How long will it be before the Celtics have an above average offense again?

[PhoSita]

1. When Rondo comes back?
2. When KG / Pierce retire and are replaced?
3. When Jeff Green becomes the #1 option (probably same as #2)?
4. When we finally get some bigs who can rebound?
5. When the entire team is rebuilt and we have a new franchise star?
6. When Doc gets fired / retires and we have a new coach who actually has an offensive system that doesn't require superstar 1 on 1 scorers to be productive?
7. When Danny Ainge gets fired / retires and we get a GM who can put together a supporting cast that actually fits together / isn't injury prone?


Some of the above options are meant to be extreme / slightly tongue in cheek.  But the Celtics have been a pretty awful offensive team ever since Shaq went down in the middle of the 2010-2011 season.  I'm so tired of watching a team that fades late in games because they settle for outside jumpers and have no inside game. 

Defense is great, but at least when you're a mediocre team that can score, it's exciting to watch the team score.  The Celtics are mediocre AND they regularly get held under 90 points.

[Who]

I have Boston listed as 12th in offensive efficiency* and I would have expected them to be about 7th or 8th with Rondo in the lineup. That is where they were earlier in the season until their dip in form in early January I think it was.


* I count offensive rebounds as an extra (new) possession rather than the continuation of a single possession.

[PhoSita]

I have Boston listed as 12th in offensive efficiency* and I would have expected them to be about 7th or 8th with Rondo in the lineup. That is where they were earlier in the season until their dip in form in early January I think it was.


* I count offensive rebounds as an extra (new) possession rather than the continuation of a single possession.

http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/teamstats

Boston is listed as 20th here.



Apropos of this, the Celtics are dead last in offensive rebound % and tied for 19th in defensive rebound %.

[Who]

For comparison's sake, I have NYC 4th in offensive efficiency and 20th in defensive efficiency while Boston are 12th in offense and 6th in defensive efficiency.

I have NYC with a 3.79 point differential per 100 possessions (6th best in NBA) and Boston with a 3.46 point differential (7th best).

Boston's problem chiefly being with possession creation rather than offense/defense differentials. New York have a similar problem rebounding wise albeit not as large. One of the reasons this is a good matchup for Boston is that NY aren't well equipped to take advantage of this weakness in the Boston team.

[Who]

I have Boston listed as 12th in offensive efficiency* and I would have expected them to be about 7th or 8th with Rondo in the lineup. That is where they were earlier in the season until their dip in form in early January I think it was.


* I count offensive rebounds as an extra (new) possession rather than the continuation of a single possession.

http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/teamstats

Boston is listed as 20th here.

Yes, the part in red. I explained the difference. How offensive rebounding is counted. I count it as a new possession. They count at as the continuation of the same possession which I don't like. Different numbers.

Boston being such a bad offensive rebounding team makes the two numbers drastically different.

Here are the rest of the team's rankings using this method.

Off Eff   Rk   Team
101.38   1   Miami Heat*
99.38   2   Oklahoma City Thunder*
97.78   3   San Antonio Spurs*
97.13   4   New York Knicks*
96.02   5   Houston Rockets*
95.99   6   Los Angeles Clippers*
94.80   7   Denver Nuggets*
94.56   8   Dallas Mavericks
94.39   9   Los Angeles Lakers*
93.80   10   Golden State Warriors*
93.66   11   Atlanta Hawks*
93.21   12   Boston Celtics*
92.53   13   Toronto Raptors
92.35   14   Portland Trail Blazers
92.30   15   League Average
92.25   16   Brooklyn Nets*
92.09   17   Sacramento Kings
91.88   18   Utah Jazz
90.73   19   New Orleans Hornets
89.38   20   Detroit Pistons
89.38   21   Cleveland Cavaliers
89.29   22   Indiana Pacers*
89.15   23   Memphis Grizzlies*
89.13   24   Philadelphia 76ers
89.09   25   Milwaukee Bucks*
89.07   26   Minnesota Timberwolves
88.78   27   Orlando Magic
88.50   28   Chicago Bulls*
87.97   29   Charlotte Bobcats
87.87   30   Washington Wizards
87.63   31   Phoenix Suns

[PhoSita]

One of the biggest issues with the Celtics' offense is what I mentioned before -- the Celtics, for quite some time now, have had to settle for outside jumpshots late in games because they have little to no inside game.  That goes hand in hand with the lack of rebounds.

So even in games like today where the offense is great for a half, the game tightens up and they get held to 25-30 points in a single half, which is abysmal.  That sort of streakiness happens when you rely on jumpshots almost exclusively for your offense.

The fact that the team gives away a lot of possessions not just by allowing offensive rebounds and failing to get any themselves, but also by turning the ball over a lot, just compounds their problems.

[CelticSooner]

C's gameplan the last couple of seasons. Keep the game within in reach with good defense. Hope your vets close it out. Each passing year that gets harder and harder to accomplish.

[PhoSita]

I have Boston listed as 12th in offensive efficiency* and I would have expected them to be about 7th or 8th with Rondo in the lineup. That is where they were earlier in the season until their dip in form in early January I think it was.


* I count offensive rebounds as an extra (new) possession rather than the continuation of a single possession.

http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/teamstats

Boston is listed as 20th here.

Yes, the part in red. I explained the difference. How offensive rebounding is counted. I count it as a new possession. They count at as the continuation of the same possession which I don't like. Different numbers.

Boston being such a bad offensive rebounding team makes the two numbers drastically different.

Here are the rest of the team's rankings using this method.

Off Eff   Rk   Team
101.38   1   Miami Heat*
99.38   2   Oklahoma City Thunder*
97.78   3   San Antonio Spurs*
97.13   4   New York Knicks*
96.02   5   Houston Rockets*
95.99   6   Los Angeles Clippers*
94.80   7   Denver Nuggets*
94.56   8   Dallas Mavericks
94.39   9   Los Angeles Lakers*
93.80   10   Golden State Warriors*
93.66   11   Atlanta Hawks*
93.21   12   Boston Celtics*
92.53   13   Toronto Raptors
92.35   14   Portland Trail Blazers
92.30   15   League Average
92.25   16   Brooklyn Nets*
92.09   17   Sacramento Kings
91.88   18   Utah Jazz
90.73   19   New Orleans Hornets
89.38   20   Detroit Pistons
89.38   21   Cleveland Cavaliers
89.29   22   Indiana Pacers*
89.15   23   Memphis Grizzlies*
89.13   24   Philadelphia 76ers
89.09   25   Milwaukee Bucks*
89.07   26   Minnesota Timberwolves
88.78   27   Orlando Magic
88.50   28   Chicago Bulls*
87.97   29   Charlotte Bobcats
87.87   30   Washington Wizards
87.63   31   Phoenix Suns

Yeah, I guess I just don't really get why you make the change that you do.  An offensive rebound often in a practical sense is the continuation of a single possession. 

Most of the time when a team gets an offensive rebound, they don't completely reset their half court offense.  Often they very quickly get another shot attempt up which is close to the basket and therefore pretty high percentage.  Treating an OREB as a new possession doesn't really make sense.