Lack of Inside Option Shows Again

[Tradetime]

bad loss the way i see it because Celts had a solid 2nd half lead and then, as usual, the offense ground to a halt in the 4th quarter. 
 
best and worst of Rondo today - a fabulous performance that brought Boston all the way back from a huge deficit, followed by the aforementioned predictable offensive breakdown during crunch-time when games usually become half-court battles and Rondo's inability to score from outside allows the defense to play us 5-on-4 and clog everything up.

The bigger problem in crunch time was Joey Crawford. Without him the Celts win.

Wasn't this ref kicked out of the league after the Tim Duncan incident, only to be reinstated by Stern? Pathetic ref with a major ego issue. He flat out has no place in the NBA - except maybe as a booth announcer.

We are sorely lacking in the middle. With no Jermaine out there to protect the paint, the Knicks felt more comfortable in their offense, and taking the ball inside on us. This will continue, unless we decide to make a bold move and not pretend that the problem doesn't exist... 

[PosImpos]

I think defense was the bigger issue in the fourth, we scored a lot of points due to fast breaks and semi-breaks. We didn't get any of those easy points.

Also we only took 5 threes, that's far too few. We need another wing who can hit long balls.

Defense was certainly an issue (nobody could cover Melo), but I just don't think you can ignore the fact that once again the Celtics had virtually no ability to score within the last 2-3 minutes.

[Q_FBE]

The Celtics outscored the Knicks by 20 in the paint. So I am not buying the lack of inside scoring again. Seems like Brandon Bass was scoring inside at will. Our problem today was that the Knicks made one more shot and got more than one more call than what we got. Joey certainly provided unwelcome input in the 4th quarter again. He is who he is and we will continue to get shafted by Joey Crawford.

[jc3celticsphan]

It's not a matter of inside presence, it's a matter of play calling. If all you're going to do is pick and pop with KG at the end, then at some point things are going to stagnate. You can post up KG, you can get bodies moving, instead of standing around watching the KG-Rondo two man show, etc.

i agree but our options were limited that game no pierce. ray has to come of screens to get open and kg realy needs to find his offense again. this waiting to get open deep 2pt shots is killing me

[PosImpos]

The Celtics outscored the Knicks by 20 in the paint. So I am not buying the lack of inside scoring again. Seems like Brandon Bass was scoring inside at will. Our problem today was that the Knicks made one more shot and got more than one more call than what we got. Joey certainly provided unwelcome input in the 4th quarter again. He is who he is and we will continue to get shafted by Joey Crawford.

Looking at the points in the paint is missing my point.  It's not about how many points the Celtics can score inside over the course of the game . . . it's how well they can score at the rim at the end of the game, in the last few minutes, when the score is close. 

Any time the Celtics play a good team, they're forced to go to jumpshots in that situation and they almost never score inside.  The result is that they give up a lot of leads because they're not taking high percentage shots.

[Fafnir]

I think defense was the bigger issue in the fourth, we scored a lot of points due to fast breaks and semi-breaks. We didn't get any of those easy points.

Also we only took 5 threes, that's far too few. We need another wing who can hit long balls.

Defense was certainly an issue (nobody could cover Melo), but I just don't think you can ignore the fact that once again the Celtics had virtually no ability to score within the last 2-3 minutes.

The Knicks only scored 4 points in the last three minutes as well.

[PosImpos]

I think defense was the bigger issue in the fourth, we scored a lot of points due to fast breaks and semi-breaks. We didn't get any of those easy points.

Also we only took 5 threes, that's far too few. We need another wing who can hit long balls.

Defense was certainly an issue (nobody could cover Melo), but I just don't think you can ignore the fact that once again the Celtics had virtually no ability to score within the last 2-3 minutes.

The Knicks only scored 4 points in the last three minutes as well.

But they have the superstars who can manufacture points when the offense is totally breaking down.  They can make points out of thin air by drawing star-fouls.  That's the luxury you have by having guys like Amare and Melo.  The Celtics don't have a player like that.  Pierce is the closest thing, and he can't do the same things as he used to.  He doesn't get the same calls.

What I'm saying is if you don't have a guy who can get to the line, who can hit super contested jumpshots even though he's exhausted, then you need a post-up scorer.

[bruinsandceltics]

Seems like you are just going to reject everyone else's points until people agree that the lack of inside scoring late is a problem.

Here is an idea, how about we wait until we have Paul Pierce back and see if it is a problem. That exact situation today is Paul Pierce's thing. The ball is in his hands 90% of the time in situations like this. If we had Pierce it changes everything. Simple.

The playbook opens up. Instead today we had to choose between a Rondo drive, a KG jumper or a Ray Allen 3. Not a lot of options.

[Celtics18]

In big games and in the playoffs, points are hard to come by for NBA teams.  We've seen teams with the big time one on one playmakers and finishers like Miami, Chicago, and OKC all struggle to score down the stretch many times.

Our team has always hung its hat on the defensive end of the floor.  Defensively is where we lost this game by letting 'Melo get untracked in the fourth.

We won't be perfect defensively, but at the end of the day, I feel convinced that we'll still enter the playoffs with one of the best lock down defenses in the league. 

As far as offense goes, I think an aggressive Rondo will go a long way towards making this offense better than last year's.  Of course, getting Paul Pierce back won't hurt either.

[Jon]

It wouldn't have worked as well against NY with their good size upfront, but I'd like to see the C's go to JO down low more.  He's very underrated offensively (remember, the guy has averaged 20 ppg in his career for quite a number of season). 

Most teams don't have two good big men, so if we assume the best big men defender is going to be on KG, we need to start exploiting whatever scrub they put on JO down low. 

[wahz]

we outscored them in the paint and Bass did a great job scoring down low. PP and Pietrus are on the way to causes the offense to spread. We good enough to beat Miami in the playoffs or go down in a blaze of VERY painful glory for fans. Next criticism please

[syfy9]

If only David West was wearing a green jersey...All of our problems would be solved...

[MaxAMillion]

The Celtics outscored the Knicks by 20 in the paint. So I am not buying the lack of inside scoring again. Seems like Brandon Bass was scoring inside at will. Our problem today was that the Knicks made one more shot and got more than one more call than what we got. Joey certainly provided unwelcome input in the 4th quarter again. He is who he is and we will continue to get shafted by Joey Crawford.

Looking at the points in the paint is missing my point.  It's not about how many points the Celtics can score inside over the course of the game . . . it's how well they can score at the rim at the end of the game, in the last few minutes, when the score is close. 

Any time the Celtics play a good team, they're forced to go to jumpshots in that situation and they almost never score inside.  The result is that they give up a lot of leads because they're not taking high percentage shots.

You do realize that there is no solution for this, right? We won't be able to add a low post option (most teams want one) or a top scorer. The C's are not on the same level with the Heat or the Bulls. Such is life...

[blceltsfan]

First: I'd like to follow Rivers advice, we discuss who was dressed to play, and forget the refs. It's about the perfomance of the players and the coaching to get them to do it.

Second: When Rivers says they played soft, put JOs picture next to it. He showed some shot blocking but his offensive moves to the basket (blocked by Chandler) soft, instead of attacking the basket. Soft and slow on the defensive rotations. I'm ok if Wilcox or Bass don't get the rotations yet, but the MVP of the training camp should come up much stronger and more reliable.

This changed the rotation options. Doc needed size down low, so KG and Bass were on TC and AS, and he ended up with shorter defenders on Anthony. If Doc had confidence in JO, he's in, and Bass, could have provided some length as an option to guard Anthony. If CA gets around Bass, you still have Garnett and JO back there.

Third: The bench was dissapointing based on the preseason buildup. Opening Day/MSG jitters? I hope so.

Fourth: Donny M and Tommy both pointed to it as soon as the game was over. Stay aggressive VS this slow down the last 4 minutes hoping the clock will somehow protect the lead. This is a coaching issue, as much as the players, and has been a problem for seasons.

I know it's only the first game, but these points seem very familiar from last year's performance.

[LB3533]

The Celtics outscored the Knicks by 20 in the paint. So I am not buying the lack of inside scoring again. Seems like Brandon Bass was scoring inside at will. Our problem today was that the Knicks made one more shot and got more than one more call than what we got. Joey certainly provided unwelcome input in the 4th quarter again. He is who he is and we will continue to get shafted by Joey Crawford.

Looking at the points in the paint is missing my point.  It's not about how many points the Celtics can score inside over the course of the game . . . it's how well they can score at the rim at the end of the game, in the last few minutes, when the score is close. 

Any time the Celtics play a good team, they're forced to go to jumpshots in that situation and they almost never score inside.  The result is that they give up a lot of leads because they're not taking high percentage shots.

Every team has problems with scoring at the rim late in the games.

Most teams' defenses pack the paint in crunch time and just give you wide open looks...daring you to shoot from the perimeter.