I read the CB feedback from my original post and thought maybe I was off in my analysis. So, I watched the Memphis game again and found that I totally mischaracterized many of these passes. For example, one statement read, "Then, there are those lazy passes to nowhere and/or nobody."
When I viewed the game again I found that statement was almost completely erroneous. None of the passes were to nowhere or nobody. Some might be considered lazy, but they all definitely had an intended target. (Perhaps I saw one of two in a previous game(s) and clouded my memory).
I took notes as I watched the game a second time and made comments on most of the stolen passes. Thought I would share them. (feel free to comment)
Early in the game:
Al Horford to Jae Crowder to the side of the key…the pass is too high and deflects off Crowder’s finger tips. (Crowder might have been pushed from behind.)
Handoff pass from Horford to Isaiah near the basket. Plucked out of their hands without any resistance. (who would think a handoff could be intercepted?)
Near the top of the 3 point line Horford sees Bradley 10 feet away. Another player (Allen) is 3.5 feet away from Bradley. Horford pivots and throws the ball to Bradley’s right hand...the one closest to the Allen. The result is a steal and breakaway. (wouldn't one know to throw to the outer hand and be weary of Allen? FWIW: Isaiah is good at throwing to the outer hand...the one furthest from the defender)
The events above took place in the first 4 minutes and 13 seconds from the start of the game.
Crowder passes to Bradley near the top of the key. One player is 2 feet in front of Crowder - defects the ball and steals it. (this happened to a couple players during the course of the game.)
Amir is off-balanced going out of bounds. He makes desperate pass to save possession. Ends up in defender’s hands. (Do teams practice inbound passing drills while going out of bounds? Seems it happens at least once or twice a game.)
Isaiah makes bounce pass in heavy traffic. Bounces back to him…no loss of possession.
Isaiah goes into paint, as he tosses it out to teammate…someone gets a hand on and it and makes the steal. (Isaiah is fairly successful in the paint, but sometimes he gets the ball deflected away.)
2nd half
Lazy lob pass from Jae to Al. Jae is too far from hoop. The pass takes an eternity to land. Easily intercepted. (we've talked about the poor alleyoop passing in other posts)
Horford caught down near the basket. Tries to make jump pass. Ball blocked and stolen.
Another long distance alleyoop attempt. This time from Marcus to Green. It’s too low and Green is covered. (two alleyoop passes = two steals)
Straight pass from Isaiah to Zeller. Isaiah is at the top right of 3 point line and passes diagonally to Zeller beneath the basket. Easily intercepted by player in the lane. This was a long pass considering there was a player in the lane. If Isaiah were at the foul line, this would have been the perfect pass.)
Green near the 3 point line guarded closely by one player and another is positioned about 2 feet away. Almost trapped. His pass to Al Horford (who is 15-20 feet away) is tipped and stolen by the second player.
(You can't prevent 100% of passes from being stolen. Although, there were too many similar type of steals in the game.)
Marcus in the lane makes bounce pass to Horford near the basket. Intercepted by Ennis
(Can't complain about this. This is bound to happen from time to time.)
Even though the title of the original post is, "Why are the Celtics passing so poorly?", I came away with a different opinion about the Celtics passing game afterward. They are actually quite good at it. If I had just taken notes on the good passes I am sure this response would have been much longer.
Another thing I learned is that by writing notes while watching the game I became much more aware of what is going on. Not sure I'd make it a regular practice. But, for those more inclined I suggest trying it out.
Topic: Why are the Celtics passing so poorly? (Read 1564 times)