Lack of adjustment is why we lost.

[reggie35]

I agree with the original premise of this post but would like to add something: arrogance. The C's came out thinking that just being defending champs would be enough to win the game. Doc coached like the Bulls were not deserving of adjustments.

[housecall]

Drawing it up is on the coach(s),executing it is on the players.According to Doc,they do not always follow schemes on D he drew up.

[winsomme]

We lost it mainly because of lack of adjustments with the key one being donig something, anything to disrupt the guy who annihilated us....Derek Rose.

Finally, I would have put Ta on Rose and roughed him up and if Rose got past him I'd instruct my bigs to lay him out. Nothing dirty, just good and hard.

These are simple things.   

The problem with Rose was not a Rondo problem, it was a "team defense" problem.

The way our defense works is to funnel players like Rose into trap situations. They simply are too quick to guard one-on-one (TA, Rondo, Ray, what-have-you).....

So the solution in the past (and what makes KG indispensable) was to trap on penetration with a guy that is difficult to pass over (to the guy that is freed up by the trap).

Perk is long enough but not quick enough and Baby and Powe are quick enough but not long enough...

The solution that i see is to trap earlier in the sets to try and get the ball out of Rose's hands earlier in the possession. He still will get the ball back, but hopefully with less time to operate.

If Rose is too quick to guard one on one, can you tell me why Rose can't stay with Rondo on he defensive end? Rondo is faster than Rose is. Rose makes the same crossover move every time. Do you seriously want us to believe that a guy out there who is obviously just trying to poke the ball away from behind on almost every play is making a true attempt at shutting his man down? It just isn't true. Rondo was more concerned with matching him bucket for bucket and has this bad habit of depending on the guys behind him to do his work for him.

As far as adjustments being the reason, the reason we played so many guys was because Doc was trying to figure out someone who was actually interested in playing. It wasn't his fault no one decided that full effort was necessary.

We have a defensive system in place to stop this kind of penetration.

It may help if Rondo better stays in front of Rose (or Ray in front of  Gordon) but it's not a solution.

Especially with all the P&R that is played today, the way to truly shut down dribble penetration is with a team concept and the personnel to implement it.

Also, Rondo is not the best one on one defender, but he is a tremendous help defender. If you want to fault him for that then fine, I'm not going to argue that Rondo is a great shut down guy. But one-on-one defense is not how our defense was constructed and it's not why we have been such a good defensive team.

I would also argue that "shut down/one on one" defense is not what makes a great defensive team.

All the rotations, and trapping and communication, that's what made us a great defensive team. So I think it's unfair to simply put Rose's game squarely on the shoulders of Rondo and i also don't think that the solution should be put solely on Rondo's shoulders either.

[Chief]

I too, put this on Doc. I think he knew what to do, but did not want to upset Ray Allen. If the Celtics are going to win a title this year, Doc has got to play the best matchups. With KG out, they are not going to win on just talent alone.

[ScoobyDoo]

Iabsolutely have to agree with EJplaya here. It should be no problem whatesoever for Rondo to saty in front of Rose and make his day miserable. He is far more than fast enough and quick enough and long enough.

Rondo was not playing good defense yesterday at all, he was playing "make the play" defense", which as EJ stated is simply playing matador defense and trying to make the rap around steal from behind. Rondo's defense was horrible, horrible, horrible. And it's all the more inexcusable becasue unlike so many other players at the NBA level he has a very unique set of physical gifts that will allow him to be perhaps one of the better defensive players ever at his position....IF HE CHOOSES TO EXERCISE HIS MIND AND USE THOSE GIFTS. 

[ScoobyDoo]

I actually hadn't finished my thought but posted it somehow....

Anyway, the two fundamentals of defense are stay between your man and the ball and stay IN FRONT of your man. With a guy like Rose you also try to deny him the ball as much as possible.

Tony Allen may not be the perfect defesnive match up for Rose but anything and I mean ANYTHING would've been better than what Rondo was doing.

How long do you let someone just toast you before you make some adjustment, any adjustemnt? 48 minutes? How's that?

TA could've backed off him a bit and he certainly couldn've have gotten up in his craw and roughed him up, been physical with him.

I agree you can't put it all on Rondo but it certainly starts with him and I'd say at least 50 percent of the breakdowns started because of pooer defense from Rondo.

[Chief]

Iabsolutely have to agree with EJplaya here. It should be no problem whatesoever for Rondo to saty in front of Rose and make his day miserable. He is far more than fast enough and quick enough and long enough.

Rondo was not playing good defense yesterday at all, he was playing "make the play" defense", which as EJ stated is simply playing matador defense and trying to make the rap around steal from behind. Rondo's defense was horrible, horrible, horrible. And it's all the more inexcusable becasue unlike so many other players at the NBA level he has a very unique set of physical gifts that will allow him to be perhaps one of the better defensive players ever at his position....IF HE CHOOSES TO EXERCISE HIS MIND AND USE THOSE GIFTS. 

I agree he was getting killed. But after 3-4 times, Doc has got to make an adjustment. Same as when Gordon heated up in the 4th. He has a great defense minded player, on the bench, that could have easily have slowed down either one of those two if inserted into the game.

[ScoobyDoo]

One other note....SCREW RAY ALLEN! Look I absolutely love Ray Allen's game. On top of that he iw one of the classiest guys to ever have put on an NBA uniform. You wouldn't mind your sone growing up and becoming the kind of person Ray Allen appears to be from what you hear.

But SCREW RAY ALLEN. If I'm the organisation, the last thing I'd be worried about is upsetting Ray Allen by yanking him when he is having a "career bad day, a horrific day"...in the play offs. I don't pay him $15mil a year to worry about his **** feelings.

I apy him to perform, day in and day out. And if he ain't got it, I'm yanking him, I'm going to save him from himself for the day.

For that matter, I wouldn've yanked the entire starting unit to start the second half until they let me know they were interested in playing basketball rather than taking a nap in the first game of the playoffs, which is what they did in the first half.

   

[ScoobyDoo]

I agree Chief, TA Allen should have been inserted far earlier and played alot of minutes going back and forth between Rose and Gordon. Now if Ray has a normal day...that's another thing.

But the most basic of basketball common sense would've had you putting Rondo on Gordon and TA on Rose at least to TRY SOMETHING different than just keep letting someone annihilate you for 48 with no adjustments, none.

And I understand we play a "team defensive", everybody does. But that doesn't mean you have no personal individual defensive responsiblity in a one on one sense.

That comes first, then the team D assists you...
I mean towards the end there..Rose just waltzed in for a layup because Rondo tried to "make the play" by reaching in ona  cross over instead of just staying in front of him with good fundametal D... 

[kenmaine]

What are the odds that Ray Allen has another poor performance (1-12), that the bench doesn’t show up, that Pierce misses a game clinching ft. HIGHLY unlikely. Now what are the odds that Rose has another stellar and nearly flawless night. HIGHLY unlikely. Simply Put, game 1 is not a preview of what this series is going to be like, on the contrary, it will ensure that we play our hearts out for the rest of the series and playoffs.

TP,,, you're way too level-headed

[Bankshot]

I too, put this on Doc. I think he knew what to do, but did not want to upset Ray Allen. If the Celtics are going to win a title this year, Doc has got to play the best matchups. With KG out, they are not going to win on just talent alone.

Agreed.  I thought Doc made a ballsy move when he replaced Ray with Tony near the end of the game.  What happened right after that?  The Celtics got a stop.  BUT, inexplicably, he took Perk out and replaced him with Ray ON A DEFENSIVE POSSESSION! and what happened right after that?  Chicago went right to the hoop for an easy layup.  Did anyone ask Doc about this brain fart at his postgame press conference?  Why on earth did he make such a dumb, stupid, idiotic, inexplicable move?

[KCattheStripe]

I'm curious. This team was down by nine at the half and then lost by two. There were no adjustments?

[Chief]

I'm curious. This team was down by nine at the half and then lost by two. There were no adjustments?

Maybe schemes but not players (except for poor Mikki). If Doc would have done both, I think the Celtics would have won by 5+.

[Chief]

What are the odds that Ray Allen has another poor performance (1-12), that the bench doesn’t show up, that Pierce misses a game clinching ft. HIGHLY unlikely. Now what are the odds that Rose has another stellar and nearly flawless night. HIGHLY unlikely. Simply Put, game 1 is not a preview of what this series is going to be like, on the contrary, it will ensure that we play our hearts out for the rest of the series and playoffs.

After last years playoffs, I'm scared to answer this.

[vinnie]

What are the odds that Ray Allen has another poor performance (1-12), that the bench doesn’t show up, that Pierce misses a game clinching ft. HIGHLY unlikely. Now what are the odds that Rose has another stellar and nearly flawless night. HIGHLY unlikely. Simply Put, game 1 is not a preview of what this series is going to be like, on the contrary, it will ensure that we play our hearts out for the rest of the series and playoffs.

After last years playoffs, I'm scared to answer this.

I agree, Cheif. How quickly we forget how poorly Ray played in so many games in the early rounds.