The dreaded end of game Paul Pierce isolation play

[bostonman1]

There lies the difference in thought. You say PP blew it. The OP is saying Doc, the coach that called the play blew it. I agree with the OP.
 Motion and ball movement, make the defenders turn their heads and wonder what were going to do.

Motion and ball movement is great...but ball movement when you are down 1 with 7 seconds left is just asking for a turnover, and not even getting a shot up.  

When the defense is locked in, you just have to win the one on one battles.  The more you try to complicate it, the more advantage you give to the defense.

7 seconds is more than enough time to make a couple passes and try to get a better shot.  But the point about the other team playing defense is right.  The Spurs are a great team with maybe the NBA's best coach in Greg Popovich.  The Spurs appeared to know exactly what playing was coming even after Doc having 2 timeouts to draw up something.  San Antonio did not even use their foul to give which many teams do in that situation to force the opposing team to reset and have less time.

However seeing that the Celtics play was to have Pierce dribble out the clock and force up a contested fadeaway jumper they chose not to foul.  Popovich was perfectly happy with Pierce taking that shot and was willing to let the game's outcome ride on it.  Otherwise he would have fouled and forced them to run a different play or changed up his defense.  Doc's play call and Pierces failure to execute quicker played right into what the Spurs were hoping for...

[dmopower]

If Pierce make that shot it may not be a discussion in your house, it would still be a discussion around here.
 Taking one of the best defensive teams for a decade running and letting four defenders stand nearly still while watching slow footed Tim D play one one one with slow footed Paul Pierce is just silly in my book.
 That was the easiest defensive play they had all night. I think I saw TD salivating when we got that switch.

 On a side note if TD was on PP, Who was guarding KG?

[jambr380]

I agree with Chris that this was probably the third or fourth option. I know Pierce taking a fall away jumper gives you a 'decent' chance, but Ray coming off a pick or something going to the hoop gives you a much better chance. I know Pierce is our go to guy, but he's no Bird or MJ and he is only losing a step at this point in his career.

I think giving Pierce the ball was the right thing to do. He can pass, shoot, or make fts, but his shot wasn't the best chance for a win. When I saw the name of this thread, I knew exactly what the OP was saying...

The problem was, the pass wasn't there, so it WAS the best chance for a win.  The Spurs played it perfectly, and had Pierce tried to pass it, even if the pass wasn't deflected, there is a very good chance they would have ended up with an even worse shot at the basket.

I think we need to remember that there is also a team playing defense.

Why would they set a pick to force Duncan to defend Pierce if they didn't want Pierce to shoot?

That looked like a play designed to get Pierce a shot. Unfortunately, Pierce ended up with a move quite unlike his normal moves. The shot was right by a decent margin, a pretty good sign he just chucked it at the hoop.

Was our offense dead in the water when Doc called the timeout? Calling it that late made it a bit easier for the Spurs to defend. That is when you want Dirk on your team.

Yes, at that point in the clock, it was our best chance to win, but it wasn't as much of a 'knockdown' shot as everyone seems to think it is ['if Pierce hit the shot, we wouldn't even be talking about, etc...']. I hated Pierce's three against NY a few weeks ago, where the Celtics won in overtime. I know he hit it, but it was a terrible, off-balance shot and it was very lucky for us that it went in.

Didn't everybody know it would come down to Pierce shooting a fall away jumper? I know the Spurs have an excellent defense, so I guess it was our best hope, but there were no surprises here. Doc needed to be a little more creative, as he often is on out of bounds plays.

[Chris]

If Pierce make that shot it may not be a discussion in your house, it would still be a discussion around here.
 Taking one of the best defensive teams for a decade running and letting four defenders stand nearly still while watching slow footed Tim D play one one one with slow footed Paul Pierce is just silly in my book.
 That was the easiest defensive play they had all night. I think I saw TD salivating when we got that switch.

 On a side note if TD was on PP, Who was guarding KG?

KG was the closest guy to being open, but he was hovering at the 3 point line after setting the pick, which caused the switch.  Passing to him was his only real outlet, and it just would have meant you had KG taking a 23 footer, compared to Pierce shooting a 19 footer.  Not really an improvement.

[bostonman1]

Yes, at that point in the clock, it was our best chance to win, but it wasn't as much of a 'knockdown' shot as everyone seems to think it is ['if Pierce hit the shot, we wouldn't even be talking about, etc...']. I hated Pierce's three against NY a few weeks ago, where the Celtics won in overtime. I know he hit it, but it was a terrible, off-balance shot and it was very lucky for us that it went in.

Didn't everybody know it would come down to Pierce shooting a fall away jumper? I know the Spurs have an excellent defense, so I guess it was our best hope, but there were no surprises here. Doc needed to be a little more creative, as he often is on out of bounds plays.

Agreed that is a point I made earlier --- the Spurs appeared to know exactly what was coming.  Popovich didn't even foul to force the Celtics to reset or change plays because he was more than happy to have Pierce taking that shot.

And some are so short-sighted and fail to see the bigger picture of a discussion.  Many people including myself feel the play was a bad call.  If Pierce had hit the shot I would be clapping and thrilled the Celtics won but still able to recognize it was a bad play call.

Choosing to remember the times when Pierce hits a shot off the isolation play while ignoring the overwhelming majority of times he misses is just not logical.  As drz44 pointed out Pierce converts at below a 30% clip in that situation.  The Celtics are a 45% fg shooting team.  Pierce has the lowest fg% of any of the starting five as well. 

I think Paul Pierce is a great clutch player and although Ray taking a last second shot may be a better choice, Pierce also is a top option late in games. Ray converts those last possession chances at a much higher rate than Paul does yet Doc defers and allows Pierce to run the show.  Ray had struggled but managed to hit the 3 pointer on the previous possession that gave the Celtics the chance to have a game winning shot.  Would have made sense to at least give Ray a look there.

To say that giving Pierce the ball, letting him dribble out the clock and force a contested jumper is the best possible play Doc and team could run with all the evidence to the contrary just doesn't make much sense. 

[Fafnir]

Would have made sense to at least give Ray a look there.

How do you propose getting Ray the ball?

What player other than Pierce would you prefer to initiate the play?

[Chief Macho]

I can't believe people are happy with that play. Just awful basketball.  Paul doesn't have the first step to threaten the defense consistently anymore so it always ends up in a off balance low percentage shot.   

[Fafnir]

I can't believe people are happy with that play. Just awful basketball.  Paul doesn't have the first step to threaten the defense consistently anymore so it always ends up in a off balance low percentage shot.   

I'd prefer Pierce deliver the ball to an open team mate, but on that play the only open team mate is KG and he was 23 feet from the hoop.

[rayallen1934]

Pierce makes that 60% of the time IMO

just like Ray would make an open 3 at a high rate also, the thing is its better to have Pierce initiate because Ray can slip through and get open

If the play is run for Ray which most teams are ready for than he might not be open , then were stuck with no good shot.

im fine with the decision, but i would have also liked the shot to go up quicker

[bostonman1]

Would have made sense to at least give Ray a look there.

How do you propose getting Ray the ball?

What player other than Pierce would you prefer to initiate the play?

The same way that Ray usually gets the ball.  7 seconds is more than enough time to run Ray off a screen and see if something opens up.  As I said earlier seeing how the Spurs didn't even foul to force the C's out of that play shows they were more than ready for it and happy to see Pierce taking that contested shot.

Did not say Paul shouldn't have been involved or even initiated the play.  Just having one option on that play doesn't seem like a smart way to go.

At the very least Pierce should have made his move quicker as Doc himself said after the game.  Pierce played it as though it was a tie game and holding onto the ball for the last second shot.  When you are down 1 the smart play is to at least shoot with enough time left to grab a possible rebound for another shot or a tip in.  Doesn't make sense to take away those options for waiting until the last second.  Even if Boston would have scored with a few seconds left it wouldn't have been unreasonable to hope that their great defense which held SA to 28 2nd half points could close it out.

The play call in itself is an issue to be debated.  However when Doc himself says they wanted Paul to drive and at least shoot quicker then that is another issue.  Hard to succeed late in games when there is a bad play call and that play isn't even run the way the coach wanted it to be...

[Celtics4ever]

We need to allow for some putbacks on these kind of shots.   If we miss it and don't get the board who cares if the other team get's  the ball with a second or two left.

[Jesus Shuttlesworth #20]

This thread is right on, other teams dread the P Double iso play errytime. PP = Player of the Month, cheah, all haters go home!

[Meadowlark_Scal]

i don't agree, that is pp's normal shot, he has made it 1000 times before....when you look to blame...don't focus on ONE shot.....the situation happened WAY before that point...it makes the view look limited.

[looseball]

The ball should go to Rondo, and a play should be called that sets up Paul, Ray or KG.  If they back off Rondo, then Rondo takes the shot.  He needs to be given opportunities to make game winners.  If he misses, we still lose, but it's only April and there are still a lot of games left.

If Rondo is our future he has to be able to make a game winner.  His shooting has improved this year, and it's time to trust him with the final shot.

[looseball]

It is my feeling we would have 2 Banners with the big 3 and all that goes with it WITHOUT DOC!!!!! Since Danny's trade we got about 65% of the Teams actual value because of Doc. Of course no one knew Doc would be coaching real talent. We were mediocre before KG. Doc fit right in being a 500 Coach. We put Pee Wee Herman in to run Apple.

Ugh! Thanks for reminding me of game 7 of the finals in 2010.   I agree with you.  I believe game 7 was lost because of Doc.  After the way Tony Allen played against Kobe, Doc let Ray run around and miss all those shots and didn't play Tony Allen.  Also, after Nate was brought in for offense and he won a playoff game for you, Doc didn't even play Nate in game 7.  I think he played 2 minutes.  We couldn't score a bucket in game 7 and Doc didn't play Nate for offense or Tony for offense, defense and rebounding.   Ok, got that off my chest.

Back to the topic.  I had no problem with Pierce taking the shot.  I just wish he had made it.

Ugh, the dreaded Game 7 will never die, where Doc succumbed to the MYTH: you got all summer to rest up.