What we need to be better

[DERRENMATTS]

Last year, we were a pretty strong offensive team, but we were constantly giving up way too much points, so it pretty much evened out.

What we need to do to get better is to be a better rebounding team and cut down the amount of second chances we give up. Last year, we were 27th in the league in rebounding, and that just won't cut it if we are looking to go past the 1st round in the playoffs. So far, all we've added to help us in this area is Scalabrine, who won't make us a whole lot better. He's going to be a bench guy, so you can't expect him to change the dynamics of our defense that much. We are also losing Walker, who didn't rebound as much as we would have liked, but still provided us with a rebounding presence. I've all but given up hope in Blount, and the way things are shaping up, he's going to be losing playing time when Rivers gives Perk and Jefferson more playing time, as well as finding some PT for Scalabrine, who's a much more active player offensively and defensively.

Getting Perkins and Jefferson more playing time should give us a solid boost on the boards. Both guys have unique rebounding skills (Perk uses brute force while Jefferson uses timing and instincts).

We also need to get better defensively in the paint. Because we were so ineffective, we relied on our perimeter players to sag and give help once the ball was thrown into the post. This allowed teams to burn us from the perimeter. We need to stay at home more and have our interior defenders take care of their own business.

We also need interior scoring. We were almost entirely a perimeter scoring team last year. With Ricky and Pierce being our offensive firepower, that's to be expected. Down the stretch, Jefferson did give us some points in the paint, and I expect him to get better and give us more points inside. But just Jefferson alone won't cut it. Raef and Blount aren't guys who can go inside and score for us consistently. They are midrange guys (with Raef giving us some 3 pt shooting). Scalabrine is not a low post guy either, but he does add some scoring ability from 10 feet out (with the occassional garbage points off of misses). Think of him as a poor man's Troy Murphy. I don't expect much scoring from Perkins, so whatever points he gives us is gravy. We need to mix our offense up and use Ricky's, Pierce's, and Tony's slashing abilities to get some points inside the painted area.

We already had a strong perimeter game last year, and it only stands to get even stronger this year, with Delonte getting a year under his belt, and with the addition of Ryan Gomes. Delonte has a good stroke, though it wasn't as accurate as it should have been last year. As he gets more comfortable with the rhythm of the NBA and figures out where his scoring opportunities will come from, he'll sink more shots regularly. Ryan Gomes is a terrific offensive player, capable of going inside and out. With his rugged body (even after shedding unwanted weight), he can work his way into the paint, and he's got a solid shooting touch from midrange out to the perimeter. He's not a jump shooter, so most of his perimeter shots will be set shots, meaning off of kick outs and swing passes.

Tony Allen could also make things even scarier if his midrange jumper remains consistent as it was in Vegas. His slashing ability will create many scoring opportunities from inside the arc. I feel real good about his chances of being a solid player this year.

Even the seldom used Justin Reed is looking much better and Rivers has not been shy about giving him praise. And by the looks of what he accomplished in Vegas, his shooting range has increased out beyond the arc.

As it is, our strong suit (offensive game) got stronger this summer and our defense only got mildly better. I'm in the thinking that a team who is 60% offense and 40% defense can still win a ton of games--and it looks like we are heading in this direction. But things can turn around in a hurry because a lot of our young guys have the ability to be strong defensive players.

[meltinjohn]

Derren, you stole my line. I was the one who said Scalabrine is a poor mans Troy Murphy. You musta read a previous post.

[DERRENMATTS]

Nah, I don't think so. I don't usually read your posts ;D

Well, they are somewhat similar, so its not hard to see.

[eja117]

I hate it when people on my team are referred to as a "poor man's" anything, and even more if the player in question is someone like troy murphy. At least Scalabrine is getting paid appropriately and works hard. What has this would come to when we say things like that? "At least he hustles"? It should be like "of course he does"

[ferbo]

On inside scoring: I think it is more a "low-post" offense. l Cs quite often outscored the other team on points in the paint.

[DERRENMATTS]

I hate it when people on my team are referred to as a "poor man's" anything, and even more if the player in question is someone like troy murphy.

Wouldn't you be thrilled if Tony Allen was a poor man's Michael Jordan? Troy Murphy put up 15.4 ppg and 10.8 rpg last year. I'd be ecstatic if Scalabrine was a poor man's Murphy and put up 7 ppg and 6 rpg off the bench.

What has this would come to when we say things like that? "At least he hustles"? It should be like "of course he does"

Tell that to Mark Blount.

[meltinjohn]

I would be totally thrilled if people called TA a poor mans Jordan. Saying someone is a por mans somebody else is not a bad thing as long as you don't say someone is a poor mans Antoine Walker or a poor mans Sprewell. A poor mans version of any great player is to be said with high regards.

[eja117]

Right but Troy Murphy isn't a great anything. He's had one good year playing for the Warriors. His stats weren't too different from Blount's the year he was facing a contract year. I see what you're saying and I would not mind those kinds of stats from Scalabrine as long as AL J goes up to 18ppg and 10 rpg as well as Perkins going to something like 7ppg and 5 rpg.
As for hustling sometimes I wish Doc would be like Bill Belicheck and just sit Blount forever and be like "yeah he doesn't play cause he doesn't hustle and he won't play till he does. In the mean time he's carrying the rookie's bags."

[meltinjohn]

EJa, Jefferson won't be an 18 and 10 player for 2-3 more years.
Doc eventually might be our Bill Belichick though. Blount I have a feeling will be carrying the rookies bags this year.

[celtics4ever]

I think we need better commitment to defense, improved fundamentals, better ball movement and a team leader. We are hurting for some post offense as well. But we are getting some talent and athleticism finally and more bigger bodies.

These are little things that add up to the big picture. I like the team concept and I hope the C's improve in the following areas regardless of their personel.

1) Commitment to defense is a choice to buckle and play your man and good help defense. I think Ainge is getting guys who take pride in their D. The fast break starts on the defensive end from a turnover or a rebound. Rebounds come off misses and misses come off bad shots which good defense causes. Both our PGs can really hamper ball movement which eats at the shot clock. Banks could be a lights out defender and West is heady and fiesty. Our interior defense is suspect but should improve with time. We don't have the control tower center who can cover other peoples gambles with superior shot blocking. But across the board we have athletic players who can match up decent I think. I just hope the desire is there and it will take time to get the experience for the lads but the potential is there.

2) I hope Doc pounds the fundamentals in their heads. Boxing out can pay good dividends on the boards and we can improve there. It can compensate for lack of jumping and size if one is willing to pony up and put a body on the man. Other fundamentals like working on cutting to the hoop and moving without the ball are what C's ball is about to me, Smart play! Lets get some pick and roll going!

3) Better ball movement and playing as a team will help us alot. We should feed hot hand and not force the ball. More passes and less dribbling. Take care of the ball and less turnovers. I think this could improve our FG % astronomically. I would like to see some easy baskets and that means more assists.

4) I would like to see PP or someone demand this stuff from his teamates.

If these steps took place with our young talent we would have an exciting team. I think with good ball movement we would have the post offense too. I know its a lot to ask but I hope we see some progress in these areas.

[Jambr380]

And I said Scala was a poor man's david eckstein (who should have in NO way made the all star team) because of the "hard worker" thing. Eja, I like your attitude on this whole thing. If you can pull any strings with DA, maybe you could have a talk with him before the signing officially takes place.

[Roadrunner]

One thing the Celts need is better ball movement. In other words, push the ball upcourt; find the open man. Limit the one on one stuff as well. Though, I am quite sure we will see better ball movement w/ our young guards.

[DERRENMATTS]

Doc mentioned that last year, a lot of the focus was spent on executing the X's and O's on offense (which didn't work so well--but we were still able to score a ton of points as one of the premier scoring teams in the league).

This year, he plans to tighten up our defense and hammer in the fundamentals of it all.

This is the biggest difference we can make in improving our win/loss record. We were a fantastic offense last year, and we've gotten better this year. What needs to happen is for us to get more defensive stops when teams are gaining momentum so that we won't be caught in many unnecessarily close games.

The majorly disappointing aspect from last year's team (actually the past 2 years) is how we'd fall into early deficits and then spend the rest of the game clawing our way out. Incredibly, we were able to pull ahead and win many games where we were down by double digits after the first quarter because we'd have enormous scoring quarters in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.

But instead of falling behind early, we need to come out strong, build a good sized lead, play solid defense to keep teams from recupperating and regaining momentum, and use a big second half to put teams away. And we can do this with the type of players we have. We can put teams away behind the strength of our offense. But we need to clamp down defensively and keep teams from clawing back.

[Ossric]

For us to be a better low-post scoring team, Pierce has to loose some weight. After the 2001 season, where he become a shooting phenomenon in the league, Pierce gained a lot of muscle at the cost of his speed. He now depends to much on his drive to score on weaker defenders. That's why we often outscore opponents in the paint but it also means that our inside players have to get out of the box to clear room for Pierce. That's why Walker became a "3pt shooter" & that's why Raef hangs out so much around the arc. We need to give the paint back to our big man.

[DERRENMATTS]

Using Pierce as a low post option has its pros and cons. He's got the ability to post his man and score in the paint, but that'll push our bigs to the perimeter and take away our inside rebounders.