Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 17, 2005 2:18:14 GMT -5
I'm in no way, shape, or form, going to give up on the Celtics because there are many things still good about us. But after this loss to the Bucks, in which we hardly played with any urgency or intensity (aside from a certain few players), I'd like to air my mounting frustration a bit.
First off, we are mentally weak. I could start off by pointing out other weaknesses, such as our lack of toughness, but to me, this is the most glaring weakness we have. And it stems from our lack of leadership on the court. Pierce is not a leader. At times, he can lead by example, but overall, he's not a true leader. Antoine Walker was a much better leader, but of course, his other flaws took away from this strength of his. We are missing a true leader who the team will follow wherever he leads them, and I don't know if we have any player on the squad who can fit this bill. Delonte and Perkins are intense players who will cut off their arms to win a game, but they aren't leaders. Jefferson shows glimpses, but right now, he's too raw. Our lack of leadership results in our lack of team identity.
Another big problem of ours is we are too soft, or weak--whichever one you want to call it. We dont' have a tough identity and many teams are probably labeling us as a weak team. Perkins has been a boost, but as long as we have Blount on the court, we are generally a weak team. Teams score on us easily and we don't put a scare in any team's gameplan because they know they'll score on us.
We have too many nice role players and not enough players who can impact a game. Pierce is an impact player with his scoring ability and Ricky is usually one too (I say usually because right now, he's in an extended funk). Perkins is beginning to be an impact rebounder and shot blocker, but aside from these 3, we are limited in the quantity of players who can impact a game, either offensively or defensively. Delonte doesn't make an impact enough of the time, and neither does Raef. Gomes, Orien, Scalabrine, Dickau, Reed, etc, all nice role players who can have a nice game, and then disappear for a couple of games before re-surfacing again.
We aren't playing smart basketball. Our gameplan of moving the ball around and setting up players for easier baskets has been missing in action the last couple of weeks. In its place individual scoring and a selfish mentality. Instead of running plays for Ricky to come off of curls for good looks at the basket, we now just hand him the ball and let him do whatever he wants. Same for Pierce (though Pierce has been coming through with big points). We are in danger when Ricky starts getting into the habit of putting the ball on the floor and attacking the basket--this is not his forte. He forces too many shots and turns the ball over when he gets into this mode. He's the most effective when used as a scorer, not a playmaker.
And of course, there's Mark Blount. I could absolutely care less if he scores 20 pts a game. Give toughness, rebounds, and defense, and I'll take that any day of the week over anything he can give me offensively. He's so often pushed around that I automatically give 2 points to the opponent anytime his man gets the ball under the basket.
I'll add more to this thread as more thoughts come to me. Add in your rants if you have any.
First off, we are mentally weak. I could start off by pointing out other weaknesses, such as our lack of toughness, but to me, this is the most glaring weakness we have. And it stems from our lack of leadership on the court. Pierce is not a leader. At times, he can lead by example, but overall, he's not a true leader. Antoine Walker was a much better leader, but of course, his other flaws took away from this strength of his. We are missing a true leader who the team will follow wherever he leads them, and I don't know if we have any player on the squad who can fit this bill. Delonte and Perkins are intense players who will cut off their arms to win a game, but they aren't leaders. Jefferson shows glimpses, but right now, he's too raw. Our lack of leadership results in our lack of team identity.
Another big problem of ours is we are too soft, or weak--whichever one you want to call it. We dont' have a tough identity and many teams are probably labeling us as a weak team. Perkins has been a boost, but as long as we have Blount on the court, we are generally a weak team. Teams score on us easily and we don't put a scare in any team's gameplan because they know they'll score on us.
We have too many nice role players and not enough players who can impact a game. Pierce is an impact player with his scoring ability and Ricky is usually one too (I say usually because right now, he's in an extended funk). Perkins is beginning to be an impact rebounder and shot blocker, but aside from these 3, we are limited in the quantity of players who can impact a game, either offensively or defensively. Delonte doesn't make an impact enough of the time, and neither does Raef. Gomes, Orien, Scalabrine, Dickau, Reed, etc, all nice role players who can have a nice game, and then disappear for a couple of games before re-surfacing again.
We aren't playing smart basketball. Our gameplan of moving the ball around and setting up players for easier baskets has been missing in action the last couple of weeks. In its place individual scoring and a selfish mentality. Instead of running plays for Ricky to come off of curls for good looks at the basket, we now just hand him the ball and let him do whatever he wants. Same for Pierce (though Pierce has been coming through with big points). We are in danger when Ricky starts getting into the habit of putting the ball on the floor and attacking the basket--this is not his forte. He forces too many shots and turns the ball over when he gets into this mode. He's the most effective when used as a scorer, not a playmaker.
And of course, there's Mark Blount. I could absolutely care less if he scores 20 pts a game. Give toughness, rebounds, and defense, and I'll take that any day of the week over anything he can give me offensively. He's so often pushed around that I automatically give 2 points to the opponent anytime his man gets the ball under the basket.
I'll add more to this thread as more thoughts come to me. Add in your rants if you have any.