Author Topic: Path to victory?  (Read 5580 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Re: Path to victory?
« Reply #30 on: April 25, 2019, 10:09:24 AM »

Offline gouki88

  • NCE
  • Red Auerbach
  • *******************************
  • Posts: 31552
  • Tommy Points: 3141
  • 2019 & 2021 CS Historical Draft Champion
Pick up Yannis before he can get a head of steam and be willing to take charges from him.
I don't think we're unwilling to take charges.  I just think he's really good at avoiding them, even at full speed.

You also have to get the call. There is nothing worse than giving up your body to get the charge call and then the refs give the "Star" the call.
Perhaps.  But also many fans don't really understand what a charge really is.  Basketball is a physical game.  Being bigger and stronger is an advantage and great offensive players know how to use their body to bump defenders off balance or draw fouls.  Giannis is one of those guys and from what I see, rarely charges, especially given that driving is his game.
Quote
The NBA rulebook states that "if an offensive player causes contact with a defensive player who has established a legal position, an offensive foul shall be called and no points may be scored. A defensive player may turn slightly to protect himself, but is never allowed to bend over and submarine an opponent."

Against a dribbler in the open court, the defender simply needs to be in front of him and provide enough distance for that player to reasonably stop or change direction. On a drive near the basket, the defender must be in position before the dribbler begins his upward shooting motion.

A charge is also called if "the player initiates contact in a non-basketball manner" such as leading with his foot.

He does this frequently
'23 Historical Draft: Orlando Magic.

PG: Terry Porter (90-91) / Steve Francis (00-01)
SG: Joe Dumars (92-93) / Jeff Hornacek (91-92) / Jerry Stackhouse (00-01)
SF: Brandon Roy (08-09) / Walter Davis (78-79)
PF: Terry Cummings (84-85) / Paul Millsap (15-16)
C: Chris Webber (00-01) / Ralph Sampson (83-84) / Andrew Bogut (09-10)

Re: Path to victory?
« Reply #31 on: April 25, 2019, 10:38:46 AM »

Offline seancally

  • Bill Walton
  • *
  • Posts: 1097
  • Tommy Points: 119
Let’s start Horford/Tatum/Hayward/Brown/Irving. Let the 5 most skilled players have the floor. They’ve played well at ends of games recently... that’s the lineup that will need to be stellar if we’re going anywhere this postseason. Let em loose.
"The game honors toughness." - President Stevens

Re: Path to victory?
« Reply #32 on: April 25, 2019, 11:24:34 AM »

Offline droopdog7

  • Paul Silas
  • ******
  • Posts: 6970
  • Tommy Points: 466
I think the Celtics being heavy underdogs will really help them.

They seem to function best that way. I think they are underdogs the rest of the way so go underdogs!!!

#4 seed against the #1 seed, touted as the second-best team in the NBA behind the Warriors. It's time to live that underdog role. Rather be a dog than be a favorite.
I find Bucks as the 5th or 6th best NBA team in the league.

GSW, BOS, TOR and HOU teams have the highest upsides.
All of those teams have a path to the title.
They have the most versatile and switchable defenses,
while also being able to threat from the 3 pt line from all 5 positions.
That was my preseason impression and nothing swung it for me enough to change my opinion.

MIL and PHI are the 5th and 6th.
I am still undecided about Philly's starting 5, minus their shallow bench, equitation. To have a firm stance.
We will find out soon.
Yeah, you're REALLY underrating the bucks (and probably overrating the Celts).  They are the favorite in this series and rightfully so.  Let's not lose sight of what that means; this is likely the end of the road for the Celts.

Of course, the games have to be played and Kyrie could certainly go super nova in the series.  I'll be watching and rooting for the Celtics and obviously, hope we can pull the upset.
I try not to dwell over regular season success so easily. Last year we beat them without our 2 main players. The argument that they are a much better team now, often menu, doesn't stand here. As Kyrie and Gordon are bigger additions than anything Bucks did over the past year.
Well, I’d say your the top candidate for the rip van winkle award.  And, even if we take your premise of using last year as the barometer, the biggest reason we won was home court.  We don’t have that this year.
You're not really providing any reason as to why he's wrong. You're just saying it as if it's a definite fact. The Bucks have improved since last season, obviously. But they also haven't proven anything yet. Beating up an effectively Blake Griffin-less Pistons is nothing impressive.

We too are a much better team than our playoff team was. We have a considerably deeper team than we did then, as well as having more top talent. We also matched up with them well this season, despite having numerous injury concerns every time we played them.

To say the biggest reason for us beating them last year was HCA is very dismissive of our coaching, defence and individual efforts.
Well first of all, I am a Celtic fan.  So I'm not going to write out detailed case for why the bucks are favored (and thus, should win).  But the arguments about last year mean very little frankly.  So because we beat them once we'll never lose to them?  Of course not.  That's silly, especially in light of the fact that teams change every year.

The bucks have the best record in the league and arguably, the best player too.  He is better than he was last year.  He has better players around him; different players even.  Last year means close to nothing.  Meanwhile, the celts have better players but have been considerably worse than last year. 

So we shall see what happens.  I am not rooting for the bucks.  But I'm not blind to the idea that the Celts are fighting an uphill battle. 

Re: Path to victory?
« Reply #33 on: April 25, 2019, 12:34:02 PM »

Offline Androslav

  • Jim Loscutoff
  • **
  • Posts: 2983
  • Tommy Points: 528
I think the Celtics being heavy underdogs will really help them.

They seem to function best that way. I think they are underdogs the rest of the way so go underdogs!!!

#4 seed against the #1 seed, touted as the second-best team in the NBA behind the Warriors. It's time to live that underdog role. Rather be a dog than be a favorite.
I find Bucks as the 5th or 6th best NBA team in the league.

GSW, BOS, TOR and HOU teams have the highest upsides.
All of those teams have a path to the title.
They have the most versatile and switchable defenses,
while also being able to threat from the 3 pt line from all 5 positions.
That was my preseason impression and nothing swung it for me enough to change my opinion.

MIL and PHI are the 5th and 6th.
I am still undecided about Philly's starting 5, minus their shallow bench, equitation. To have a firm stance.
We will find out soon.
Yeah, you're REALLY underrating the bucks (and probably overrating the Celts).  They are the favorite in this series and rightfully so.  Let's not lose sight of what that means; this is likely the end of the road for the Celts.

Of course, the games have to be played and Kyrie could certainly go super nova in the series.  I'll be watching and rooting for the Celtics and obviously, hope we can pull the upset.
I try not to dwell over regular season success so easily. Last year we beat them without our 2 main players. The argument that they are a much better team now, often menu, doesn't stand here. As Kyrie and Gordon are bigger additions than anything Bucks did over the past year.
Well, I’d say your the top candidate for the rip van winkle award.  And, even if we take your premise of using last year as the barometer, the biggest reason we won was home court.  We don’t have that this year.
You're not really providing any reason as to why he's wrong. You're just saying it as if it's a definite fact. The Bucks have improved since last season, obviously. But they also haven't proven anything yet. Beating up an effectively Blake Griffin-less Pistons is nothing impressive.

We too are a much better team than our playoff team was. We have a considerably deeper team than we did then, as well as having more top talent. We also matched up with them well this season, despite having numerous injury concerns every time we played them.

To say the biggest reason for us beating them last year was HCA is very dismissive of our coaching, defence and individual efforts.
Well first of all, I am a Celtic fan.  So I'm not going to write out detailed case for why the bucks are favored (and thus, should win).  But the arguments about last year mean very little frankly.  So because we beat them once we'll never lose to them?  Of course not.  That's silly, especially in light of the fact that teams change every year.

The bucks have the best record in the league and arguably, the best player too.  He is better than he was last year.  He has better players around him; different players even.  Last year means close to nothing.  Meanwhile, the celts have better players but have been considerably worse than last year. 

So we shall see what happens.  I am not rooting for the bucks.  But I'm not blind to the idea that the Celts are fighting an uphill battle.
You wrote earlier that last year we only won because of HC adv.
But you also write that last year means nothing.
Logically we can conclude that (Bucks) HC adv. means nothing.
It means nothing, because it is this year, and not the last year.

However stating that last years series win means nothing is incorrect.
There is at the very least this psychological factor. We beat them, then felt that.
They know they lost to us without our best 2 guys, yet now they are in this weird position of being favorites.

This winning on the road thing, as far as I have observed, is closely related to the overall team talent, coaching and experience. If you have enough of those, and I think Celts have them, you have a good shot at winning any (road) game. Do Bucks have that? I am not that sure. Worth noting, they won 0 games in Boston last years series.

You obviously value regular season team results much more than I do, and that might be the starting point of our, cosmically irrelevant, disagreements on this topic.
"The joy of the balling under the rims."

Re: Path to victory?
« Reply #34 on: April 25, 2019, 12:45:11 PM »

Offline droopdog7

  • Paul Silas
  • ******
  • Posts: 6970
  • Tommy Points: 466
I think the Celtics being heavy underdogs will really help them.

They seem to function best that way. I think they are underdogs the rest of the way so go underdogs!!!

#4 seed against the #1 seed, touted as the second-best team in the NBA behind the Warriors. It's time to live that underdog role. Rather be a dog than be a favorite.
I find Bucks as the 5th or 6th best NBA team in the league.

GSW, BOS, TOR and HOU teams have the highest upsides.
All of those teams have a path to the title.
They have the most versatile and switchable defenses,
while also being able to threat from the 3 pt line from all 5 positions.
That was my preseason impression and nothing swung it for me enough to change my opinion.

MIL and PHI are the 5th and 6th.
I am still undecided about Philly's starting 5, minus their shallow bench, equitation. To have a firm stance.
We will find out soon.
Yeah, you're REALLY underrating the bucks (and probably overrating the Celts).  They are the favorite in this series and rightfully so.  Let's not lose sight of what that means; this is likely the end of the road for the Celts.

Of course, the games have to be played and Kyrie could certainly go super nova in the series.  I'll be watching and rooting for the Celtics and obviously, hope we can pull the upset.
I try not to dwell over regular season success so easily. Last year we beat them without our 2 main players. The argument that they are a much better team now, often menu, doesn't stand here. As Kyrie and Gordon are bigger additions than anything Bucks did over the past year.
Well, I’d say your the top candidate for the rip van winkle award.  And, even if we take your premise of using last year as the barometer, the biggest reason we won was home court.  We don’t have that this year.
You're not really providing any reason as to why he's wrong. You're just saying it as if it's a definite fact. The Bucks have improved since last season, obviously. But they also haven't proven anything yet. Beating up an effectively Blake Griffin-less Pistons is nothing impressive.

We too are a much better team than our playoff team was. We have a considerably deeper team than we did then, as well as having more top talent. We also matched up with them well this season, despite having numerous injury concerns every time we played them.

To say the biggest reason for us beating them last year was HCA is very dismissive of our coaching, defence and individual efforts.
Well first of all, I am a Celtic fan.  So I'm not going to write out detailed case for why the bucks are favored (and thus, should win).  But the arguments about last year mean very little frankly.  So because we beat them once we'll never lose to them?  Of course not.  That's silly, especially in light of the fact that teams change every year.

The bucks have the best record in the league and arguably, the best player too.  He is better than he was last year.  He has better players around him; different players even.  Last year means close to nothing.  Meanwhile, the celts have better players but have been considerably worse than last year. 

So we shall see what happens.  I am not rooting for the bucks.  But I'm not blind to the idea that the Celts are fighting an uphill battle.
You wrote earlier that last year we only won because of HC adv.
But you also write that last year means nothing.
Logically we can conclude that (Bucks) HC adv. means nothing.
It means nothing, because it is this year, and not the last year.

However stating that last years series win means nothing is incorrect.
There is at the very least this psychological factor. We beat them, then felt that.
They know they lost to us without our best 2 guys, yet now they are in this weird position of being favorites.

This winning on the road thing, as far as I have observed, is closely related to the overall team talent, coaching and experience. If you have enough of those, and I think Celts have them, you have a good shot at winning any (road) game. Do Bucks have that? I am not that sure. Worth noting, they won 0 games in Boston last years series.

You obviously value regular season team results much more than I do, and that might be the starting point of our, cosmically irrelevant, disagreements on this topic.
Not sure it's comically irrelevant.  Comical, petty, dumb, sure.  But I think it's relevant.

Anyway, my response about home court, I think I was pretty clear.  I think last year means very little BUT, if you want to make that argument, I think it's a losing proposition because I think HC was a huge factor.  Indeed, we won all of our home games and lost all of our road game. 

That said, I agree that having more established (better players) should lead to better road results than we saw last year.  We were led mostly buy role or young players, both of which tend to hand wider splits between home and road than the stars.

I also didn't say last year meant nothing; close to nothing, very little, but not absolutely nothing.  You're right, the bucks felt the loss.  And that cuts both ways.  Are they motivated to get back on us.  You better believe they are.

Re: Path to victory?
« Reply #35 on: April 25, 2019, 12:54:56 PM »

Offline celticinorlando

  • Paul Pierce
  • ***************************
  • Posts: 27949
  • Tommy Points: 637
  • MASTER OF PANIC
Milwaukee's win in Boston is a bit misleading. The Cs were missing Baynes, Horford and Morris. \


Re: Path to victory?
« Reply #36 on: April 25, 2019, 12:58:32 PM »

Offline Androslav

  • Jim Loscutoff
  • **
  • Posts: 2983
  • Tommy Points: 528
I think the Celtics being heavy underdogs will really help them.

They seem to function best that way. I think they are underdogs the rest of the way so go underdogs!!!

#4 seed against the #1 seed, touted as the second-best team in the NBA behind the Warriors. It's time to live that underdog role. Rather be a dog than be a favorite.
I find Bucks as the 5th or 6th best NBA team in the league.

GSW, BOS, TOR and HOU teams have the highest upsides.
All of those teams have a path to the title.
They have the most versatile and switchable defenses,
while also being able to threat from the 3 pt line from all 5 positions.
That was my preseason impression and nothing swung it for me enough to change my opinion.

MIL and PHI are the 5th and 6th.
I am still undecided about Philly's starting 5, minus their shallow bench, equitation. To have a firm stance.
We will find out soon.
Yeah, you're REALLY underrating the bucks (and probably overrating the Celts).  They are the favorite in this series and rightfully so.  Let's not lose sight of what that means; this is likely the end of the road for the Celts.

Of course, the games have to be played and Kyrie could certainly go super nova in the series.  I'll be watching and rooting for the Celtics and obviously, hope we can pull the upset.
I try not to dwell over regular season success so easily. Last year we beat them without our 2 main players. The argument that they are a much better team now, often menu, doesn't stand here. As Kyrie and Gordon are bigger additions than anything Bucks did over the past year.
Well, I’d say your the top candidate for the rip van winkle award.  And, even if we take your premise of using last year as the barometer, the biggest reason we won was home court.  We don’t have that this year.
You're not really providing any reason as to why he's wrong. You're just saying it as if it's a definite fact. The Bucks have improved since last season, obviously. But they also haven't proven anything yet. Beating up an effectively Blake Griffin-less Pistons is nothing impressive.

We too are a much better team than our playoff team was. We have a considerably deeper team than we did then, as well as having more top talent. We also matched up with them well this season, despite having numerous injury concerns every time we played them.

To say the biggest reason for us beating them last year was HCA is very dismissive of our coaching, defence and individual efforts.
Well first of all, I am a Celtic fan.  So I'm not going to write out detailed case for why the bucks are favored (and thus, should win).  But the arguments about last year mean very little frankly.  So because we beat them once we'll never lose to them?  Of course not.  That's silly, especially in light of the fact that teams change every year.

The bucks have the best record in the league and arguably, the best player too.  He is better than he was last year.  He has better players around him; different players even.  Last year means close to nothing.  Meanwhile, the celts have better players but have been considerably worse than last year. 

So we shall see what happens.  I am not rooting for the bucks.  But I'm not blind to the idea that the Celts are fighting an uphill battle.
You wrote earlier that last year we only won because of HC adv.
But you also write that last year means nothing.
Logically we can conclude that (Bucks) HC adv. means nothing.
It means nothing, because it is this year, and not the last year.

However stating that last years series win means nothing is incorrect.
There is at the very least this psychological factor. We beat them, then felt that.
They know they lost to us without our best 2 guys, yet now they are in this weird position of being favorites.

This winning on the road thing, as far as I have observed, is closely related to the overall team talent, coaching and experience. If you have enough of those, and I think Celts have them, you have a good shot at winning any (road) game. Do Bucks have that? I am not that sure. Worth noting, they won 0 games in Boston last years series.

You obviously value regular season team results much more than I do, and that might be the starting point of our, cosmically irrelevant, disagreements on this topic.
Not sure it's comically irrelevant.  Comical, petty, dumb, sure.  But I think it's relevant.

Anyway, my response about home court, I think I was pretty clear.  I think last year means very little BUT, if you want to make that argument, I think it's a losing proposition because I think HC was a huge factor.  Indeed, we won all of our home games and lost all of our road game. 

That said, I agree that having more established (better players) should lead to better road results than we saw last year.  We were led mostly buy role or young players, both of which tend to hand wider splits between home and road than the stars.

I also didn't say last year meant nothing; close to nothing, very little, but not absolutely nothing.  You're right, the bucks felt the loss.  And that cuts both ways.  Are they motivated to get back on us.  You better believe they are.
They better be.
If not we will wipe the floor with them.
Lets just hope that Ante will be properly officiated, as he is a very difficult player for referees.

I wrote cosmically irrelevant, as in the terms of the space continuum.
"The joy of the balling under the rims."

Re: Path to victory?
« Reply #37 on: April 25, 2019, 12:59:01 PM »

Offline celtic -_- pride

  • Jaylen Brown
  • Posts: 676
  • Tommy Points: 60
  • Stuff & Things
I will start by saying the bucks are a very formidable team and their core have proven that. I never would have guessed they would have taken us to 7 games last year nor them having the best record in the NBA this year. With that said what is their next level? That’s rhetorical because their is no next level.

In the playoffs teams need to step up and play ball at a higher level than they have all year. Fill that room for improvement if you will. The teams that do that will upset or sustain their favoritism. The Celtics have a ridiculous amount of room for improvement and I feel they have the ability and more importantly the mindset to do it. I think this team is over the minutes conflict. They will step up.

This bucks team reminds me of the young lebron teams in Cleveland that we went through in 08 and subsequent years. Shut down the supporting cast because the stud is going to be a stud. Giannis is a stud but has an ever worse jumper and 3pt ability. The real threat of this series is Middleton.

He was absolutely dynamite last year and I don’t believe he will sustain that. If we can shut him down we will win this series. Let Giannis get his dunks and let him make his free throws.

Attention to detail on defense and not letting the 3pt shooters kill us is the key. Look at their roster. It’s not that dynamic. Defend the three without fouling and crash the boards like your salary depends on it and we close this series out in 6 games.

Who’s got the number for a taxidermy?
[img width= height=]http://s7.postimg.org/jsyw5qrez/banner.jpg[/img]

Re: Path to victory?
« Reply #38 on: April 25, 2019, 01:07:57 PM »

Offline PhoSita

  • NCE
  • Robert Parish
  • *********************
  • Posts: 21835
  • Tommy Points: 2182
Some notable numbers:


MIL is 14th in the NBA in free throws attempted per offensive play.

BOS is 30th.


MIL is 3rd in the league in 3 point rate (41.8% of FGA)

BOS is 9th (38.1% of FGA)



MIL is 3rd in the league in points in the paint per game (53.4)

BOS is 25th with 44.2 points in the paint per game.


MIL and BOS are 6th and 7th, respectively, in fastbreak points per game.


MIL is 27th in the league in forcing turnovers -- their opponents only turn the ball over on 12.4% of their possessions

BOS is 8th in the league in forcing turnovers, with 14.6% of opponent possessions leading to turnovers.


MIL and BOS are 4th and 5th in the league, respectively, in protecting the ball (turnovers per possession).



MIL and BOS are both in the bottom 7 teams in terms of OREB%.

MIL is #1 in the league in DREB% (tied w/ Utah)

BOS is 13th in DREB%.




For the Celts to win, they're going to have to find a way to close the free throw gap, force a lot of turnovers, and scorch the nets from deep.

The Bucks are going to try to clean the glass, take and make a lot of threes, limit turnovers, and pound the paint. 

The Celts have to find a way to disrupt multiple parts of that plan in order to pull the upset.
You’ll have to excuse my lengthiness—the reason I dread writing letters is because I am so apt to get to slinging wisdom & forget to let up. Thus much precious time is lost.
- Mark Twain

Re: Path to victory?
« Reply #39 on: April 25, 2019, 01:26:24 PM »

Offline Big333223

  • NCE
  • Tiny Archibald
  • *******
  • Posts: 7489
  • Tommy Points: 741
What does everyone make of the Horford/Bud connection.

Does Horford having played for Bud in the past mean he has insight into how he operates and might he have some insight into beating the Bucks then?

Does Bud know how to cover Horford in a way other coaches don't?

I'm inclined to think Horford isn't going to Horford no matter what but hopefully he's got Brad's ear about Bud's tendencies. That could be an advantage.
1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1984, 1986, 2008

Re: Path to victory?
« Reply #40 on: April 25, 2019, 02:11:44 PM »

Offline droopdog7

  • Paul Silas
  • ******
  • Posts: 6970
  • Tommy Points: 466
What does everyone make of the Horford/Bud connection.

Does Horford having played for Bud in the past mean he has insight into how he operates and might he have some insight into beating the Bucks then?

Does Bud know how to cover Horford in a way other coaches don't?

I'm inclined to think Horford isn't going to Horford no matter what but hopefully he's got Brad's ear about Bud's tendencies. That could be an advantage.
The NBA is about ability and skill above all else.  Sure, coaches implement strategy but it's not rocket science really. 

The team with the better players that makes shots will win.  I don't think the Al-Bud connection means much if anything.

Re: Path to victory?
« Reply #41 on: April 25, 2019, 02:12:15 PM »

Offline PhoSita

  • NCE
  • Robert Parish
  • *********************
  • Posts: 21835
  • Tommy Points: 2182
What does everyone make of the Horford/Bud connection.

Does Horford having played for Bud in the past mean he has insight into how he operates and might he have some insight into beating the Bucks then?

Does Bud know how to cover Horford in a way other coaches don't?

I'm inclined to think Horford isn't going to Horford no matter what but hopefully he's got Brad's ear about Bud's tendencies. That could be an advantage.


I would say Horford will probably be able to read the Buck's offensive sets pretty effectively given his familiarity with Bud's offenses.  Of course, Horford is almost always effective at reading the opponent's offense.  Part of why he's so good on defense.
You’ll have to excuse my lengthiness—the reason I dread writing letters is because I am so apt to get to slinging wisdom & forget to let up. Thus much precious time is lost.
- Mark Twain

Re: Path to victory?
« Reply #42 on: April 25, 2019, 03:49:42 PM »

Offline GreenEnvy

  • Antoine Walker
  • ****
  • Posts: 4551
  • Tommy Points: 1031
What does everyone make of the Horford/Bud connection.

Does Horford having played for Bud in the past mean he has insight into how he operates and might he have some insight into beating the Bucks then?

Does Bud know how to cover Horford in a way other coaches don't?

I'm inclined to think Horford isn't going to Horford no matter what but hopefully he's got Brad's ear about Bud's tendencies. That could be an advantage.
The NBA is about ability and skill above all else.  Sure, coaches implement strategy but it's not rocket science really. 

The team with the better players that makes shots will win.  I don't think the Al-Bud connection means much if anything.

So, you think that Warriors team that beat the 67-win Mavs in 2007 was because they had betters players that made shots?
CELTICS 2024

Re: Path to victory?
« Reply #43 on: April 25, 2019, 04:12:05 PM »

Offline droopdog7

  • Paul Silas
  • ******
  • Posts: 6970
  • Tommy Points: 466
What does everyone make of the Horford/Bud connection.

Does Horford having played for Bud in the past mean he has insight into how he operates and might he have some insight into beating the Bucks then?

Does Bud know how to cover Horford in a way other coaches don't?

I'm inclined to think Horford isn't going to Horford no matter what but hopefully he's got Brad's ear about Bud's tendencies. That could be an advantage.
The NBA is about ability and skill above all else.  Sure, coaches implement strategy but it's not rocket science really. 

The team with the better players that makes shots will win.  I don't think the Al-Bud connection means much if anything.

So, you think that Warriors team that beat the 67-win Mavs in 2007 was because they had betters players that made shots?
Well, I would add better players and chemistry but yeah, those are more important IMO than coaching.  Or should I say, the x's and o's in the NBA are mostly the same. 

In addition, there is error.  So perhaps the 67 win team is indeed better than that warriors team.  But perhaps the warriors team wins the series 1 in 20 times.  And they just happened to strike gold.

But my basic point, and I would be surprised if many disagree, is that the NBA is a players league.  Not exactly a newsflash I don't believe.

Re: Path to victory?
« Reply #44 on: April 25, 2019, 05:46:05 PM »

Offline jpotter33

  • James Naismith
  • *********************************
  • Posts: 47892
  • Tommy Points: 2906
Some notable numbers:


MIL is 14th in the NBA in free throws attempted per offensive play.

BOS is 30th.


MIL is 3rd in the league in 3 point rate (41.8% of FGA)

BOS is 9th (38.1% of FGA)



MIL is 3rd in the league in points in the paint per game (53.4)

BOS is 25th with 44.2 points in the paint per game.


MIL and BOS are 6th and 7th, respectively, in fastbreak points per game.


MIL is 27th in the league in forcing turnovers -- their opponents only turn the ball over on 12.4% of their possessions

BOS is 8th in the league in forcing turnovers, with 14.6% of opponent possessions leading to turnovers.


MIL and BOS are 4th and 5th in the league, respectively, in protecting the ball (turnovers per possession).



MIL and BOS are both in the bottom 7 teams in terms of OREB%.

MIL is #1 in the league in DREB% (tied w/ Utah)

BOS is 13th in DREB%.




For the Celts to win, they're going to have to find a way to close the free throw gap, force a lot of turnovers, and scorch the nets from deep.

The Bucks are going to try to clean the glass, take and make a lot of threes, limit turnovers, and pound the paint. 

The Celts have to find a way to disrupt multiple parts of that plan in order to pull the upset.

Other important stats:

Milwaukee is 22nd in the league for opponent 3pfg% (Boston is 6th) and 30th in the league for opponent 3pfg made per game (Boston is 15th).

I think given each team’s respective offensive philosophies and high rates of three point shots, this is a major reason why we matchup well with Milwaukee. Will still need to make those shots, but Milwaukee’s D is oriented toward protecting the paint with less emphasis on challenging shooters, which bodes well for our (unfortunately) three-heavy offense.