foul and dribbling out the final 3.4 seconds to clinch Boston's 92-91 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night in the opener of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

"I feel like I could out-quick him. That's what I did," Rondo said. "We knew they had a foul to give. I told Doc (Rivers) to get me the ball and I could use my speed."

Rondo had 17 assists, 13 points and 12 rebounds for his eighth career playoff triple-double. He had six points, five assists and four rebounds in the fourth quarter, when the Celtics went on a 23-7 run to turn a double-digit deficit into a six-point lead with 78 seconds to play.

"He's an amazing player. He really is," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "He takes that ball wherever he wants to take it on the floor."

Kevin Garnett scored 29 points -- his most in the regular or postseason this year -- and added 11 rebounds to help Boston maintain home-court advantage in the best-of-seven, second-round series. Game 2 is Monday night in Boston before the series shifts to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4.

"If you've watched us all season, we're not going to drop our heads," Collins said. "We live to come back and fight just as hard in Game 2, at least as long as I'm the coach."

Andre Iguodala scored 19 points and Evan Turner had 16 with 10 rebounds for Philadelphia, which advanced to the second round for the first time since 2003 by beating East No. 1 seed Chicago. But Turner couldn't catch Rondo in the final seconds when Philadelphia had a foul to give.

"Rondo just leaps out. That's the last thing on your mind -- him going into our side of the court," Iguodala said. "You could have a turnover down there. It's a gamble, but it's a good play. ... We could have done a better job scoping it out."

The Sixers led 77-67 with 11 minutes to play before Boston scored 23 of the next 30 points, with Rondo making a jumper to cut it to 80-79, then another two minutes later to give Boston an 83-82 lead with 3:47 to play.

After Spencer Hawes' basket from the right baseline put the Sixers up 84-83, Rondo drove to the basket and, with his path blocked, turned and handed the ball to Garnett. He banked one in and drew the foul to give Boston a two-point lead, then added another jumper.

After misses by Turner and Lou Williams, Paul Pierce hit a fall-away jumper with 78 seconds left to make it a six-point lead -- the Celtics' biggest of the night.

Boston still led by five when Jrue Holiday made a jumper, then Rondo fouled him with 3.4 seconds left and he made both foul shots. Boston inbounded the ball from between the benches, and Rondo sprinted back into the backcourt and outran Turner to the wrong basket as the time expired.

Pierce, who had a sprained MCL in his left knee, scored 14 points on 3 for 11 shooting. Rondo was only 6 for 15 from the floor, but he was 3 for 6 in the fourth quarter, adding five rebounds and four assists.

Hawes scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half.

Both teams advanced by winning their first-round series in six games: Boston beat Atlanta, and Philadelphia eliminated the Bulls to become the fifth No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1. They got only one day off before beginning the second round in Boston, where the Celtics earned their only victory against the Sixers this year.

The Sixers scored the first seven points of the game and led by 10 at the end of the first quarter, when Boston shot 30 percent. It was 45-32 when Boston scored 10 of the last 12 points in the half, with Rondo picking up four assists and a steal in the final 3 minutes before the break.

A little more than two minutes into the third, Avery Bradley outraced Rondo to a long rebound and took it in, splitting defenders Iguodala and Holiday for the reverse layup that made it 48-47 -- Boston's first lead of the game. Philadelphia quickly retook the lead and extended it to eight points.

Game notes
Garnett scored eight points on 4 for 6 shooting in the first quarter and was the only Celtics starter to make a basket in the first. ... Ray Allen, who was 1 for 7 from the floor in Game 6 of the Atlanta series while struggling with bone spurs in his right ankle, was 3 for 5 in 14 minutes in the first half on Saturday. ... Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca ventured over to the media section to say hello to former player Brian Scalabrine, who was working for Comcast SportsNet. ... The Celtics were 2 of 18 from 3-point range. ... Philadelphia won the two games at home, including a 32-point victory on March 7. None of the three regular-season meetings between the teams was close.

http://scores.espn.go.com/boston/nba/recap?gameId=320512002

Hi,
What a game or rather what a finish!
I think this thread should be named "The one that ran away"
Unfortunately, I could watch the end of the 3rd and 4th quarter.
First thing I noticed was body language of the Celtics: we will win if not - we'll be fighting to the last second. And slowly but surely they've caught Phili and then got ahead. And then RR sealed the outcome. Very timely foul and excellently designed and executed last play.
Another observation was that Phili got lucky: neither RA nor MP could hit wide open 3s. Also, both RA and PP are still hobbling. If they were at or close to 100% (with KG and RR playing as they are) this series would be over in 4-5 games.

AK

When we were down by 5 at the half, I thought we'd win this one. They played about as good as they could. Their offensive stats were better than their average AND they were better than from their previous games with us. One the other hand, we couldn't throw the ball in the Atlantic. They shot 53%, we shot something like 35% and yet we were only down 5. They ended up shooting 44% for the game, so you can imagine just how much worse their 2nd half shooting was to drag it down to that.

Horrible start to the game, Bass missed his first, what, 4 shots? Pierce couldn't hit anything? Only KG.

We both shot 36-82. They were better from 3, which wasn't hard. Where we made it up was at the line. We only got 1 more fta than them but we hit 18 out of 19 while they only hit 14-20.

TNT put up a stat that said that we were only 1-22 in games this season where we trailed by 13+ (Philly led by 13 at one point). Ok, so now we're 2-22. That still stinks but it sure feels good. If every game from now on happens like this one we'll be 13-22, which is still shit, but we'll be the Champions. Ah, the joys of statistics.

1. Yeah, yeah, Rondo got a triple-double, but once again I didn't like his game. Everytime he ran the ball up and attacked the defense something good happened. Everytime he walked it up, maybe not and he walked it up a lot, especially in the 1st half. Some bad decision making, some bad passes. I was in a bar watching the game and screaming "RUN!" at the TV (it was a sports bar, so nobody was surprised at someone screaming at a game). Here's a classic example. Iggy gets the ball, sprints 3/4 court and passes the ball for a layup. The ball is inbounded to Rondo who then walks it up. Their SF sprints, our PG walks. That's just wrong. On the bright side, his outside shot has really come along this year. He hit that big shot, the last one of the game to really put the screws to them. He's still not my first choice for the shot, but I don't cringe like I used to. Except for free throws. His brain has gotten around the shooting motion on 19' jumpshots with someone flying at him, it hasn't with 15' free throws with nobody allowed to come near him. Go figure. Nevertheless, this is a major development. If Rondo becomes (is?) a respectable shooter teams won't be able to just drop off him and that let's him drive past them. Assuming he's being aggressive, which is always a question mark.

2. Another MONSTER game by KG. A back-to-back-throwback. One of the websites I cruise is quoting anonymous friends of KG and they're saying there's a good chance he'll retire after this year. Certainly, if we win #18 I wouldn't be surprised if he leaves on a high note. He's playing every game like it could be his last. He is playing unbelievably well now. I'm not liking the 38 minutes though. He's playing too many minutes, but when nobody else is stepping up on the boards or scoring and Steamer can't play a lot of minutes, what can Doc do but leave him in? Doug Collins, in a post-game interview said "I've never seen him play better". You should have been here on Thursday and seen him against Atlanta, Doug, you'd be afraid, very afraid. He's playing that well consistently.

3. Pierce and Allen combined for 26 points on 7-21 shooting. Pierce was 3-11. He just couldn't hit a thing but he hit that dagger with 1:17 left and that was big.

4. Put out a press alert, Ryan Hollins sank something other than a dunk! It was a layup but that's more than ever before. His game grew on me a bit yesterday but only a little. I did like seeing him hit the floor for a loose ball.

5. Steamer's timing is definitely off. I don't know if that's because his minutes have dropped way down or because of his foot, but he's picking up fouls he wouldn't have a month ago.

6. Spencer Hawes had a surprisingly good game. Very solid all-round. He can't outplay KG, but he did more damage than I honestly thought he was capable of. He has a nice little mid-range game.

7. Iggy owned Pierce. He was a real team leader out there for Philly. Came out hot and played with energy. His 3 with 1:10 left was pure clutch.

8. When Evan Turner has his game going, he's very tough. A great rebounder for his position, he had 10 last night, his weakness has been his outside shooting but did well from mid-range last night. Bradley has his hands full with 6'7" Turner.

9. Bradley was only given credit for 1 steal, but he was his usual pest on defense. How many times did he force a throw-in because he tried to take the ball away from someone and it'd go off bounds off him? Couldn't hit from outside yesterday, but he ran fastbreaks and that is just fine with me. If we need outside shooting we'll bring in Ray. Run, Avery, run.

10. I noticed a lot of Celtic plays coming out of timeouts that just didn't look good. This is odd, given that Doc is one of the best timeout coaches in the league, but that last play with 3.4 left was brilliant. Everybody expected us to inbound the ball into the frontcourt, and away from our basket, and wait to be swallowed up and fouled. By passing it to Rondo in the backcourt and giving him all that room to run away from the slower Evan Turner was Doc at his best.

One of the things that have bothered me a great deal this season is how our champions wouldn't execute well in crunch time in close games. Well, we did extremely well last night. To me, that was the most significant thing that happened last night, we closed strong. That's the gift that will keep on giving.

This was a BIG game to win. Still, they only need a split, but there's a ton more pressure on them now. They don't want to go back to Philly down 0-2. Monday's game isn't a "must-win" technically, but realistically it's close.

bob

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After the game the TNT interviewer observed to Rondo something like, "Rajon, you're an older team and have to play another game in two days. Isn't it going to be tough for your guys considering their age?"

To which Rondo replied, "You think so? I don't! Watch us." And then he abruptly walked away, ending the interview.

What a great spirit. Celtic pride at its best!

Bob

Nice as always, I thought Philly should have intentionally missed the second freebee with 3.4 left. With a foul to give before we would be shooting even a quick foul would have taken a chunk of that. Then they'd have to turn around and do it again, just not enough ticks left. I'd take my chances with missing the second foul shot and crashing the boards and hope for a put back. Think Doc was thinking that way as he inserted Hollins to rebound prior to those free throws.

We stunk the first 7-8 minutes, settled for the open look, which were good shots BUT we took many of them without even attempting to attack the rim first, many were at least close to going in but didn't.

We dodged a bullet and Philly must feel like that was the game that got away. They played for 43-44 minutes, we played MUCH better than them for only a short time. Game of runs and ours was the best and it was the last!

Got to believe your setting for the second game is spot on, if ever a game two is a MUST win, this is it!

beat

Hi,
As add-on to Bob's great summary.
In the 4th Celtics executed the same play 3 times: PP receives the ball just above 3pt line, goes along that line then turns and starts to penetrate directly to the hoop and immediately double-teamed; at the same time RR stands on the left at 3pt line as if he's not there therefore nobody pays attention to him; at the moment PP hits the wall RR makes 2-3 steps inside, PP passes him the ball, RR makes a wide open 17-19ft jumper.
The fact that Celtics could make exactly the same play 3 times shows how much more they, Philly, fear PP's penetration than RR's jumper.
In this case, shoot Rondo, shoot...

AK

worcester wrote:After the game the TNT interviewer observed to Rondo something like, "Rajon, you're an older team and have to play another game in two days. Isn't it going to be tough for your guys considering their age?"

To which Rondo replied, "You think so? I don't! Watch us." And then he abruptly walked away, ending the interview.

What a great spirit. Celtic pride at its best!

I loved the way Rondo dissed that moron.

You're not allowed to actually grab the other player's wrist, Spencer






Note how much closer Rondo's elbows are on his shot. It's really more of a one-handed shot than a two-handed shot where the second hand guides the ball off the 1st hand but his mechanics are MUCH better. He's using his big hands to his advantage, using them to control the ball and not just push it towards the basket.





Note the difference between Rondo and the classic jumpshooter, Ray Allen. Both of Ray's hands are still on the ball as he's up in his jump.





KG over Allen. Look at Brand all over Hollins underneath. Practically laying on him.






KG, returning to sender





Only 3-11 on the night, but this one was a dagger




This play was a big momentum breaker. They had put a run on us. Rondo runs, everybody runs. Rondo strolls, everybody strolls. Rondo runs, good things happen.






Pierce to Rondo. Rondo as designated shooter? Well whaddya know? Note Bradley lurking in the near corner, cutting to the hoop for a pass from Rondo or perhaps an offensive rebound. KG rolling to the hoop after setting the pick for Pierce forced Rondo's man to drop down with him and that gave Rondo tons of daylight on the shot.







Rondo, 3/4 pass to Bradley. Keeping their defense honest.






Hawes complaining about what? He just got erased.





Gorgeous block by Pierce to save 2. Kept coming to get around the front of Williams rather than coming over his back from behind, an almost guaranteed whistle.







Bradley, running it down their throats. We are SO much better when we run. Even if he missed, or was blocked, Pierce and Rondo were all alone underneath for an easy putback.







Kg, with the beautiful bankshot. I've always loved bankshots.





Ray! For 3!!! Clawing back from 10 down.






Rondo and KG, playing a 2-man game





KG, never giving up on a play, chasing and erasing and Iggy dunk





The last 3.4 seconds, as we saw on TV





The same play, as seen from the nosebleed seats






bob


.

cowens/oldschool wrote:

worcester wrote:After the game the TNT interviewer observed to Rondo something like, "Rajon, you're an older team and have to play another game in two days. Isn't it going to be tough for your guys considering their age?"

To which Rondo replied, "You think so? I don't! Watch us." And then he abruptly walked away, ending the interview.

What a great spirit. Celtic pride at its best!

I loved the way Rondo dissed that moron.

bob


.

Bob, Thanks for capturing that. "It may not be. Look at us. We'll be fine." I just love that Rajon Rondo.

Thanks bob

.....that was an amazing defvensive play by Pierce considering hes on 1 1/2 legs.

Bob

On the comparison of the jump shots at that moment it is quite obvious that RR is a bit further ahead of it than RA is thus the guide hand has come off. Notice RR release arm is a little less bent than RA and the ball is further away from his head than in the RA photo.

One thing that does "appear" is that on these shots anyway RA is much more square to the target than RR is.

Regardless RR outside shot has improved greatly, Marcus found some crazy stat that in the last ??? seconds of a quarter that RR shooting % is much higher, I am attempting to find the actual numbers. Wonder how many of these are layups???

beat

Great analysis Bob. My one question is: Ray hit two three pointers in the first half, after the break I don't think he handled the ball at all except when rebounding, maybe one or two shots. Shouldn't they have tried to get him open a little more often? I know they were playing good defense, but I still feel they should try to get him more involved.

Rosalie, a large part of Ray's offensive game involves getting free on curls. In the playoffs, he has had much more difficulty getting separation from the defender on those plays. For each three he makes, I bet there are half a dozen plays where they work to get the ball to Ray on the perimeter but, by the time that happens, the defender's right up on Ray and his only option is to pass the ball.

A few more picks wouldn't hurt Ray's cause. But, to their credit, they're setting more picks than earlier in the season.

Sam

Bob, I've done a lot of thinking about Rondo's "failure" to push the ball up the floor constantly, which both you and I have mentioned frequently.

I've decided there's a method to his being selective in pushing the ball Unlike Avery, who does race the ball up on every play (and usually winds up doing nothing but bounce the ball and wait for his teammates to catch up), one thing Rondo seems to do is to consider several factors simultaneously.

1. Where is the other team? If they're retreating or there's a chance he can set them back on their heels, he'll typically push the ball in order to catch them before they're in good defensive position. If they're defensively set, whether or not to push the ball can depend on one or more of the following factors.

2. Are you looking to play volume basketball by starting the play early in the shot clock? For this purpose, there are two ways to conserve time. (1) Push the ball (especially if your team is sell set in the halfcourt or is a step ahead of the opponent in getting there). (2) Let the inbounds pass roll up court and snatch it up just before it reaches the mid-court line (saving seconds without heavily taxing your teammates).

3. What's the game flow like? If the Celtics have spent the last few minutes racing up and down the floor and are gassed, it pays to push the ball only if there's an obvious breakaway or man advantage.

4. Can you surprise the other team? One of my favorite plays in basketball—and one of the most disillusioning for the opponent—is pushing the ball off a made basket. You seldom see it. The Russell Celtics probably used it more times in a week than today's teams do in a season.

5. Do you need to conserve energy? You can't push the ball on every possession (unless, of course, your team has Russellian endurance). You have to pick your spots. The Iggy play you mentioned is a good example. Iggy had a breakaway. I may be wrong but, as I recall, Iggy and Rondo were the only two players in the Sixers' front court when Iggy stuffed the ball. That meant the other four Sixers hardly had to move to get defensively set for the ensuing Celtics possession. Given that likelihood, especially when playing with an older team, that was one of the situations in which it paid to conserve energy.

Rondo's certainly not perfect in terms of deciding when to push the ball. But I'd guess he probably makes the right decision at least 80-90% of the time. In some of the remaining instances, he just blows it. In the rest, he's probably suffering from petulance or some other attitudinal glitch. In many of the latter cases, I expect he often hears it from Doc.

Sam

Scalabrine was the only Celt in recent memory who would inbound the ball quickly to Rondo after a made basket.

If AB and MP can make a few shots this series will be a lot easier.

KG' play continues to defy the skeptics. Amazing plays at both ends.

Rajon's game is so good that even when he posts yet another triple double some fans want more from him..perhaps we expect him to be perfect.

Celts are going to need Pierce to get well because he is hurting the offensive flow. Despite the bum knee he made a great defensive play blocking williams shot on a fast break.

Bass needs to work on his rotations. Missed a ton of wide open shots.

Overalll...this was another impressive win. A game 2 win will propel the team into the final 4.

Dboss

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Great analysis Bob. My one question is: Ray hit two three pointers in the first half, after the break I don't think he handled the ball at all except when rebounding, maybe one or two shots. Shouldn't they have tried to get him open a little more often? I know they were playing good defense, but I still feel they should try to get him more involved.

Rosalie,
I believe RA had plenty of open looks from behind the arc. As I mentioned before, I could watch only the last 14-15 min of the game and I saw 2 times when RA got open 3pt shot and missed. I'm afraid it's the result of his injury. I'm not sure though, if he's got open due to Philly's failure to keep him covered or, they eased off him knowing that he's not as deadly as usual. I lean towards the latter judging by the way he was covered at the end of the game to prevent an inbound pass to him.
In any case I hope he'll adjust his jumper and comes to his usual 40+% from 3pt.

AK

beat wrote:Bob

On the comparison of the jump shots at that moment it is quite obvious that RR is a bit further ahead of it than RA is thus the guide hand has come off. Notice RR release arm is a little less bent than RA and the ball is further away from his head than in the RA photo.

One thing that does "appear" is that on these shots anyway RA is much more square to the target than RR is.

Regardless RR outside shot has improved greatly, Marcus found some crazy stat that in the last ??? seconds of a quarter that RR shooting % is much higher, I am attempting to find the actual numbers. Wonder how many of these are layups???

beat

beat,

You are absolutely right about Ray being more squared up than Rondo. I believe that is why Rondo's left hand comes off the ball so soon. Try it yourself. Try facing the (wastepaper) basket, with perhaps a slight slant to your body like Ray and then try it with your body turned so much you're 3/4 profile like Rondo. See how hard it is to keep your left hand (assuming you're a right handed shooter) on the ball as the ball comes up over your head and forward into the shooting motion? Turning your left shoulder away from the basket pulls that arm away from the basket and the hand holding the ball.

Before, Rondo was more squared up, but his elbows stuck straight out. Now, he turns his body more, which almost forces his right elbow to tuck in (try turning like Rondo but leaving your right elbow out, it is VERY awkward. The shot is more like a 2nd baseman flipping a sidearm toss to a shortstop than a basketball shot), but that takes his off hand off the ball sooner.

bob

.

Also, Rajon's hands are so big that he often pushes his shot off from his palm rather than his fingertips, like Ray Allen and most other good shooters do. Reggie Miller did an astute analysis of this during one game.

sam wrote:Bob, I've done a lot of thinking about Rondo's "failure" to push the ball up the floor constantly, which both you and I have mentioned frequently.

I've decided there's a method to his being selective in pushing the ball Unlike Avery, who does race the ball up on every play (and usually winds up doing nothing but bounce the ball and wait for his teammates to catch up), one thing Rondo seems to do is to consider several factors simultaneously.

1. Where is the other team? If they're retreating or there's a chance he can set them back on their heels, he'll typically push the ball in order to catch them before they're in good defensive position. If they're defensively set, whether or not to push the ball can depend on one or more of the following factors.

2. Are you looking to play volume basketball by starting the play early in the shot clock? For this purpose, there are two ways to conserve time. (1) Push the ball (especially if your team is sell set in the halfcourt or is a step ahead of the opponent in getting there). (2) Let the inbounds pass roll up court and snatch it up just before it reaches the mid-court line (saving seconds without heavily taxing your teammates).

3. What's the game flow like? If the Celtics have spent the last few minutes racing up and down the floor and are gassed, it pays to push the ball only if there's an obvious breakaway or man advantage.

4. Can you surprise the other team? One of my favorite plays in basketball—and one of the most disillusioning for the opponent—is pushing the ball off a made basket. You seldom see it. The Russell Celtics probably used it more times in a week than today's teams do in a season.

5. Do you need to conserve energy? You can't push the ball on every possession (unless, of course, your team has Russellian endurance). You have to pick your spots. The Iggy play you mentioned is a good example. Iggy had a breakaway. I may be wrong but, as I recall, Iggy and Rondo were the only two players in the Sixers' front court when Iggy stuffed the ball. That meant the other four Sixers hardly had to move to get defensively set for the ensuing Celtics possession. Given that likelihood, especially when playing with an older team, that was one of the situations in which it paid to conserve energy.

Rondo's certainly not perfect in terms of deciding when to push the ball. But I'd guess he probably makes the right decision at least 80-90% of the time. In some of the remaining instances, he just blows it. In the rest, he's probably suffering from petulance or some other attitudinal glitch. In many of the latter cases, I expect he often hears it from Doc.

Sam

sam,

1. Obviously, if the other team is already set defensively there's no point in running it up but running up on a 2-on-3 (they have 3 back and we are only 2) can still create an open jump shot by forcing the 3 to collapse to prevent the penetration. Don't force it, but always apply pressure. A defense that is forces to react is a defense that might make a bad choice. A defense that isn't pressured is a defense that can control and limit options.

2. More fga is better than fewer. Will they shoot "volume basketball" fga like in Russell's era? No, but more is better. As far as letting the ball dribble upcourt without starting the clock, yes, that is an acceptable reason for slowdown.

3. Flow is important (obviously) but controlling game tempo affects flow and we are better when we run. Put another way, would the other team be willing to take a chance on getting trapped under the offensive boards if they knew that a long rebound or quick outlet pass would produce a Celtic layup? As far as the Celtics being gassed because they've been running for the past few minutes and now we've only got 5 minutes left, that's why you develop a bench, so they can run while your starters rest up for the last 5 minutes.

4. I agree, wholeheartedly.

5. We have to pick our spots, we have to run selectively. I just wish we'd hit the 'select' button a little more. I'd like to see us entering our halfcourt sets with 17+ seconds on the clock instead of 14-15. That's an extra pass to an open man. We can do that by not walking the ball over halfcourt. It used to bother me when Bradley would sprint over halfcourt and then pull up and pass off, but at least the ball was in position to start the set with 19 seconds left.

Rondo has made remarkable strides over the past year or two. While he has off nights like everybody, he's actually a pretty good shooter now. His brain farts sometimes and makes him make bad decisions. There was the play in this past game, where he passed the ball to Pierce's back, stolen by Iggy (I think) and when KG made Iggy miss the layup a Sixer was in position for the offensive putback because Rondo didn't move after the turnover. Rondo was closer to the hoop than the Sixer, his brain just wasn't in the game. Since he's the "Head of the Voltron" (KG's description, not mine) his play is under the spotlight. That's the price of greatness. He wants it to be "The Big 4" instead of "The Big 3"? Well, the other 3 are 1st round locks for the HOF because of their consistently superior play.












bob


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Bob,

Thanks for planting that little shooting comparison in my head.

* I discovered I still can't hit the wastebasket from 12 to 15 feet out.

* My assistant didn't bat an eye getting me to sign something between shots, proving that she knows I'm irrational and expects these things.

* Our receptionist, a very sweet woman who has learned to humor me, just smiled and closed my office door so clients coming in wouldn't see that I have indeed lost my mind.

You need to consider you're dealing with some easily influenced little minds (me) when posting these things Bob.

Regards

NYCelt,

That's a great visual. Takes me back to 1962, after my boss and I had attended the so-called "Selvy game" together. A few weeks later, for my birthday, he gave me a miniature backboard/net with a clothespin-type thing that attached to a wastebasket. The rim on the basket was probably about three inches in diameter. Little did he realize that he'd create a monster.

I was the only person in the office whose wastebasket was about eight feet from his desk atop a row of file cabinets. The only problem was that I had to go in on several Saturdays and move the file cabinets to clean out the hundreds of wads of paper that had landed on the cabinets and slid down behind them.

I made it a point to fire away only when I had a legitimate waste paper to use, except at lunch, when I'd fire away at will. (I made sure my boss knew that.)

I believe that contraption is still around, buried under a ton of similar "I may use this in the future" items stored in our garage.

Sam

Sam, I had the same bball hoop on my wastebasket and sank alcohol soaked cotton ball after cotton ball into it for years. My range was 8-10 feet. Pathetic minds apparently think alike!