The Lakers like to push the tempo, so I'm curious about any observations you guys may have on teams you've played before that play up-tempo basketball. Do the Celtics tweak their game a little against teams like Phoenix, Golden State, Utah, and Philadelphia? If so, how so? What do the Celtics do effectively against these teams? And do some players play more minutes than others against such teams? What's the rotation been like?
Celtics are a much superior team when they push the basketball. It's when the C's don't run that they truly get into trouble.
Against previous speedsters teams the C's just run with them or milk the shot clock to slow the pace down. When they take time of the shot clock it nearly always backfires. The offense is based on passing and cutting like the Lakers, so having 14 seconds to work with instead of 19 seconds really limits the passing. A smart double team here or there can really limit the offense in a hurry. Also the point guards don't make nearly as good decisions when they're asked to slow it down.
The C's rebounding gives them a big advantage in being able to control the tempo. Nothing special they change on the backboards. C's like to send 5 men to boards (Rondo is a very good rebounder for his size, Ray is solid too) rather than have someone leak out. They run mostly off of turnovers ..... or quick outlet passes from mainly Perk.
Then there's the Ray Allen factor. Getting out into transition is the best way for the C's to get Ray Allen off. They've found it hard in the playoffs to regularly get Ray good looks in the halfcourt throughout games, an easy two here and there really helps him get his rhythm. Ray's decision making in the open court has fallen back from where it was in Seattle simply because the C's don't run as much as they should do .... so Ray is better as finisher in the open floor nowadays.
As for their track record against quick teams, it's been good. Largely due to their advantages in the paint. They pose some problems but not too many, the biggest is obviously less possessions against the C's halfcourt defense which limits the C's normal advantages. Also gives the opposition a few easier baskets which are hard to come by against Boston.
Utah is the only team with the mixture of the open court game and halfcourt dominance to compare to the Lakers team. They were the one team that was consistently able to create good shooting attemtpts in the halfcourt. Watching the games you legitimately felt that was never going to change no matter how many times the two sides played. The big difference was Deron Williams, he was too good for Rondo and gave their offense so many extra options. So different emphasis of attack which hurts the comparison. The Jazz's ability to move without the ball off the help defense and get shots close to the rim was a pain in the C's backside. That's something LA can do but sometimes get caught falling in love with their three pointer.