Preseason: C's vs. Cavs, PT II

[DERRENMATTS]

Final preseason game today, as we take on Lebron and the Cleveland Cavaliers. I totally enjoy watching Lebron play and for anyone who doesn't think this guy is simply amazing, they are undermining his abilities. A guy who averages 27+ ppg, 7+ rpg, 7+ apg, 2+ spg, and 1+ bpg is just unbelievable.

I hope that our guys won't be too tired today, after coming off an overtime loss to the Nets last night. This is the first game of the year for me, so I want it to highlight a lot of our good things (but I'd also like to see our warts so I'll get a feel for what we need to work on).

I probably won't be posting during the game cause my total attention will be on the game, but I will be posting a game review afterwards, and I hope others will too. Will be nice to compare notes and see where we see eye to eye and where we don't.

[ferbo]

I was unable to get into the Forum until about 30 minutes ago. Problem started last night.

[VI_CelticsFan]

Game is on tonight on NBA TV at 7:30. Just to let you guys know if you didn't. I am in a pickle because this interferes with "Lost", a show I love to watch on ABC. But don't worry, I'll handle it.

[Celtic17]

Good guys ahead at half 56-48.
C's are hitting at a 58% clip from the field.
Davis 19, Pierce 17 and Blount 10 point are pretty much the offense.
Blount 4 and West 3 are leading in the ast column.
Pierce lead the C's with 4 rebounds.

Getting a better look at a potential rotation to start the season. Would like to see Reed in the mix but Gomes has shown lots of game to add to the mix.

[Celtic17]

Early in the 3rd an Al has picked up his 5th foul. Time to see who might get his minutes.

[Celtic17]

kingjames said:

I am in a pickle because this interferes with "Lost", a show I love to watch on ABC. But don't worry, I'll handle it.

It's a rerun anyway E-Mac. It's one of my favorite shows too.

[Celtic17]

Cavs go on a 10-2 run to tie it up, to start the 2nd half.
I should shut my trap now...

[Celtic17]

Looks like Doc let the young guys play do to the end.

Nice win for the TEAM.

I might add, my guy Reed was in the mix of things. ;D

Can't wait to hear from those of you that saw the game.


Image from last season --- Check out his eyes.

[DERRENMATTS]

Alright, let me get started with my game review. I have a lot to say, so bear with me.

First off, we are a very explosive team when we are in sync. And I mean we are capable of blowing up for 40 pt quarters if we are playing really well Timing is everything with us and if everyone is moving if sync, we are capable of getting off huge runs. This team can be very exciting and fun to watch because we can go from being 7 pt down to being up 10 pts in a blink of an eye. Lot of smart players who can score off of offensive putbacks and keep balls alive on offense. This is something new for us because we barely got any second chance points in the past. We now have guys who can keep plays alive with their hustle after a missed shot. Ryan Gomes shows a real knack for getting his hands on offensive rebounds. Brian Scalabrine shows a good nose for it too. And Delonte is a pest who swipes at balls when opponents pull down defensive rebounds.

This is what I’ve noticed—you can tell when the timing is on and every thing is going right, when guys like Delonte, Brian Scalabrine, Ryan Gomes, Raef LaFrentz, and Mark Blount are scoring. These guys are not go-to scorers. These players are sneaky scorers who start shining when the ball is moving and when defenses are out of place. Defenses get out of place when our guys are moving and the ball is moving around the court. And when this happens, the ball ends up in Delonte’s, Scala’s, Raef’s, Blout’s, and Gomes’ hands where they can do damage.

Of course, it all starts with Pierce and Ricky and when these guys are scoring in the flow of the game, we are nearly impossible to stop. Usually, when we go on big runs, Ricky is in the middle of it all because he’s one of the best uptempo players on the team. That’s usually how you can tell when we are doing the right things—when Ricky is running and getting into a good rhythm. When we are struggling, you’ll see Ricky holding onto the ball and trying to create offense for himself or for the team.

Pierce has definitely shown an improved attitude. I am happy with the way he is now. He still had some lapses where he went outside of the offensive flow, but they were few and far between. Its evident that Pierce is trying to be team centered by the way he sacrifices his offense. This is what we need from him.

Delonte needs to look for his shot a lot more. When he’s running the Point, he’s practically useless because all he’ll do is dribble the ball a few quick times and pass it off. He’s not even looking to create anything most of the time. There were so many times where I thought he should have aggressively looked for his shot because he had the best look. But like I mentioned above, when the offense is clicking, Delonte will find his shots. This is the type of player he is. He fits in with a flowing offense.

Orien Greene is a solid PG. I was pleased with him and I see a lot of good things coming out of his PG play that we aren’t seeing right now. He’s the type of PG who wants the ball in his hands so that he can set up the offense. He really does look to pass first before anything else. And that works to his advantage because defenses look for the pass and that allows him to see some daylight for his own offense. Right now, he’s deferring a lot of his game to fit in with his new teammates. But eventually, we’ll see the ball in his hands a lot more and this will allow our scorers (Pierce and Ricky) to concentrate more on scoring and less ball handling.

Blount is definitely shooting the ball really well. And you can tell he’s happy right now. He’s really loving it right now. You catch him with big grins on his face all the time. He’s definitely a help offensively and for his sake, I hope he continues this during the regular season. I must admit that I am warming up to Blount now. But I won’t sing only praises. He still is nowhere the rebounder or defensive player we need from our starting Center. As much as he has been a big help on offense, he’s got limitations defensively and with rebounding.

Doc needs to find someone who will be our catch and shoot player. All we need is for someone to come off a curl and fire away open jumpers. Ricky is a perfect candidate for this and I hope Doc uses this. We need some easy looks at the basket when our shots aren’t falling and when our offense gets stagnant.

Ricky has been playing well the past 2 games, but he’s not being used correctly. He’s dribbling the ball too much and trying to set up players too much. I love Ricky’s energy and his ignitable offense and this is what we need from him. But he is definitely a guy who we’ll need to rely on a lot and we can’t afford to lose his scoring so that he can get some assists.

We are not defensive enough. We give up too many points and too many easy looks inside the paint. We foul too much. I think we are missing a true interior defender. We need someone with size, who has dominant defensive capabilities. Unfortunately, Perkins is not going to be this player for us. For one, he is not athletic enough and for another, he is not an instinctual player. He reacts to plays when he should be proactive. The kid is physical and he plays hard, but he’s not the true defensive player we need. And his offense is not looking good at all.

We are doing a lot of the small things that wins games that we haven’t been doing before. This is directly due to smarter players and our team putting more effort in hustling. Our mentality has changed and we are now playing as a united team. Players move for one another, players make the effort to pass to one another where the scoring opportunity is greater, etc. We are playing like a cohesive unit and not as a divided team not giving a rip for one another. This is very encouraging and it makes the future seem even brighter.

Justin Reed is a terrific defender. He can play lock down defense and make star players earn their points. Whenever an opponent’s wing player gets hot, Doc needs to get Reed in their to slow them down. Really takes pride in playing suffocating defense. He forces things on offense, and tonight, his outside shot was falling. But he has a tendency to force shots and it brought back memories of Antoine Walker. Reed should focus on being our defensive stalwart above anything else and when scoring opportunities arise, he should take them. It feels as if Reed thinks he has to be aggressive offensively, and I don’t think its his strong suit.

Overall, this has been a fantastic first look at our team for me. I see tremendous things coming from our starting unit if they are playing within the offense and making things happen with their energy. And though our second unit will have its ups and downs, I think we are going to fall in love with Ryan Gomes, Big Al, Scala, Orien Greene, and Justin Reed.

I’ll post more of my thoughts after I’ve had time to digest them

[Celtic17]

derrenmatts said:

Doc needs to find someone who will be our catch and shoot player. All we need is for someone to come off a curl and fire away open jumpers.

Kyle Korver would be a nice fit to the puzzle.

[mev17]

I must admit, seeing one rebound in 20 minutes for Blount reminded me of last year, but if he is playing with enthusiasm that is still a help.

Overall, a very good report. Hopefully Perkins, Gomes and Jefferson can give us good rebounding throughout the year and shore-up that big weakness from last year.

[DERRENMATTS]

celtic17 said:

Kyle Korver would be a nice fit to the puzzle.

He'd a very good fit. He'd be a nice guy off the bench who'd add a much needed outside scoring threat. If not him, maybe target JJ Reddick in the draft.

I must admit, seeing one rebound in 20 minutes for Blount reminded me of last year, but if he is playing with enthusiasm that is still a help.

Overall, a very good report. Hopefully Perkins, Gomes and Jefferson can give us good rebounding throughout the year and shore-up that big weakness from last year.

Yeah, its nice that Blount is contributing with his scoring, but we are giving up a lot of points inside and he hasn't been helping any.

I sense that Rivers is not playing Perkins much because he is such a liability on offense. I'm seeing a lot of limitations in his game that I was too optimistic to see before. Ainge's next big target in the draft should be a Center.

I wanted to share some thoughts about our offense. From watching Doc's system last year, I wanted us to use set plays more often. Just seemed like last year, we often got into scoring droughts where players stood around a lot and ball movement stopped. I often thought that we outta use set plays a lot more so that players will know what to execute and what to do. But seeing how effective our free flowing offense can be when players are doing what they are supposed to do, we have nothing to worry about when our players are doing their jobs. We are lucky to have players who fit into the free flowing style of offense. Gomes is one who really fits in a free flowing system. He doesn't need plays called for him. As long as he is able to roam to where he feels he should be, he'll get 15 pts a night. He's real intuitive. He doesn't stand out much in games and until you see the boxscores, you won't know that he dropped 15 pts on you. And that's exactly the type of role players you want to surround your star players--such as Pierce and Big Al. Jefferson is also an intuitive scorer who fits in with a free flowing system (but we did a poor job of getting him the ball in the post tonight). Right now, he's not doing a good job of getting his positioning in the post. He gets pushed around too easily and has to settle for getting the ball out of his comfort zone. But to his credit, he's so good at making adjustments that he can score even when out of position.

Watching both Orien and Dan Dickau play tonight, I realize that they both are being handicapped. Orien can be so much more effective if guys slashed and cut more. Though we are doing a much better job of moving without the ball, its mostly only on the side where the ball is. The weak side players stand around, waiting for plays to develop and then move. If more weak side players started cutting to the basket, or curled to get open for jumpers, Orien could rack up more assists because he shows signs of being able to anticipate these plays and deliver passes where they need to be.

Dan Dickau also seems like he could show a lot more if he played with players who'll move and slash to get open and catch passes in rhythm. In our system, we use big men at the high post a lot. When PG's cross halfcourt, they immediately hand the ball off to the big men at the top of the key and flash to the corners. Then if no play develops, they'll run back toward the top of the arc where they get the ball back from the Bigs. From there, they try to play the two man game with the Bigs. All the while, the weak side players are standing around waiting for a possible outside shot. I don't feel like this is how to effectively use Dickau (or Orien). He should be running through picks and players should be running parallel with him or making backdoor cuts so that he can have moving targets to pass to. We're limiting our PG's creativity, and Orien shows that he has some to spare.

Another thing, Justin had a good scoring game tonight. Had 17 pts I believe. But if we need him to score in double digits to win games, we are in trouble. He's not a pure scorer. He's an "effort scorer". By this I mean players who need to be concentrating on scoring for them to score. They need to have tunnel vision and their focus needs to be on getting to the basket. While players like Jefferson can score 10 pts just by sneezing, J-Reed needs to really lock in to get his 10 pts. And its usually hard earned. His scoring is nice, but we shouldn't need to depend on his scoring to win games. I'm not really high on his scoring abilities (though he capable of putting up double digit points with adequate minutes), but I do really appreciate his defensive work. This is an important area where he can really make an impact. I think he may even be able to contain Ron Artest (not shut him out, but contain him at least).

[mrbeefy316]

Well another great game by the Celtics. Also for those of you that are complaining about Blount, He has been playing very well on offense and defense. He didn't rebound well in this game but that was due to the fact that he got in foul trouble very quickly. The entire team got in foul trouble because of Lebron James. He got all the calls tonight. There were some really bad calls tonight Big al got three fouls in less than five minutes. One setting a screen against Lebron, Then an over the back foul against Lebron, and a charge. Lebron hacked Ricky Davis on a three pointer, no call and that led to a fastbreak by guess who? Lebron. He pushed Pierce out of bounds on a three pointer from the corner which ended up an air ball , no call. The calls were ridiculous tonight. Also none of the starters played in the second half. Thats why guys like Reed had to force their offense because after Al got five fouls he was pretty much the only one who could score. It was the same in the game against the nets. The starters got a big lead and then they sat down for the rest of the game.

[ferbo]

I wish Doc wouldn't settle too quickly into a 0-man rotationo. That will leave Perkins and either Reed or Gomes sitting, not to mention TA when he gets back. Last night shows (not that anyone needed to be shown) that there will be nights when the ssecond "4" aren't clicking. AJ is not performing anything like hoped at t his stage. OGreen isn't ready for the HOF. Perk will get passed by on the pine.

Lots of fouls, not only last night b ut in some other games.

[DERRENMATTS]

I disagree with you there, Beefy. Blount is a nice defender, but nice is not good enough if we want to compete against teams like the Pistons and the Heat. He may be good enough for the here and now, but if we start making our way to the next level, Blount's defense is not good enough. I do agree that he's doing well for his standards (he's actually giving a lot of effort), but its not enough. But its not only him--Raef isn't a big time defensive player either. Defensive play in the middle is where we are struggling. We give up a lot of points, and a lot of layups. This is where we need to find an upgrade.