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Post by Admin on May 21, 2023 12:54:33 GMT -5
Not feeling good about this Celtic team after the inconsistency of the offense and little desire to play defense all season and except for a few games (Sixers) the Playoffs as well. After all, why should they want to work twice as much playing at both ends when their head coach (I use the term loosely) puts "all his eggs in one basket." That basket? Offense based on taking a minimum of 40 three point shots per game - no matter how bad the shooters are that game as long as they are getting "clean" or "wide open" looks you stick with that game plan.
I'm feeling like a Laker fan just before game 3 hoping that their team can bounce back and take two at home. Only problem being, we are now at the Heat's home and though we play well on the road and with "our backs against the wall," can we really expect to take two in Miami let alone one after the way we played at home?
If Mazz can't adjust defensively and doesn't go small when called for and big when appropriate this series will be over just as it is in crypto.com arena now and "Change is Gonna Come" with him surviving but possibly forced into a demotion.
Ownership must be livid after going all in with Brogdon though it was their decision to terminate Udoka so they must "Take It Like a Man!"
Here's my take on the Lakers ...
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Post by Admin on May 21, 2023 14:30:07 GMT -5
Will Mazz respond in kind or counter the Heat's zone defense? Miami spent almost the entire fourth quarter playing a matchup zone defense. It appeared to be a 3-2 floating zone, that effectively functioned like a 4-1 zone. Bam Adebayo stayed back at the time, while the other four Heat defenders pressed out to the arc and beyond. When the ball went to one side, the opposite side defender would pinch up to the nail.
It was extremely well-executed, and Boston never really solved it to get good looks. Instead of being patient, working the ball to the wing and corner, Boston continually tried to drive the ball right through the middle. Those forces caused turnovers and rushed, late-clock shots.
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Post by Admin on May 21, 2023 14:58:05 GMT -5
Joe Mazzulla has lost the plot
Boston's head coach needs to find answers and the Celtics’ identity, and fast.
By Wayne_Spooney
Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
The Celtics started the season, seemingly, with a clear identity crafted over 26 games. 26 moments with common threads, themes, and characters. Play fast, get up boat loads of threes, defend just well enough to let the offense carry the way.
After that initial burst out of the gate, the threes stopped falling and it got ugly. Then, as the season went on, that Celtics’ identify faded , but it didn’t evaporate.
The upside was that the defense improved, and the three-point rate stayed high (they finished 2nd in the NBA in 3PA per game). They began to fashion a new identity: defensive inconsistency. One game the best defense in the NBA, the next game getting burned by the Houston Rockets. The swings in defensive quality were dramatic between games, and even between quarters. Unlike the previous season, where the Celtics’ defense first identity was carved into hardened iron, this identity was written in pencil.
As a narrative progresses, and storylines begin to tangle, it gets exponentially more difficult to hold onto those common threads and common themes. The pressure increases, one decision has unintended consequences for another character, and for all but the most talented authors, things can go sideways quickly.
Even some of the greatest authors of all time have struggled with this, a famous example being George R.R. Martin and his “Meereenese Knot.” Like Martin [Game of Thrones] aimlessly wandering through Essos, Joe Mazzulla has lost the plot. In other words, the Celtics no longer have an identity, and they are on the verge of losing their season because of it.
The Miami Heat are the opposite. No team in the NBA has a clearer identity than them, and it’s no coincidence that Erik Spoelstra is their coach. Play hard, win on the margins, and play even harder. If Joe Mazzulla is George R.R. Martin at his worst, Erik Spoelstra is Charles Dickens, weaving one of the greatest narratives in under 600 pages.
When a team with a concrete identity faces a team with a fragile one, it has the effect of wearing away any trace of the fragile identity. Case in point, the Celtics averaged 39 3PAs per game in both Round 1 and Round 2. They are at 32 per game against the Heat. Unfortunately, the only part of their identity that’s made itself known in the Eastern Conference Finals is their defensive identity and its woeful inconsistency.
There’s been a handful of truly puzzling decisions made by Joe in the last two games that are indicative of a coach grasping for something to hold on to and a team looking for answers, a thread of the story that will help him bring it all to a happy resolution. None have worked, and arguably have pulled him further away from that goal.
The first is the puzzling, bizarre choice to play Payton Pritchard in Game 1 ... he was thrust into an impossible situation. Barely seeing minutes in the last few months of the regular season and chained to the bench in the first two rounds of the playoffs, it should be no surprise he wasn’t up to the task against the Heat. This felt like Mazzulla making an adjustment to an adjustment that hadn’t happened yet. Joe outcoached himself.
[ The 2nd was Rob Williams ] Rob was dreadful in Game 1. He was the very opposite in Game 2. The foundation of the Celtics offense at its best in Game 2 was the Tatum-Williams pick-and-roll. The Heat had no answer. Whether it was Tatum getting to the rim, pulling up from behind the pick, or hitting Rob on the short roll, it felt like a good possession every time down. Defensively, Rob was disciplined and aggressive. With potentially their season on the line and the lead quickly turning into a deficit, Rob was nowhere to be found -- a forgotten character in a twisting narrative.
The last is the decision to defend Jimmy Butler straight up 1-on-1, in the most important game of your season. I understand the argument: you want to make Jimmy make tough shots and not give him easy kickouts to Miami's shooters. There’s ways to achieve both goals. Look at how the Heat defended Tatum: shading help, forcing difficult passes to the corners, going zone. There are options that don’t involve Grant Williams being left on an island in an empty side isolation (for what it’s worth, Grant did fine, Jimmy is just that good). Mazzulla let Jimmy Butler become the main character.
So as the Celtics sit, down 2-0 heading to Miami, Mazzulla needs to do the impossible. He needs to rekindle their identity, whatever that is. He needs to rediscover the common threads and themes that put the characters in position to shine. He needs to untangle the Miami knot, and he needs to do it very, very quickly.
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Post by jdm894g on May 21, 2023 16:04:41 GMT -5
Mazulla needs to yank those who are contributing offensively. I don't mind guarding Butler one on one, but it needs to Smart or White.
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Post by Admin on May 21, 2023 16:18:48 GMT -5
Joe Mazzulla hurts Celtics with lineup choices in Game 2 loss to Heat | B Robb
Al Horford over Rob Williams?The 36-year-old big man has been an anchor for the Celtics all year long but he’s struggled mightily on the offensive end since calling himself an elite shooter in Philadelphia. Since then, Horford is just 5-of-29 from 3-point range including 0-of-3 during Game 2. Beyond the offense, Horford was giving the Celtics next to nothing in Game 2. Bam Adebayo was bullying him in the post and Horford was getting worked on the defensive glass, grabbing just four total rebounds in 29 minutes, his fewest in a game this postseason. On the flip side, Robert Williams (13 points on 5-of-5 FG) was having a nice bounce-back effort from Game 1, looking confident defensively and in the paint finishing. However even as the Celtics played their best basketball of the game with Williams on the floor, Mazzulla opted to turn back to Horford with seven minutes left in the game despite Williams only having played 23 minutes. Williams only saw the floor on a couple of other possessions in the closing minute of the game while watching Boston blow a big lead. “Al’s finished every game he’s played,” Mazzulla said after the game when asked about the decision. With Horford’s rebounding and shooting struggles, his track record this postseason at age 36 should not make him immune from a crunch-time benching. Ultimately, his presence on the floor late hurt the Celtics in many ways as Horford committed fouls, failed to contain Adebayo and provided nothing offensively against a Heat zone that trapped Jayson Tatum relentlessly. Where was Derrick White?All season long, the Celtics have played their best basketball with Derrick White on the floor and the same was true for much of Game 2 on Friday night. White had 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting form the field and was a plus-8 in the minutes, second on the team behind Malcolm Brogdon on the night Yet, on a night where the Celtics were struggling mightily from 3-point range (28 percent from 3) largely against a zone defense, White found himself on the bench for the vast majority of crunch time. White is shooting 45 percent from 3-point range this postseason which is tops on the roster among guards. He’s also been the best defensive guard for Boston in this series. Somehow though Mazzulla opted for Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon though when it came to crunch time and that was a contributing factor in Boston becoming unglued on both ends of the floor. When White is playing well offensively, there’s no excuse not to have the second-team All-NBA defender on the floor when it counts yet Mazzulla strayed away from him while watching Boston’s lead fade away. Going away from a winning lineup?Remember that 21-2 run the Celtics had in the first half against Miami? That group (White/Brogdon/Tatum/G Williams/R Williams) never saw the floor again for the entire second half. The Celtics were clearly not going to go to this group for crunch time and bench All-Star Jaylen Brown but the fact they didn’t get another run together after their first half success was puzzling. Final ThoughtsUltimately, the Celtics can claim they got good shots in the fourth quarter that just didn’t go down but the team’s execution on both ends was lacking late. There was a bunch of players on the floor in the midst of bad games (Horford, Brown, Smart) surrounding Tatum when the game was on the line while obvious viable alternatives remained on the bench. The Celtics are being outplayed by personnel in these first two losses but Mazzulla’s coaching decisions aren’t helping matters as this series heads to Miami. Mazzulla’s ability to adapt in real-time has been a question mark all year long and it showed up once again in Game 2 at the worst possible time.
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Post by kdp59 on May 21, 2023 16:58:24 GMT -5
LOL, I think this song meets my mood about the team right now.
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Post by kdp59 on May 21, 2023 16:59:59 GMT -5
key lyrics for Celtic fans form that song
And when you feel you're near the end And what once burned so bright is growing dim And when you see what's been achieved Is there a feeling that you've been deceived?
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Post by Admin on May 21, 2023 17:02:54 GMT -5
Think about this: Mazz out coached or if not that, his team defeated the Sixers despite them being up 3-2 in the series and at home. Now Mazz is down 0-2 after being thoroughly out coached by Spoelstra in Boston. How bad does that make Doc Rivers? Former title-winning Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is set to interview with the Sixers this week, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Philadelphia fired previous head coach Doc Rivers after the team’s seven-game second-round playoff loss to the Celtics last week.
Nurse expected to meet with Suns and Bucks after the Sixers ... Udoka to Houston & Nurse going soon enough. That leaves Bud and Monty who the Bucks are aggressively pursuing to replace Bud. If the C's are lucky (outed from POs soon they will have a shot at Bud unless one of the Suns, Sixers or Raptors get him 1st).
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Post by dfries13 on May 21, 2023 19:06:07 GMT -5
LOL, I think this song meets my mood about the team right now. That Statacaster is crying at the end. Boss Hats off to Fred and Ginger the best dancing pair ever... Fred can't sing like Bing but his moves are classic.
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Post by puddin on May 21, 2023 19:29:18 GMT -5
Lets win big or lose big.... but no squeakers or what if's allowed.
Pud
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Post by cole on May 21, 2023 19:39:19 GMT -5
A couple of over the backs and a couple of hacks not called
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Post by jdm894g on May 21, 2023 19:42:14 GMT -5
JT needs to tighten up that dribble on the spin. But he needs to get closer to the basket so he doesn't have a maze of defenders to get through.
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Post by cole on May 21, 2023 19:50:39 GMT -5
Hats off to the heat. They've been great.
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Post by jdm894g on May 21, 2023 19:57:24 GMT -5
SMDH...
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Post by elvissurfs on May 21, 2023 20:00:57 GMT -5
Hi kids...finally get to watch a game...been lots of my son's events interfering...probably not going to post much on the game thread, trying to focus on the game...
Pretty sloppy so far...
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Post by jdm894g on May 21, 2023 20:03:34 GMT -5
Hi kids...finally get to watch a game...been lots of my son's events interfering...probably not going to post much on the game thread, trying to focus on the game... Pretty sloppy so far... JT & JB driving in the lane and the result, turnovers! They are catching the ball too far away and have to go through too many defenders.
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Post by Admin on May 21, 2023 20:06:19 GMT -5
So Love is out for now with a left ankle sprain ... but we are down 8pts after Q1
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Post by sfbosfan on May 21, 2023 20:07:01 GMT -5
We blow leads better than any other team. Need Miami to blow the lead or we are toast. They are shooting almost 58 % and 50% on 3s. Very though to complete with that.
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Post by Admin on May 21, 2023 20:08:14 GMT -5
Q2:
Heat lineup change (Kyle Lowry, Duncan Robinson, Caleb Martin, Bam Adebayo, Gabe Vincent)
Celtics lineup change (Marcus Smart, Al Horford, Jayson Tatum, Grant Williams, Malcolm Brogdon)
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Post by jdm894g on May 21, 2023 20:10:30 GMT -5
Al needs to stop that drop coverage and step up
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Post by jdm894g on May 21, 2023 20:11:55 GMT -5
The switching or overhelping is killing them. Stay with the shooters. Trust that the defender will make it as difficult as possible.
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Post by Admin on May 21, 2023 20:12:37 GMT -5
No inside defense ... Lowry goes in for a bunny and Bam an alley-oop. We can't defend the paint & perimeter at the same time?
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Post by Cabutan on May 21, 2023 20:12:53 GMT -5
We are getting torched by a "lesser" squad. This must be humbling for our fellow poster who felt a team couldn't win as a team unit. We can't even guard Vincent. How about Brogdon this series. Eaten alive as well. Stats don't mean shit.
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Post by Cabutan on May 21, 2023 20:14:55 GMT -5
No inside defense ... Lowry goes in for a bunny and Bam an alley-oop. We can't defend the paint & perimeter at the same time? awful. The one position we mentioned here for the longest. Inside presence. We had options. We really did. Even the two gleaguers would have been able to provide options more than Champaigne. We had Samanic and kabengele. Miami does it, why can't we?
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Post by cole on May 21, 2023 20:19:30 GMT -5
Lets win big or lose big.... but no squeakers or what if's allowed.
Pud
You got your wish
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