POST GAME - NEW YORK KNICK'S - AWAY

NEXT GAME - WEDNESDAY - HOME - PHILLY - 7:30PM


KNICKS GET THEIR REVENGE, BLOW OUT CELTICS 114-88

WEEI - By Jackson Alexander 
 
114-73.

This was the final score on Dec. 8, 2013 when the Atlantic Division-leading Celtics steamrolled an embarrassed Knicks team at Madison Square Garden. The 41-point margin of victory was the largest in the NBA at the time.

Boston has taken the court 25 times since that game, and looked like a shockingly different team.

This became glaringly clear on Tuesday night, as New York (18-27) avenged the blowout loss in December with a 114-88 shellacking of their own back at the Garden. The Celtics (15-32) have dropped 20 of 25 games, and now find themselves in a three-game slide.

Carmelo Anthony authored the with 24 points and nine rebounds. J.R. Smith (17 points), Jeremy Tyler (17 points), Tim Hardaway Jr. (16 points),  and Tyson Chandler (12 points) aided the cause.

Jeff Green was the only Celtics starter to reach double-digits with 14 points. Chris Johnson and Kris Humphries scored 12 points apiece rom the bench.

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR THE CELTICS

Disastrous first half: The Knicks set the nets ablaze and suffocated Boston on defense in the first half, en route to a 63-37 advantage in the first half. There were no silver linings, no glass-half-full outlooks; It was simply complete and utter domination by New York. The Knicks outshot the Celtics, 61.5 percent to 31.8 percent from the field and also made four more 3-pointers. New York collected 10 more assists than Boston, and forced the C’€™s into eight turnovers. Finally, just two Celtics scored at least six points. Conversely, all four Knicks off the bench tallied at least six points. While the bench’€™s 28 points in the half helped, Anthony paced the team with 17 points. Chandler also added 10 points.

Melo: It’€™s not that the Celtics needed to stop Anthony. This would be an unrealistic goal considering that Anthony entered Tuesday’€™s game with 97 points in his last two games, including a 62-point, 13-rebound performance on Friday versus the Bobcats. Instead, Boston hoped to slow him, frustrate him, and perhaps even break his unconscionable scoring rhythm. None of this happened, as Anthony finished with 24 points, and never broke a sweat. He needed just 15 shots and 28 minutes to tally his eighth straight 20-plus point game. Anthony left his mark on the game in other aspects with nine rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Rondo: Boston’€™s point guard continued the rusty start to his season with another shaky performance. Rajon Rondo used 13 shots to score just seven points, and turned the ball over four times in 26 minutes of play. It was evident that the requisite chemistry and cohesiveness required for a player like Rondo to possess with his teammates was lacking. Multiple times Rondo whipped a pass past a Celtic big who was staring at the basket in anticipation of a shot. This is not unexpected as Rondo’€™s played just games this season with a completely different supporting cast than what he thrived with in his heyday. But his first five games are tough to look at statistically: 6.6 points, 5.8 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 3.2 turnovers per game on 29.9 percent shooting.

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR THE CELTICS

CJ: Johnson earned his second 10-day contract with the Celtics before the game Tuesday, and he continued to show he belongs in the league with another strong outing. Johnson scored 12 points from the bench, all on 3-pointers, and provided a rare burst of energy to a lethargic Boston team. The former Memphis Grizzlies guard is averaging 10.4 points per game for Boston.
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Rapid Reaction: Knicks 114, Celtics 88

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

Rapid Reaction after the New York Knicks defeated the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden:

THE NITTY GRITTY
The Knicks extracted a measure of revenge for Boston's 41-point thrashing at MSG in December by absolutely throttling the Celtics on Tuesday. This one wasn't even as close as the score suggests. The Knicks scored 21 seconds in and never trailed while leading by as much as 35. The Celtics shot a ghastly 31.8 percent (14 of 44) over the first two quarters and mustered just 37 first-half points. Defense was the biggest issue as the Knicks got whatever they wanted, abusing Boston's pick-and-roll defense and generating an endless stream of backdoor cuts with the Celtics offering virtually no resistance. The Knicks shot 61.5 percent (24 of 39) in the first half. Carmelo Anthony scored a team-high 24 points to go along with nine rebounds, four assists, and four steals, and enjoyed a relaxing fourth quarter. Jeremy Tyler and J.R. Smith scored 17 points apiece off the bench for New York, which also got 16 from fellow reserve Tim Hardaway Jr. Jeff Green had a team-high 14 points, but on 4-of-13 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, three steals, and three turnovers. Rajon Rondo also had a rough shooting night, going 3-of-13 overall for seven points with five assists and four turnovers. Rondo was minus-24 in plus/minus (second worst on the team behind only Gerald Wallace at minus-27).

TURNING POINT
Iman Shumpert got an easy layup on New York's first possession ... and the Knicks really never looked back. Midway through the first quarter, Boston endured nearly a four-minute field-goal-less drought in which New York embarked on 15-0 run to blow this game open. THe Knicks led by 16 after one quarter and 26 at halftime. A Smith jumper with 4:31 to go in the third quarter had New York out front 80-45.

LOOSE BALLS
In his first game back after missing four games with a sprained toe in his left foot, Jerryd Bayless scored 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting with four assists over 26:46. ... Chris Johnson, signed to his second 10-day contract on Tuesday, might have been one of Boston's few bright spots, scoring 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting over 22 minutes. ... All 13 players on Boston's active roster played, including Joel Anthony and Vander Blue logging three minutes of trash time to close out the game. ... The Celtics were 6-of-22 from beyond the 3-point arc; New York was 10 of 20.

WHAT IT MEANS
The Celtics (15-32) lost their third straight and tasted defeat for the 15th time in 17 games. There's a chance Boston could own the third-worst record in basketball after Wednesday night's visit from the Philadelphia 76ers to close out this back-to-back. The 76ers (14-31) are only percentage points ahead of Boston at the moment. The visit from Philly closes a head-shaking month of January (2-14 thus far) for Boston. The Celtics have three days off following Wednesday's game before hosting the Orlando Magic in a Super Bowl appetizer on Sunday.

112288

BOSTON FANS PLEASE WRITE DOWN THIS NAME - AL TRAWICK- Remember him and what he said in a few years!

New York Knick half time commentator - A gutless low life AXXHOLE who said - "let's see if the Knicks and step on the throats of the Celtics in the second half".

I have never heard any classless commentary coming from any of the CSNE Boston announcers or commentators ........EVER! Boy the win against a rebuilding team that is a shell of its former self must really feel great coming from a so called playoff team looking to win the NBA Title.......Ya Right.

Midway in the third..........I just had to hit the mute button......."Cause I just could not listen any more to that other AXXHOLE Clyde Frazer.........a first team JERK all the way.........wow they beat a rebuilding team.......let see ya do it against Miami or Indy!

Johnson is a keeper and could be a great shooting guard for the Celtics off the bench in the future........and he comes cheap!

Bayless looked pretty good out there.....as for the rest of the team.........OTL
Out To Lunch!

112288

It's getting to the point where it's a victory if a Celtics player doesn't embarrass himself.  Johnson's the only one I can think of who can be justifiably proud of his play over the past few games.  Tommy calls their play "disjointed."  Brad calls it "frustrating."  I call it "dysfunctional."  And those are the positive comments!

Not only doesn't this team have an identity; they do not have a single strength.  Think about that!  Not a single strength!  Brad resolutely plays musical chairs without finding a consistently effective combination.  A glimmer here, a glimmer there.  But glimmers are supposed to be something they can build upon.  I don't see much (if any) of that happening.  This is (and I'm viscerally upset to have to say this) reverse development in action.

Yes, the constant carrot of a rehabbing Rajon Rondo offers a continuing vestige of hope.  The aforementioned Johnson edges out Pressey and Humphries for most pleasant surprise of the season by my reckoning.  (I just love the way Johnson plays; and his spider-like arms, gliding speed, basketball IQ, and constant effort keep me engaged.)

I'm becoming a broken record in asserting that the number one need of this team is a more balanced roster, including an intimidator in the middle.  I'm not claiming that better balance will get them winning a lot more.  I am claiming that better balance will get them developing a lot better—especially in concert with one another.

Go Celtics!  Better days lie ahead.  I just hope they happen sooner rather than later.  In the meantime, make no mistake about it.  This forum will absorb the blows just as the team does and will ultimately be stronger for this experience.

Sam

GREAT POST SAM!

I share your comments as well and yes better days are ahead.....it starts with a rim protecting center.......after that everything else starts to fill out and you then have an organized unit....Rondo, Bradley, Green, Sully and Mr. X.  I'd take that unit with a strong Mr. X against any team right now in the NBA........the bench also becomes defined with good role players such as Bayless, Johnson, Anthony etc.

All is well...........stay focused on the bigger picture.......not mediocrity like the Knicks are headed!

112288

112288

Totally agree Rich

The Knicks are in MUCH worse shape than the Celtics....they are smack in the middle of the no mans land that means 30 more years of mediocrity.

I call it tanking.

Hi,
To Sam's "dysfunctional" and other "dis..." I'd like to add "discombobulated". On both ends of the floor.
I'd say it's one of those games. Let's see what and how they do against Phili.

As for NYK, I heard comments (Mike & Tommy) about 'Melo's upcoming free agency, that he wants to stay in NY but most of all he wants a ring. And I thought to myself that he's either an idiot or just woke up or has the Napoleonic complex. They also added that he might get it if he plays on a hard-nosed team that has another star player or two.

AK

Tanking?

We just plain are not good, not good at all. If you want to view it as tanking so be it. I don't believe we walk on the court trying to loose but we have so many new pieces starting the year and new ones since, and a returning PG that still plays at a pace that complements few on this roster right now. To many missing parts.

I remember back before the season some analyist picked us to win 16 games others had us in the mid 20 range. Don't recall if anyone had us in the 30's.

Of the 14-15 players just have to wonder how many do we keep and which ones we try to move. Trading deadline is drawing nearer.......We have to improve.......cause we can't get much worse.

beat

There is a huge difference between "tanking" and not being a very good basketball team. Right now, the Celtics are the latter.

I won't go into too much detail here, as last night was a very disgusting display...

There is something seriously wrong with this team, and it goes far beyond the roster and the respective talents of the players. Something else is wrong. I'm starting to think that Brad is losing or may have already lost the locker room. The intensity isn't there anymore. It went from competing every night to seeing which opponent will blow the team out next.



KJ

A friend of mine called me over halftime and asked me if I wanted to come over for ribs and beer.  I leaped at the chance to get away from that game.  The ribs were overcooked but the beer was pretty good (Anchor Steam) but, to tell the truth, even if the beer was skunked too it still would have been preferable to watching that game.

It's like they forgot every offensive and defensive thing they practiced in camp and had been doing season-to-date.

The Knicks offense cut through them like a straight edge razor through hot butter.  Swiss cheese has more firmament than their defense in the first half.  We were soooo rattled, we had two players flying at a 3pt shooter, which of course meant that someone was open.  Why two?  Because they forgot all about their defensive assignments and just ran around (or stood around).

Offensively, more of the same except worse.  Our 4th sub-.400 game out of our past 6.  One-on-one schoolyard.  Pindown?  What's a pindown?  Halfway through the 1st quarter, 6:05 left, we had a total of 5 points.

I'm not a fan of the +/- stat, but it makes some sense for the starters, since they do operate as a 5-man unit for much of the game.  Every one of ours was -20+ while every one of the Knick starters were positive (three were >+20 and 2 were in the +teens).  Their starters aren't that much better than ours.  Some of that was the taste in their mouth from the 41 point beat down earlier this year we put on them and some of it was just us.  No excuses.

1.  An awful game by Rondo.  7 points on 3-13, 5 assists and 4 TOs.  No lift, no explosiveness.  I understand, this is a recovery process, but while he may be physically cleared to play his body hasn't made that next step up.  His mind hasn't either.  Pablo Prigioni ran around Rajon Rondo like he was standing still, which he often was.  I will say he did have one very, very nice coast-to-coast run.  He missed the shot and, I think it was Sully, cleaned up after him, but that's what we need and that's what we were doing before he came back.  Our fgas/game have dropped significantly since he has returned.  I wish I could find a shot chart that showed our shot selections before and after.  That might be the most damning one of all. Rondo's shot chart from last night shows him missing 5 shots in the paint.

2.  Sully needs to sit.  If he's having problems because he has two bad hands, then he needs to sit and rest them.  If he's having problems unrelated to his hands (maybe he has finally been well scouted?), then he needs to sit and re-think, take a few deep breaths and settle down.  His frustration levels are becoming palpable and they're not generating productive results.  I'm not down on Sully as a player, but I think a time-out to gather himself and regroup and heal might be beneficial.  

3.  If there were any reasons not to throw myself off a bridge last night (the dry ribs didn't help) it was Chris Johnson and Hump.  12 points for each of them, shooting 7-14 collectively.  Considering we shot 39% for the game, having players shooting at or around 50% stands out.  Johnson started off cold, going 1-4 from 3 in the first half, and then proceeded to hit 3 in a row to go 4-7 on the night for his 12.  I'd like fewer 3s, I love watching him (or anyone, for that matter) take it to the hoop, but last night I would have taken any points anyway I could get them.  How sad that a player on his second 10-day contract is the only one who is playing like his job depends upon it.  Hump did his usual solid game, but in only 22 minutes.  Efficient.

4.  Kelly had 8 points, 7 rebounds and a block in 19 minutes.  That's really good, but for some reason I'm not oohing and ahhing.  He got lucky once, a Knick lost the rebound under the Knick basket and Kelly grabbed it and flipped it up and in for 2 and instead of thinking "great nose for the basket, kid, contest the rebound!"  I thought "Dunk the damn ball, Kelly!".  He's right there under the rim, the only Knick is one the floor, we're getting embarrassed and he doesn't power it through.  Where's his damn puppy.  

5.  Bayless with 10 on 4-9 and 4 assists, 1 TO.  Pressey with 2 points on 1-3, 3 assists and zero TOs.  Not bad but not enough.  Unfortunately, Hardaway and Smith went off too.  They were 11-24 for 33 points, 7 assists, 1 TO and 2 blocks.  One of them was by Smith on Rondo, whose vertical leap was about as high as Larry Bird's.  Now.  As a 57-year old man.

We took 82fgas.  Better, but not real good.  We took 22 3pt fgas.  27%.
We hit 6 of those 22 3pt fgas.  27%.
Is it a coincidence they're both 27%?  Of course, but it isn't a coincidence that our offense sucks.  We're a one-trick pony.

They took 82fgas too but hit 10-20 from 3.  Let's be honest, when a team is shooting 50% from 3 they are going to be extremely hard to beat.  Our problem was that their shooters were uncovered.  You cannot give Melo, Hardaway and Smith all the daylight in the world and just hope they'll miss.  More times than not, you're going to be disappointed.

They looked completely lost out there.  Stevens must be shaking his head loose on his neck.  His kids at Butler didn't unravel like this.

Not only did I have to listen to Clyde Frazier's rhymes (e.g. "dish and swish", "dancing and prancing", "bounding and astounding"), I had to hear him say that the Celtics are "not playing smart or hard" and know that he was right.

The marginally more execrable Philadelphia 76ers are in town tonight.  We win, yeah!  We lose, we own the 4th worst record.

Go Celtics!



bob


.

Our team had a horrible schedule at the start of the season,18 games in 26 days,the majority of the games were on the road,Khris Humpries was on the bench,Rajon Rondo was on the injured list,The coach was a rookie,the Chemistry of the team was not the best due to a lot of new players playing together for the first time and you know what?At December 16 the team was 12-14 and now is 15 -32 with Rondo,Humphries playing a very good basketball and a better schedule and you are going to tell me the reason is because they are not a good team and we had to many new pieces on the team?As K J 88 said,it went from competing every night to seeing which opponent will blow the team out next,the intensity is not there anywhere.So tell me whats happening then?To me tanking is not only to loose games on purpose,if you don't have agood team and you don't try to improve it,thats is a way of tanking.Players like Courtney Lee and Jordan Crawford were better players than the ones received,so if you gave good players thinking of their contrats instead of how they were playing that's tanking,pure and simple if you throw the season you are tanking.Even Tommy is frustrated by the way this team is playing,no fundaments,too many 3s attempts,no rotations in the pick and roll,too many silly turnovers,no boxing out.In other words the system is no t working,so if you don't change the system and continue with the same mistakes that is a way of tanking.Being a Celtics fan since 1970,some times staying awake at 2 am in the morning to see a game from the coast nowing that I was going to be at my job at 8 am you cant acusse me of not being a true Celtics fan ,but I a have to be honest with myself and that's the way I see it,this team can do it a lot better.

One thing I didn't mention in my original post is that Brandon Bass drew Melo as a defensive assignment, NOT Jeff Green.

Freed from that job, I would have expected more from Green.


bob


.

International,


I hear your pain and frustration, but we do not have all the pieces in place.....most noticeable .......a BIG MF'en  center. Green has been a bust as far as being a team leader and consistent performer game in and game out. You have Rondo coming back from major rehab and so the next 15 games will be like preseason for him. He is out of shape for one, and he has a psych issue in trusting his knee and his ability to play the kind of ball he is use to.

Poor Sully 6'9" going against Chandler who is 7'0" +.  That is too much for Sully who does not have great vertical leaping ability. HE IS NOT A CENTER...HE IS A PF. He was asked to put weight on to play this position for us this year, so he is handy capped with his height and weight issues to play center.

Lack of effort is another issue which Stevens will address as it arises. Ya you'll see it sprinkled around with a veteran looking for greener pastures and a better team through a trade.......that is why we are loading up with young players who will show the hunger in wanting to play hard and stay. But with that you will get poorly executed play because some may not cut it as players on the NBA level while others will.............as I said this is the weeding out process for mainly role players at this time......superstars will arrive through a major trade, free agency ina few years if the Celtics show promise and through perhaps the draft if we get lucky.


112288

112288,

I'm beginning to think that our troubles lie deeper than not having a mean, defensive, rebounding center as much as I want one, would practically die for one. (Not really, I want to be around to see banner 18). I also am worried that Stevens is losing the players. While at the beginning of the season I admired his willingness to experiment with line-ups I think the time has long passed where he must make up his mind who will be his starters and stick with it for a while.
There's no way a team can develop chemistry when they don't know who they are going to play with night after night. Much as Doc Rivers frustrated the hell out of me with his stubborn refusal to try out something or someone new, his philosophy did allow players to develop the chemistry needed to win. Doc didn't use metrics or whatever they call it nowadays but he was able to motivate his players over a long NBA season. I get the impression that Stevens might be too enamored with stats and metrics and isn't dealing properly with the human side of it. God, I never thought I'd be singing the praises of Doc Rivers. He drove me nuts many times, but Stevens must look in the mirror. He's in an extremely difficult position because Danny's trades keep shifting the ground under his feet, but he's going to have to change his approach somehow. If I knew exactly what he should do I'd be the Celtics coach. But it's his job, he's being paid to do it and giving him a break because he is a rookie can only go so far. Both he and Danny have to somehow right the ship. Unless International is right and they are purposely tanking.
Don't misunderstand me. It's not that expect a lot of wins as much as I'd like to see them, but I do expect effort and a sense of coherent play.

Although we were still losing with Lee and Crawford and the seldom used Brooks there seemed to be in place some strategy.

Last night's game looked like the Celtics were playing together for the very first time.  As a matter of fact just about every fundamental of basketball was not apparent.  It was like the players never played organized basketball in their lives.

I keep telling myself that this is what can happen when a team does not have good chemistry.  An argument can be made that when you trade 2 of your primary rotations guards, bring back Rondo who was gone for a year and then lose your best two way player in Bradley, you are going to have some issues.  The offense cannot be productive without a 2 guard and the experiment using 4 6'9" guys with Rondo should be bandoned immediately.

Some of my observations have been stated and restated by most of you.

The mismatch at center is the most debilitating weakness on this team.

Our forwards rebound the ball pretty good but none of them can be expected to play the 5 spot for any extended period of time.

The defense was bad and is now even worse.  We have no leader on defense.  no q-back yelling out assignments.  There was ZERO defense against the pick and roll last night and in general this team cannot play pick and roll defense.  Either the players are morons or unable to execute or the coach cannot provide his players with the triggers needed to react when playing defense against a pick and roll.

The Knicks like so many other teams these days love to shoot the three but over the past few games the Celtics are stuck in the mud.  They cannot seem to close out the perimeter.  Most of that is caused by a lack of effort and the rest due to schemes (sagging defense in the middle)

Every now and then we see a long pass on offense and an easy scoring attempt but the infrequency of simply passing the ball ahead is a problem.  However i do not see our bigs getting up and down the way that they need to.  You cannot be a running team unless you run.

The offensive transition of having a ball dominate PG pretty much makes the so-called motion offense worthless.  Guys like bass and green know how rondo is probing for mismatches but the other guys have not a clue on where to go.  I would like to see Stevens use Green along with Rondo when running the pick and pop or pick and roll from the top.   Green is buried on the wings and in the corner.  He is missing tons of shots and could be a better passer.  Get him up top on the switches.

Chris Johnson should start at the 2 until Avery comes back.  Let's get that kid more minutes since he is one of the few players that is actually running hard up the court and beating the defense.

dboss

A team's improvement isn't a linear progression. There are adverse stretches during the season that test character individually for the players and coaches and collectively for the team. They can be destructive or strengthening. We'll see how they react.

They have to find their way. They have a favorable part of the schedule coming up with eight sub-.500 teams in the next 11 games, so they have that in their favor. Of course, if they lose most of those games, it could turn their current poor play into a downward spiral.

Something else that may knock the team for a loop is if the team pulls off a trade or two in the three weeks before the deadline. The potential disruptive impact of trades concerns me more than their current funk.

In the long run, it may be a blip on the radar even if it goes south, but having a reasonably successful second half of this season certainly sounds like a better foundation for next season and beyond. I'm still optimistic that they can be much better in March and April.

It's not that expect a lot of wins as much as I'd like to see them, but I do expect effort and a sense of coherent play.

Berlin-T said it perfectly on that sentence.

international wrote: It's not that expect a lot of wins as much as I'd like to see them, but I do expect effort and a sense of coherent play.

I cannot argue with this. Last night's game was disgraceful. They swing from being a bunch of wildcats to a bunch of kittens. I think that might be what drives me crazy more than anything, the inconsistency of effort and execution.


bob


.

Berlin-T wrote:112288,

I'm beginning to think that our troubles lie deeper than not having a mean, defensive, rebounding center as much as I want one, would practically die for one. (Not really, I want to be around to see banner 18). I also am worried that Stevens is losing the players. While at the beginning of the season I admired his willingness to experiment with line-ups I think the time has long passed where he must make up his mind who will be his starters and stick with it for a while.
There's no way a team can develop chemistry when they don't know who they are going to play with night after night. Much as Doc Rivers frustrated the hell out of me with his stubborn refusal to try out something or someone new, his philosophy did allow players to develop the chemistry needed to win. Doc didn't use metrics or whatever they call it nowadays but he was able to motivate his players over a long NBA season. I get the impression that Stevens might be too enamored with stats and metrics and isn't dealing properly with the human side of it. God, I never thought I'd be singing the praises of Doc Rivers. He drove me nuts many times, but Stevens must look in the mirror. He's in an extremely difficult position because Danny's trades keep shifting the ground under his feet, but he's going to have to change his approach somehow. If I knew exactly what he should do I'd be the Celtics coach. But it's his job, he's being paid to do it and giving him a break because he is a rookie can only go so far. Both he and Danny have to somehow right the ship. Unless International is right and they are purposely tanking.
Don't misunderstand me. It's not that expect a lot of wins as much as I'd like to see them, but I do expect effort and a sense of coherent play.

So how does he stick with a regular starting 5 with Rondo out for so long Crawford gone Bradley injured. Green doing his best Claude Rains imitation every other game, and no real center? We all knew this season would be difficult but seems some here expect a lot more, perhaps we should be better but we are a very incomplete team.

Stevens is still learning the ropes I believe. He's gonna be here for a while but when you don't have the bullets in your gun hard to win a gunfight.

Patience is needed, but frustration is expected, if we see things I'm willing to bet DA and Stevens do to.

beat

Beat,

Agreed.....patients is a virtue!

112288

As long as patience isn't interpreted to mean laissez-faire—especially by the coach!

Sam

I would like to see Vander Blue and Chris Johnson play more minutes.

Why? Because they attack the paint.

I'm so sick of this waiting behind the arc for a lazy shot that's going to miss and result in an easy transition layup for the other team.

Attack the paint. Draw some fouls. Force the other team to actually participate on defense. Boston lacks shooters to hit threes on any consistent basis. Other teams can easily sag off on defense and collect easy rebounds 75% of the time. If you're not being aggressive, then you shouldn't be out there. Brad needs to take a stand on this and send a message that if you aren't coming to play then there's a good chance someone else gets those minutes instead of you.

Stevens has been encouraging the three-point shot on a team that lacks a wealth of great shooters. This is a failing philosophy. With as many young guys on this team as there is, there's absolutely no reason as to why they don't go to the rim more often.

Jeff Green, although not quite as productive as he needs to be, has been attacking the paint more, which is good. Unfortunately, he hasn't had much success turning those attempts into points. But its important that he keeps driving to the hoop. I think some of those shots will start to fall more often. Other teams have been double-teaming him more, which means someone has to be open. I still see a lot of standing around and spectating.

There's plenty of things this team can do with the current personnel, but it will take actual hustle to do it.



KJ

k_j_88 wrote:I would like to see Vander Blue and Chris Johnson play more minutes.

Why? Because they attack the paint.

I'm so sick of this waiting behind the arc for a lazy shot that's going to miss and result in an easy transition layup for the other team.

Attack the paint. Draw some fouls. Force the other team to actually participate on defense. Boston lacks shooters to hit threes on any consistent basis. Other teams can easily sag off on defense and collect easy rebounds 75% of the time. If you're not being aggressive, then you shouldn't be out there. Brad needs to take a stand on this and send a message that if you aren't coming to play then there's a good chance someone else gets those minutes instead of you.

Stevens has been encouraging the three-point shot on a team that lacks a wealth of great shooters. This is a failing philosophy. With as many young guys on this team as there is, there's absolutely no reason as to why they don't go to the rim more often.

Jeff Green, although not quite as productive as he needs to be, has been attacking the paint more, which is good. Unfortunately, he hasn't had much success turning those attempts into points. But its important that he keeps driving to the hoop. I think some of those shots will start to fall more often. Other teams have been double-teaming him more, which means someone has to be open. I still see a lot of standing around and spectating.

There's plenty of things this team can do with the current personnel, but it will take actual hustle to do it.



KJ

KJ,

Excellent post. I agree with every bit of it.


bob


.

Good one, KJ