Pressey Proving He Can Get It Done On Defense

http://www.csnne.com/blog/celtics-talk/pressey-proving-he-can-get-it-done-defense

Pressey proving he can get it done on defense
January 23, 2014, 4:45 pm




BOSTON — Phil Pressey had a night to remember on Wednesday as Boston snapped its road game woes with a 113-111 overtime win against the Washington Wizards.

But as much as Pressey was praised for his shot-making, his defense might have been even more valuable.

There were a handful of transition opportunities for Washington that Pressey was able to thwart, either with a steal or a deflection.

But maybe the most telling sequence regarding his impact beyond the career-high 20 points he scored, came with a 92-all score in the fourth quarter when Pressey forced a jump ball with John Wall who is (at least) five inches taller was driving towards the basket.

Forcing the jump-ball in itself was a Tommy Award-worthy effort.

But to then go out and win the tip?

Even more impressive.

"I know I'm a smaller guy so I have to get my hands on a lot of balls and try to deflect a lot of passes and try to use my quickness and my speed as much as possible," Pressey said.

Even against Wall who is one of the fastest players in the game, Pressey held his own in terms of foot speed.

And while Wall did finish with a triple-double of 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, those 28 points came on 9-for-29 shooting with Pressey spending a good chunk of the game guarding him until he fouled out in overtime.

"I've been saying this since Day One. Guys are a lot bigger than me, they might be able to shoot over me or something like that," Pressey said. "But I put my athletic ability, my speed and quickness against anybody. I try to use that to my advantage."

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is among those pleased with the growth in Pressey's game this season.

"I think Phil has come a long way," Ainge told CSNNE.com recently. "He is playing great right now. Not just the assists that everybody hypes up. I think his defense, his presence on the court, his confidence ... when he's playing I really feel that the guys love playing with him."



bob
MY NOTE:  Pressey has shown some really, really quick hands the past few games.  As I said, never underestimate the impact of pedigree on a player's career, but also don't underestimate the impact of Danny's faith in them.  Danny hung in there with Bradley for 2 years, where Bradley was not very good, and now Bradley is making Danny look like a genius.  Danny has the same faith in Pressey and that will, if nothing else, buy Phil a lot of time to develop and show what he's got.


.

Pressey is showing that his height isn't quite as "big" a deal as was made out to be.


KJ

He seems to be a quick learner. Good genes.

Sam

Perfectly named for a full court press player.

Over the years, the Celtics have had their share of what I'd call "curiosity figures." Guys who would rank at the bottom on the depth chart and would draw an exaggerated, almost sarcastic cheer when they entered a game—often at garbage time. For a while, I thought Pressey might wind up with that status—especially when it became obvious that Crawford had been elected as Rondo's fill-in.

But I'm here to say I think Phil Pressey is the goods. It seems that every time one of his faults is exposed (height, shooting, etc.) something counteracts that impression. Yes, he's not 6' tall, but the only bigger buzzsaw on the team is Bradley—and not by a very wide margin over Phil. We saw his shooting exhibition the other night; and the confidence he showed in unhesitatingly launching his shot led me to believe that performance was no anomaly. The reason that's so easy to believe (at least in my mind) is that his mechanics looked so much better. He didn't rush his shots, and he was squared away much better than usual. And he's such a quick learner that I'm sure that fact wasn't lost on him. So I don't look for his every game to be as good as the one against Washington, I hope his shooting will continue to improve with correct repetitions.

Sam