Kemba was great during the regular season and managed to balance his ability to score and getting everyone involved. Even when he was trying to defer, he was always a threat to score. However, that completely changed last round, when Toronto played their zone defense. Kemba basically became a ghost on offense, and a liability of defense. The Celtics were basically playing 4 on 5, since Kemba was useless on both sides of the court. Unfortunately, Miami picked up on it, and used the zone against us again. I don’t watch Miami, so I’m not sure if they played a zone defense much during the year. Did having the extra time after beating the Bucks in 5, allow Erik Spoelstra to implement an effective zone scheme going into the Boston series?
I do agree that Boston takes too many threes. Why take so many threes to start the game last night, especially when they weren’t going in? I thought the Celtics were able to get to the rim for easier scoring chances, than the contested three attempts. As good as Adebayo is, I didn’t think he was necessarily a good defender against people driving to the rim. Obviously, with the exception of his last second block on Tatum. However, knowing Tatum couldn’t pass the ball because of the clock, was a huge factor. Other than that, Bam seemed to be in limbo as to if he should defender the player driving or staying with his man, in case of a drop off.
BTW, one thing that drove me nuts, is how Miami was never called for offensive fouls. Goran Dragic was the worst. Coach Stevens should have said something publicly, so the refs would be on notice. Dragic would constantly either hook or push off with his off arm on every drive. I know Tatum was called for pushing off, so the refs know the rule.
Topic: 15 for 46. Walker & Smart (7 for 23) from 3. - I rest my case (Read 3122 times)