What do you see as the biggest weakness of the Celtics right now?

[Barnabas]

The Atlanta series showed us that the Celtics do have weaknesses.  To me, one of those is the fact that we lack height at the 2 and 3 positions.  I suppose you could also argue that it would be much better to have a 7-footer playing center. 

In any case, what do you see as this team's biggest weakness?  What are we lacking that might hurt us as we get deeper into the playoffs?  What would be our biggest weakness against the Lakers, should we end up facing them?

Thanks

[wdleehi]

The head coach.


He showed the lack of ability to get his team together on the road.

He showed the lack of ability to use his bench. 


He showed the lack of ability to make adjustments. 

[ManUp]

The head coach.

He showed the lack of ability to get his team together on the road.

He showed the lack of ability to use his bench. 

He showed the lack of ability to make adjustments. 

Doc's lack of ability... 

[coco]

Lack of a slasher off the bench

[Slugger]

Playoff experience as a unit.

I think we have shown throughout the regular season that this is one of the better teams the NBA has had over the past 10+ years.

That was no fluke.  And for those who say that the reg season doesnt count for much, or these guys havent achieved anything yet...my response to that is "keep watching and you'll see the 66 wins were no fluke".

[PaulBonner]

I'm worried about the lack of a stable offensive strategy with the second unit. It seems like when Cassell's shot is falling, there's no problem, but Doc has even admitted that they only run 4 sets with Cassell at point, but half the time it seems like he's just trying to create off the dribble and when that doesn't work, they just end up heaving up contested jump shots due to the lack of movement.

I like Cassell (when his shot is falling), but I'd like to see a little more House at backup PG. He at least has been on the team the whole year and seems more capable of running a half-court offense than Cassell at this point.

[Who]

Offensive Execution

Lost them three games against Atlanta

The only way they beat Cleveland is if it's much much improved.

[indeedproceed]

Ray Allen's terrible man perimeter defense

Lack of penetration if Paul and Rondo aren't doing it

the fact that we are a jump shooting team and since

A) the playoffs are more physical than the reg season

B) Sometimes jumpshots just don't fall

C) Physical play promotes teams without penetrators to rely on the jumpshot even more

Then:

D) We will lose some more games during the playoffs because we're not hitting or getting the chance to shoot layups and are missing their jumpers.

[PointGaurd]

I would say we had no major weakness at the end of the season.  But now that we're playing winning ballclubs with talented players. I see that...

#1. Ray Allen can't be depended on to shut down a decent 2 guard
#2. With us not having faith in our bench like we did all year the offensive flow has suffered.
#3. Wish the addition of Sam Cassell, we've added playoff knowledge but made ourself worse defensively.
#4. Small, but we're not spreading the floor as much on the 2nd unit without House in the game.
#5. We DON"T LOOK GOOD CLOSING OUT GAMES!!!

[banty19]

No SG/SF Athletic Man-to-Man Defender
Rondo can handle points and KG can handle bigs but the Celtics need somebody to stop the Kobes and Lebrons of the NBA. Posey is close but he isn't athletic enough. Tony Allen is a little undersized and bites on pump fakes but he's probably their best option right now.

Lazy Offense
The Celtics have a really irritating habit of settling for jump shots instead of taking it to the hoop. I'm sure everyone's heard Heinsohn harp on about it, but it's true. Taking it to the hoop puts the other team in foul trouble and produces higher percentage shots. PP and KG are probably the biggest culprits here.

Not enough post play
They have to run the offense through KG more in the post. Posey, House, etc. can't create their own shot but they're great at knocking down open looks. Give it to KG, wait for the double, swing it around the perimeter.

KG needs to be selfish!
I'd love to see him explode for 40 points. He passes up good looks way too often. I really think he could dominate a game if he wanted to.

Second Unit Offense
Their offense shouldn't revolve around whether Sam's jumper is falling. I'd like to see Paul Pierce run with the second unit more often. He's shown in the past that he can carry an entire team. The Celtics second unit isn't that much worse than some of the teams in the last few years.

[td450]

Ray Allen did have a bad series defensively, but Joe Johnson is one  of the biggest 2 guards in the NBA. He's bigger than Manu or Kobe or Richard Hamilton. Only Turkolu is bigger out of anyone in the playoffs. We also can slide two very physical guys in Pierce or Posey over, and Tony Allen is a very quick, strong athletic defender too. Ray has had some decent moments defensively, particularly against Kobe.

I thought Doc showed his flaws in the series more than anyone. My other concern is that we only have one takeover guy in Pierce, and while he is talented enough to handle the role, he doesn't have the same end of game poise as some of the big guns on the other teams. I'd hate to see us lose the whole thing in the last minute.

[Edgar]

Young team, not capable of closing games
bad defense, AJ have to learn how to defende bigger mans,
GG is raw i dont think he will ever live to the expectation
We dont have a true PG
this kid rondo seems like he have some future...

Wait...
Wrong year

then the only constant
.....

The head coach.

 

[Mr Mark]

The biggest problem that I see is how the Celtic react to a surge by their opponent when the Celtics are getting tired and are in a lull.  They seem to put in Sam I Am which changes the game from slash and pass, give and go, to taking jump shots.  When the team is tired or just off the bench, the jumpers often miss.  I think that I would like to see Rajon running the team, driving, dishing, creating, and I'd like to see Sam as his shooting guard.

Sunday, the Celtics had no weaknesses.  They were playing like there was a 1 point lead when they were effectively doubling the score of ATL.  They never slowed down until it was over.  That is the only way to take this thing to the end.  They know what to do, they have all the tools, and now it is a game of chess for Doc and if the Celtics stay healthy, the championship is ours to win or lose (G-d forbid)!

[Ersatz]

Doc's not insisting that Pierce attack the rim frequently. How many times during the season did Pierce bail out the time by creating and scoring by attacking the basket? At least four million. I get so frustrated when they don't do that on a regular basis. I think against Cleveland they especially need to do it. Make LeBron work all the time, and if they put someone else on Pierce, El Capitan scores 40. Pretty simple really.

[Who]

(mistaken thread)