So give me some adjustments

[droopdog7]

Alright all you coaches and coaching critics, give me some adjustments.

It’s becoming clear to me that this version of the Celtics can’t beat this version of the heat without changing something. And yes, I know these have been close games but we’re at a clear disadvantage closing games.  Butler et al are performing well while Tatum et al aren’t.  That’s not really an accident.  Heck, butler as a closer was a story line before the series started and it’s proving true.

For my part, I wanted smart on Dragic before the first game.  I know there is a lot of switches and stuff but just slowing him down a little bit could affect him in at the end of games.  Just can’t allow him to feel good, free and easy.  Kemba can go to crowder.

My other adjustment is more grant williams.  He better than both Kanter and rob.  Rock solid defender, smart, strong, and can even shoot a little.  I’d ride with him as Theis’ main back up.

Hayward at this point is a Hail Mary.  But if he’s playing, then I’m going to treat him like he can play.  If he sucks we’re probably done anyway so nothing to lose. 

Speaking of nothing to lose, my nuclear adjustment is changing the closing line up.  I don’t think there is much we can do to score better at the end of games.  We’ve already seen how we do against Miami and Tor.  Need to stop expecting different.  So then we neee to find a way to make Miami less efficient.

I’ve hinted at this already but I switch out kemba and Theis and insert Grant and Hayward.  This would give us far and away the most switchable line up (and I would switch EVERYTHING).  I trust grant to guard 1-5 in these situations.  Yes, rebounding will have to be by committee but Hayward is an upgrade over kemba and grant can hold his own too.

[NKY fan]

How about Tatum at the 5? He doesn’t have to bang with Bam all the time just draw him out of the paint.
Then Grant and Smart mostly covering Dragic and Butler and try their best to deny them the ball. Let crowder , Herro and Bam be the playmakers.
I would keep Kemba on Herro or Robinson which is easier said than done.
Have the feeling that Stevens will make a big lineup change.
Kanter and Semi should not be playing more than spot seconds in specific situations. Also limit Wanamaker to 15 min if possible.

[footey]

How about play Robert Williams 3 serious minutes ? Enough with this DNPCD.

In fact I would start him and bring Theis off the bench.

[LilRip]

Jaylen Brown on Bam
Kemba on Crowder
Tatum on Butler

Those are the matchups I think we’d like to see

On offense, we have to find a way to break the zone. The middle is a soft spot so I’d flash Tatum or Smart there (aka someone who can pass). If Hayward’s back, I hope he can bust the zone. We need Theis or Grant standing in the corner ready to shoot.

[wiley]

Show the team footage of game 2 at the point when Boston had a 17 point lead.  Show them Dragic's face during that stretch.  He looked like someone stole his candy and he was going to cry.  That's the demeanor the C's should have for game 3...all game long.

[CelticsPoetry]

One of the big problems I'm noticing is that Tatum and Kemba are unwilling to turn the corner and go for the basket. For some reason they pull back and continue passing around the 3 point line. If they dont go to the middle, the defense wont collapse. Try to play for FTs if nothing else, we won't outshoot them.

[Ogaju]

I am not an X and O guy so I cannot tell you adjustments to be made from that perspective, b ut what I would like to see as a fan is more energy and hustle from the players, knock some Heats on their butt. Pat Riley teams thrive on toughness and intimidating the opponent. SMash them in the mouth, and stop the bullying. They are beating up on the Celtics and the refs allow them because it is their calling card. Set a tone from the beginning of the game so the refs know they have to call the fouls or their will be self-enforcement.

This style means you need GW on the floor, and when Semi comes in it is to be an enforcer not chucking up threes that he never makes. He should be setting hard screens and knocking some people on their butts. Just letting them run free like they own the court has not been working. Play tough, hustle, and coach tough, will get the Cs a victory.

[LilRip]

Here’s a nice clip that talks about how:
1) seemingly underprepared the C’s offense was for the zone
2) other teams (particularly the Clips) attacked the Heat’s zone D

https://youtu.be/28zri-gc8yI

I stand by my assessment that the C’s are the more talented team but these (close) losses are a product of coaching. And right now, CBS hasn’t found an answer to Spoelstra

[nickagneta]

When they go zone, park a good passer and good shooter at the free throw line and instead of parking players in each corner, make them move along the baseline and within the box, sometimes using the center man as a screen, or each other, sometimes getting movement on just one side and do this in coordination with high pick and rolls.

Then get it into the man at the free throw line and if he is open, he can sink the shot, or perhaps hit the wing movers and cutters who are using the screens in their constant movement, or if the back zone people collapse, have the one of the high pick and roll guys fan out into open space and hit them for an open three.

Movement and getting the ball into the middle of the zone is the key to breaking that zone. Their 5 out offense meant to spread the floor by sitting people in corners helps the zone, not hurt it. They have to get away from that

[ashanm10]

Yo - long time no speak

Ive been watching a video like this here and just malding over every wrong play made lol




Very first one is this random ass Theis pass to the hands of a player in his face:

https://imgur.com/a/bqWV000

If you are a bit patient - everything can be solved but our offense is stagnat as fk and just rotate - never.

Now a super thing that Heat have going for them which before I mention that - I want to give credit to the god level executive/coach/mentor

Pat Riley

This guy has groomed a coach for years to come - keeps on bringing the right pieces to build the culture of basketball he wants to see - what more to say...

Anyway - do you know why we looked better with Thomas vs Kemba so far here in the playoff grind when needing to score and why mr Dragic is smurfing on us and everyone?

Left Handed beauties - its one of the many factors besides us not knowing how to play against a zone (as the video shows above in abysmall ways that you want to pull your hair out for each decision they make)

Check our games and see how many times we have conceded from the left lol - hes the number 1 scorer in this series for a reason - he can abuse us by his natural ways lol and thats what Thomas did too and we can name a ton of lefties who just didnt fail.

Freely creating offense for his team...that will give them points no doubt.

What we have to do? Learn to break the zone with patience and use their brains - why the hell is Kemba going to his right and Smart is 2 metres in the corner right side just standing there in a 2-3 zone....... ETC.

Unless they use their brains - they wont be able to maintain the leads they build - Miami is a good team - all due respect etc - though dominant teams play 48 mins of dominant basketball and not just come back from behind which is why the door is still open for us...good luck to us lol.

PS. Please Hayward - come back...you know how to play against zone....

[ozgod]

My thoughts...

On the defensive end:

- We have to nullify Dragic somehow. Based on stats Kemba has defended Dragic 25% of the time, the most of any Celtic other than Tatum (17%). If you look at the 7 Dragic-Bam pick and rolls that killed us in the 3rd quarter, they were primarily set up by Dragic's dribble penetration that forced switches that left Bam open for dunks after rolling to the basket. Meanwhile Brown has primarily been deployed defending Robinson on the 3 point line, and he was the help defender for many of those, but he had to stay with Robinson on the weak side. I would switch things so that Brown (or Smart, when Buckets is on the bench) is Dragic's primary defender, Brown can stay in front of Dragic a lot better and he can't be bumped off as easily as Kemba can due to his size. Robinson is much less of a driving threat than Dragic is so I would pick my poison and roll with Kemba defending him on the perimeter. Obviously they can switch things around to get the initial matchup they want but we have to try and stick with Brown on Dragic as much as possible even if it means we don't switch on screens.

- play GWill at the 5 to take away the Bam roll - this was suggested by Draymond Green on Twitter, it would work too but we need to get Kemba off of Dragic where we can.

On the offensive end vs the zone

- we have to attack the seams of the zone. I like NKY Fan's idea of having Tatum at the 5 when Miami go to their zone. Or even Brown. That forces more attention to be paid to the middle of the zone which could open opportunities on the perimeter with slower closeouts. We didn't attack the paint nearly enough with kickouts, which you have to do against a 3-2 zone. This is where we missed Hayward as he's This was also brought up by Adam Himmelsbach in the Globe:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/09/18/sports/breaking-down-how-celtics-broke-down-against-heats-zone-defense/

This is where we're missing a creator like Hayward, he's very good at manipulating defenders positions to get them out of position with drive and kick action.

That said, the biggest adjustment they need to make is the top two inches - mentally. They need to keep their heads up when they start missing shots, this team has suffered from the curse of letting bad offense lead to bad defense for the past 3 years now. Keep their heads up, keep defending even if they're missing. Even if they miss shots as long as they maintain that aggressiveness on defense they'll always be in the game.

[footey]

Not an adjustment. But a lack of trust has emerged on the court. It is palpable. This team is great when they play unselfishly, zip the ball, drive in and dish out. Seeing little of that. Is the Heat zone responsible for this? I don’t think so.

[Csfan1984]

I think there are lots of ways to handle the zone. The thing is recognize the zone and still exploiting a matchup. Remember how Heat like to put the wings up, that's why corner shooter counters are good but you need penetration and guys to come to you the ball handler. So guys have to be aggressive against it. Kemba should be perfect since he has a beautiful pull up that he just killed the 76ers with. He just has to do that same thing. Also Tatum and Brown also have the same one or two dribble pull up they shoot a few times a game. This team technically should eat up the zone but they are hesitant and allow traps. If there is a hot hand allow that one guy to kill the zone for 5 or 6 shots don't worry about who gets the majority of the shots feed the hot hand to break the zone.

On defense you need better from Walker and Wanna as far as body position against the pick and roll. Theis can't Ice if Bam gets a free run at the rim. The PGs have to get back and if they won't then bench them and go with Smart at PG. Also guys have to show more and some times trap or switch with a blitz trap from almost behind the guard. I know Walker is undersized but he should have a speed advantage to get on the ball side of a dribbler. A lot of issues were guys just being sloppy on where to be on defense. That was across the whole team.

Limit the turn overs and transition shots and C's would have won both games. That means pay attention and communication. From the coach included. If a guy isn't doing the right thing pull him. Enough of the no structure take any shot attitude now is the time for good shots and excellent play, it's the ECF.

[jambr380]

Not an adjustment. But a lack of trust has emerged on the court. It is palpable. This team is great when they play unselfishly, zip the ball, drive in and dish out. Seeing little of that. Is the Heat zone responsible for this? I don’t think so.

It would be great if Hayward's presence took the edge off of this team. He may not be prime Hayward, but all we really need is like the Joe Ingles version of Hayward. Move the ball, break down the zone, get teammates easy shots, and knock down open shots. We are clearly the more talented team with Hayward out there. It's too bad we had to spot them two (very winnable) games before we got him back - and, yes, I am assuming he is back no matter what tonight - there is no way he can sit this one out unless he's had a major set back.

[KGs Knee]

Not an adjustment. But a lack of trust has emerged on the court. It is palpable. This team is great when they play unselfishly, zip the ball, drive in and dish out. Seeing little of that. Is the Heat zone responsible for this? I don’t think so.

You're not wrong.  It's reason #154,187,943 why the one adjustment that really needs to be made can only be made by Danny/Wyc and that is to hire a competent coach because the one we currently have is not competent.

We may still win due to our talent and in spite if Brad, but it will never be because of him.  But I'm not even mad about it anymore.  I just had to realize I needed to adjust my expectations.