1: Our frontcourt wasn't good enough this year and it is the biggest need going forward. Moving away from double big meant our size took a big hit and the defense wasn't special anymore. On offense, the fact that our bigs couldn't score consistently inside meant our zone attack was limited and predictable. Aaron Gordon was destroying mismatches inside, shooting an occasional 3, and constantly moving off ball just showed how much we need a guy like that since Horford obviously can't do it anymore. I also won't excuse the staff or players for not looking for Rob more inside because he had a lot of success scoring on Bam. This Denver team always found the mismatch and made the right pass. Why is it so hard for our players to do the same? Are they even looking inside? Because a lot of times it didn't even seem like they were bothering, or maybe they just suck at passing.
2: Speaking of Gordon, can Brown play more like him? I know he's two inches shorter, but they're both strong, athletic, and can finish tough shots inside. Brown should not be dribble-driving so often, that much is clear. Then on defense, Brown should be the versatile menace that Gordon is. Nevermind, I just answered by own question. Brown is too inconsistent effort-wise to play that hard all the time. SOMEONE THAT IS NOT ONE OF OUR TWO STARS HAS TO FILL THIS ROLE.
3: When Denver or Miami ran a pick and roll, the screen setters were massive and created so much space. With Horford getting older, who's going to do that for us? Rob doesn't have the best girth or overall strength to do it well. It would be helpful if our bad ballhandling stars had some better screen setters to open those shots or lanes for them.
4: Even if a player doesn't shoot great from 3 or isn't the tallest, you'd much rather have a tough guy who shows up like Bruce Brown than someone who shrinks from the moment or can't hold up physically in the playoffs. The games are just SO physical and it shouldn't be a surprise that the 3s start to go cold. When that happens, who's going to make a tough 2? The fragile finesse guy? Nope, the guy who looks more like a football player. It bothers me that the organization doesn't seem to prioritize that. Grant is physical enough to play in the playoffs and the fact that Mazzulla didn't realize that until really late is mind-boggling.
5: Having a lead ballhandling guard that teams actually respect offensively is so needed for this team. Smart is too inconsistent with his outside shot and his only other move is posting up a smaller guard inside. White is just too deferential at times and I wonder if he just doesn't have the aggression to demand the ball. I thought our only chance of coming back in game 7 was to give the ball to White, but a few Brown TOs later, the game was over. Why didn't they call more plays for White? Or, why didn't he demand the ball?
6: The fact that we didn't have one Christian Braun-type to give us some needed bench minutes was disappointing. Mazzulla gave up on the bench guys too quickly, and you have to wonder why they are even on the roster if they all apparently can't play more than 5 minutes. How come other teams still found ways to play their defensively-challenged guys but we can't? Pritchard is one of the few guys on the team that actually consistently brings energy and they really missed that.
7: Tatum has to reach another level. The best players are always going to be waiting for you in the later rounds and finals, and the teams that have the best player usually win. Jokic is just on another level in shooting ability, inside/outside game, passing, post game, and basketball IQ. While it's not fair to expect Tatum to attain skills he just wasn't born with, he needs to double down on scoring and defense. Yes, the playmaking should always be improving but his greatest skill is clearly scoring. He needs to figure out why his 3-ball has gotten so bad and adjust his shot profile. He needs to re-embrace the mid range and scoring in the post. What are your high-percentage go-to moves? Why does he makes offense harder than it needs to be? He's 6'9'' and most defenders can't bother his shot. He should be shooting at least the high 40s, if not 50%.
8: The Nuggets were getting totally screwed on calls all throughout game 5 but they never let it bother them for very long. It was embarrassing that the Celtics still couldn't totally get by this horrible habit of theirs and it just shows how immature some of them still are. You know what the Heat are thinking when you're pouting about a call? They're thinking "They're frazzled, we got 'em."
9: Malone and Spo consistently had the right message and tone for their team. Mazzulla's comments were often confusing, defensive, or even contradictory to what the players were saying.
Topic: NBA Finals conclusions from a C's perspective (Read 6770 times)