No Powe - No Win

[cdif911]

I just dont understand what Doc is doing out there.

you don't understand that he's helped this team get to the NBA finals, a place where many a naysayer thought Doc would never sniff...you don't understand that his team is up 2-1 on a team experts predicted to blow the C's out of the water... you don't understand he's up 2-1 on arguably one of the greatest coaches of all time...nope, you don't understand

[noblegreen]

you guys are pathetic... yes all of you.  only in this town can they blast a coach with a 2-1 lead in the nba finals.. i dont think leon powe would have won game 3 for us... doc will through a young player out there and see if he can do anythign and if he cant (like powe didn't last night) then he will go with veterans because in the NBA ITS A VETERANS LEAGUE! didn't we learn anything about that from last years young and awful team to this years older and better team?

get off of doc with "i dont know what hes doing out there" because you never played, never coached and never involved with basketball outside of this forum. so suck on that.


<There's a much nicer way to say what you're trying to say here.  "So suck on that" isn't the way to say it.  Tone it down please. - Redz>

[expobear]

As expected the Lakers were prepared for Powe's limited game in game 3. He'll get another shot in game 4, I'm sure. But lets not get carried away with what kind of player Powe is. He's an undersized energy guy, that can get things going when the opponent doesn't pay close attention to him. I'm glad he is on the team. But he is not the answer people. Better play from KG and Pierce is the answer.

Powe may not be the answer but then again, you probably said that before game 2.  We all know Powe's not the answer but certainly 3 minutes a half is not the answer either. I love it when people on the board see Powe playing for 3 to 6 minutes a game and expect him to go for 10 and 7.  If he doesn't, he's missing rotations, he's too short, the other team is too tall or now the other team is looking out for him. The lack of respect for Powe is truly amazing. Yeah, he may not be the best looking athlete on the floor but he will get the job done. But give Powe a break...nobody can get it done with 6 minutes of playing time.

[cmoney]

you guys are pathetic... yes all of you.  only in this town can they blast a coach with a 2-1 lead in the nba finals.. i dont think leon powe would have won game 3 for us... doc will through a young player out there and see if he can do anythign and if he cant (like powe didn't last night) then he will go with veterans because in the NBA ITS A VETERANS LEAGUE! didn't we learn anything about that from last years young and awful team to this years older and better team?

yet he won't yank a veteran who is doing nothing (PJ) for a kid who played great all game (Perk). 

"NBA ITS A VETERANS LEAGUE!"  Tell that to the Spurs. Tell that to Sasha.  Tell that to Farmar.  Experience is nice to have, but it doesn't eclipse actual skill. 

[Redz]

you guys are pathetic... yes all of you.  only in this town can they blast a coach with a 2-1 lead in the nba finals.. i dont think leon powe would have won game 3 for us... doc will through a young player out there and see if he can do anythign and if he cant (like powe didn't last night) then he will go with veterans because in the NBA ITS A VETERANS LEAGUE! didn't we learn anything about that from last years young and awful team to this years older and better team?

get off of doc with "i dont know what hes doing out there" because you never played, never coached and never involved with basketball outside of this forum. so suck on that.

There's a much nicer way to say what you're trying to say here.  "So suck on that" isn't the way to say it.  Tone it down please. - Redz

[cdif911]

you guys are pathetic... yes all of you.  only in this town can they blast a coach with a 2-1 lead in the nba finals.. i dont think leon powe would have won game 3 for us... doc will through a young player out there and see if he can do anythign and if he cant (like powe didn't last night) then he will go with veterans because in the NBA ITS A VETERANS LEAGUE! didn't we learn anything about that from last years young and awful team to this years older and better team?

get off of doc with "i dont know what hes doing out there" because you never played, never coached and never involved with basketball outside of this forum. so suck on that.

There's a much nicer way to say what you're trying to say here.  "So suck on that" isn't the way to say it.  Tone it down please. - Redz

he can totally illicit mouthal imagery without saying suck on it...eg... chew on this.... put that in your pipe and smoke it.... eat my shorts, that may be stretching it....umm that's all I got

[Chris]

This is not the regular season, when you may be able to give bench players minutes, even when they aren't playing great.  I just watched every minute played last night again, and he definitely struggled.  Other than a nice offensive rebound, and a nice charge he took on Odom, he didn't do much. 

The Lakers had adjusted to him, and stopped leaving him wide open (although I don't know if it was an adjustment to Powe as much as them playing better defense in general), which made him much less of a factor on offense, and defensively, he just makes too many mistakes when you compare him to KG, Perk and PJ.

When he plays well again (probably next game), his minutes will be back up.  But there is no reason to leave him in there when he is not being effective.

[Who]

The Lakers had adjusted to him, and stopped leaving him wide open (although I don't know if it was an adjustment to Powe as much as them playing better defense in general), which made him much less of a factor on offense.

(1) Celtics didn't drive to the hoop often enough which made it (a) easier for the Lakers to stay home on man-to-man defense (b) limited Powe's opportunities since he's so reliant on others to create good shooting opportunities.

(2) Lakers played better defense at home. As I just said they didn't cheat as much defensively. They also didn't give away as many ticky tack pointless fouls which stops Powe and others getting easy free throws. I also think Kobe playing Rondo worked well, that helped them stay at home, limited Rondo's penetration and Kobe was more effective helping on defense.

I thought those two were the key factors in Powe's decreased offensive threat

[Chris]

The Lakers had adjusted to him, and stopped leaving him wide open (although I don't know if it was an adjustment to Powe as much as them playing better defense in general), which made him much less of a factor on offense.

(1) Celtics didn't drive to the hoop often enough which made it (a) easier for the Lakers to stay home on man-to-man defense (b) limited Powe's opportunities since he's so reliant on others to create good shooting opportunities.

(2) Lakers played better defense at home. As I just said they didn't cheat as much defensively. They also didn't give away as many ticky tack pointless fouls which stops Powe and others getting easy free throws. I also think Kobe playing Rondo worked well, that helped them stay at home, limited Rondo's penetration and Kobe was more effective helping on defense.

I thought those two were the key factors in Powe's decreased offensive threat

Absolutely correct.

And the bottom line is that Powe was not producing (even if it wasnt his fault), so there was no need to force-feed him minutes.

[winsomme]

TP cmoney. PJ is solid, but I question if he is a "difference maker" like Leon can be. PJ should only be getting six or seven minutes IMO. And Cassell, that situation is so far beyond crazy now it's laughable. He had to take the stupidest 3-point attempt in history last night before Doc took him out. Even the dimwit announcer(yes, I know his name) was making fun of Sam shooting every time he touches the ball.
Anyway, the C's played about as poorly as they can(except for Ray Allen, thank goodness he found his shot) and still almost beat Kobe and the three amigos- I mean the refs, not the Euro three point guys.

leon got hammered on six succesive attempts to go inside with no call. Doc could smell which way the wind was blowing, and that it was "were not calling anything for "pow!" feel free to hack/reach.

there was no way in this world that powe was getting any kind of call last night. the only one he did get he only got because the guy pulling on his arm fell down and yanked him over with him.

i think this is the right angle on Powe in game 3, and may be true until we get back to Boston.

i actually think that we should give them a blast of Big Baby in game 4. he gives a slightly different look than Powe on the floor and Leon could literally get his arms taken off and he was not gonna get the call....

[expobear]

This is not the regular season, when you may be able to give bench players minutes, even when they aren't playing great.  I just watched every minute played last night again, and he definitely struggled.  Other than a nice offensive rebound, and a nice charge he took on Odom, he didn't do much. 

The Lakers had adjusted to him, and stopped leaving him wide open (although I don't know if it was an adjustment to Powe as much as them playing better defense in general), which made him much less of a factor on offense, and defensively, he just makes too many mistakes when you compare him to KG, Perk and PJ.

When he plays well again (probably next game), his minutes will be back up.  But there is no reason to leave him in there when he is not being effective.

You're a hell of a coach, Chris to be able to determine whether a player has it or not based on 3 minutes per half. Nobody is saying Powe has to play 30 minutes. And it's not like Brown is playing all that great where Powe should only get 6 minutes or less.  As far as I can tell throughout the regular season and the playoffs, Powe's the only bench player capable of scoring double figures on a fairly consistent basis. The thing I don't understand is, why does Powe always have to score double figures when he hits his first couple of buckets or gets fouled in his first few minutes of play. Can't Powe miss a couple of shots and still be given the respect of somebody more than just a 10th man and let him get hot with a few more minutes? Hasn't he at least earned this right?  I understand Garnett can miss his first 7 shots and go 6 for 21 for the game without a worry of being pulled because he's the man. How does Powe develop the confidence of somebody who will hopefully be a starter some day if he's constantly being pulled after missing two or three shots?   

[NicaraguanFan]

I don't blame Doc in this one.  He put Leon in, but he didn't get the calls (idiot refs)... So I  think in this game Powe didn't have the effect Doc expected.

NF.

How do you explain playing 6 minutes last night? Doesn't Doc have control of that? And isn't Doc responsible for putting Cassell in the game?

Yes and yes. But come on guys, please guys dont talk as if Powe was the ultimate weapon of this team. Powe had a great game 3 and I appreciate that, but relating losing a game with Powe limited minutes is IMHO insane.

Doc put Cassell in, but later he took him off and put Eddie in instead.

Nf.

[Bahku]

Much as I question a lot of Doc's decisions, this wasn't his fault. The Lakers were quite ready for Leon, and as soon as he came in, they shut him down. Phil is extremely smart about making adjustments from game-to-game, especially in the playoffs, where he sees the same team repeatedly.

Powe took him and the Lakers by surprise in the previous game, and he wasn't about to let him have another big game. Doc put him in and he was pretty much ineffective, and unable to make headway against Jackson's adjustments, so he was pulled. He may be used effectively again in the series, but I doubt the Lakers will allow him the room to have another 20+ game.

[Chris]

This is not the regular season, when you may be able to give bench players minutes, even when they aren't playing great.  I just watched every minute played last night again, and he definitely struggled.  Other than a nice offensive rebound, and a nice charge he took on Odom, he didn't do much. 

The Lakers had adjusted to him, and stopped leaving him wide open (although I don't know if it was an adjustment to Powe as much as them playing better defense in general), which made him much less of a factor on offense, and defensively, he just makes too many mistakes when you compare him to KG, Perk and PJ.

When he plays well again (probably next game), his minutes will be back up.  But there is no reason to leave him in there when he is not being effective.

You're a hell of a coach, Chris to be able to determine whether a player has it or not based on 3 minutes per half. Nobody is saying Powe has to play 30 minutes. And it's not like Brown is playing all that great where Powe should only get 6 minutes or less.  As far as I can tell throughout the regular season and the playoffs, Powe's the only bench player capable of scoring double figures on a fairly consistent basis. The thing I don't understand is, why does Powe always have to score double figures when he hits his first couple of buckets or gets fouled in his first few minutes of play. Can't Powe miss a couple of shots and still be given the respect of somebody more than just a 10th man and let him get hot with a few more minutes? Hasn't he at least earned this right?  I understand Garnett can miss his first 7 shots and go 6 for 21 for the game without a worry of being pulled because he's the man. How does Powe develop the confidence of somebody who will hopefully be a starter some day if he's constantly being pulled after missing two or three shots?   

This is the NBA FINALS!  It is not about building confidence, it is about winning.  In the playoffs you need to shorten your rotation and have a very short leash with your non-elite players.  Powe is a very good player, but he has not earned the right to any set amount of minutes.  If he is not performing, then they need KG out there. 

[ForexPirate]

how can you say that powe wasn't producing so doc pulled him.  He got 3 minutes per half.  I venture to say that with the exception of ray allen, he produced as much as any celtic did in those three minutes.  He drew at least a couple of fouls in that time which is very important - he drew several more that weren't called.  The more fouls that an energy guy like powe can draw the better because then the lakers will have to play tentative the rest of the night ...

I don't understand why doc throws games.  is the nba that fixed.  even ray implied that he didn't understand why the celtics went away from what was working in the game to what wasn't working at the end of the game.  it makes no freaking sense and it p---es me off.