Post by DERRENMATTS on Nov 30, 2006 11:43:38 GMT -5
Its becoming more and more evident that good things happen when our PG's are allowed to run the show. Last night, during the 3rd quarter, we built a 15 pt lead, primarily with Telfair running the show and calling the shots. He was attacking and dishing, penetraing and kicking out, and our offense was rolling because of that. It had been a long time since we've seen so many players getting wide open kick out jumpers like that and it was because Telfair was sucking in the defense as he drove to the hoop. This is highly effective basketball, especially when we have Wally, one of the better catch and shoot players in the league, and Ryan Gomes, waiting to knock down shots as it comes to them. And if Rondo was playing, he'd be doing more of this as well (which is why it bothers me that Doc has disowned Rajon).
That's what we need to be doing more of. We don't have to ditch our set plays--we obviously have a good halfcourt game and running set plays can play to our advantage. BUT NOT ON EVERY SINGLE POSSESSION!!! Here's what typically happens; Telfair brings the ball up the court, hands it off to a big man at the high post, and darts to one side of the court and waits there until the ball is fed to either Wally or Pierce. From there, he waits even longer to see if Wally or Pierce will take the ball themselves or if they need to kick it out. If it needs to be kicked out, Telfair moves quickly to get open and reset the play--this time to feed Gomes, who quickly jumps out near the free throw area to receive the pass. On majority of these plays, Gomes, Pierce and Wally touch the ball more times than Telfair and if he gets the ball, he feels the clock beginning to bear down on him so he either attacks the basket or pulls up for a jumper. Lately, he's been converting baskets, but why put him in that position to fail? He's the PG and he wants to set his teammates up--not be forced to take a shot before the buzzer sounds.
Set picks for Telfair and let him orchestrate the offense. We're seeing it right before our eyes that as he becomes more aggressive, plays start to open up around the court. Gomes and Wally got open looks last night after he penetrated deep into the lanes (though Gomes missed 2 - 3 open jumpers). And if the ball isn't taken out of his hands, he'll attack the rim and so far, no team has been able to stop him from from consistently driving to the basket and scoring.
And if Rajon was playing, he'd be doing the same thing--if Doc would stop taking the ball out of the PG's hands.
When the ball is in their hands, they make plays happen and our offense is markedly more uptempo. Going back to that 3rd quarter in the Nets game, when we were running and attacking the Nets with a barrage of different looks, building a 15 pt lead, I could have sworn I was watching Celtics basketball again, reminiscent of the team from the 80's. It was uptempo and crisp, and every player was contributing and sticking the dagger further into our opponent's back. The crowd was roaring and we looked like a great team for that brief moment.
You can see that Telfair's confidence is growing and he's looking to dictate the offense more--but that's only when he's allowed to (he waved Pierce out of the way on a couple of possessions). And if Rajon was playing, his confidence would be growing as well and if he was allowed to dictate the offense, we'd be watching another spectacular display of offensive creativity that is rarely seen in Boston.
These 2 PG's forte' is their ability to creatively pass the ball and set up the offense. Its time we started utilizing their strengths instead of taking the ball out of their hands and making them into jump shooters. Its a waste of their strengths and hinders our ability to push the tempo.
That's what we need to be doing more of. We don't have to ditch our set plays--we obviously have a good halfcourt game and running set plays can play to our advantage. BUT NOT ON EVERY SINGLE POSSESSION!!! Here's what typically happens; Telfair brings the ball up the court, hands it off to a big man at the high post, and darts to one side of the court and waits there until the ball is fed to either Wally or Pierce. From there, he waits even longer to see if Wally or Pierce will take the ball themselves or if they need to kick it out. If it needs to be kicked out, Telfair moves quickly to get open and reset the play--this time to feed Gomes, who quickly jumps out near the free throw area to receive the pass. On majority of these plays, Gomes, Pierce and Wally touch the ball more times than Telfair and if he gets the ball, he feels the clock beginning to bear down on him so he either attacks the basket or pulls up for a jumper. Lately, he's been converting baskets, but why put him in that position to fail? He's the PG and he wants to set his teammates up--not be forced to take a shot before the buzzer sounds.
Set picks for Telfair and let him orchestrate the offense. We're seeing it right before our eyes that as he becomes more aggressive, plays start to open up around the court. Gomes and Wally got open looks last night after he penetrated deep into the lanes (though Gomes missed 2 - 3 open jumpers). And if the ball isn't taken out of his hands, he'll attack the rim and so far, no team has been able to stop him from from consistently driving to the basket and scoring.
And if Rajon was playing, he'd be doing the same thing--if Doc would stop taking the ball out of the PG's hands.
When the ball is in their hands, they make plays happen and our offense is markedly more uptempo. Going back to that 3rd quarter in the Nets game, when we were running and attacking the Nets with a barrage of different looks, building a 15 pt lead, I could have sworn I was watching Celtics basketball again, reminiscent of the team from the 80's. It was uptempo and crisp, and every player was contributing and sticking the dagger further into our opponent's back. The crowd was roaring and we looked like a great team for that brief moment.
You can see that Telfair's confidence is growing and he's looking to dictate the offense more--but that's only when he's allowed to (he waved Pierce out of the way on a couple of possessions). And if Rajon was playing, his confidence would be growing as well and if he was allowed to dictate the offense, we'd be watching another spectacular display of offensive creativity that is rarely seen in Boston.
These 2 PG's forte' is their ability to creatively pass the ball and set up the offense. Its time we started utilizing their strengths instead of taking the ball out of their hands and making them into jump shooters. Its a waste of their strengths and hinders our ability to push the tempo.