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Post by Admin on Jun 15, 2022 23:58:33 GMT -5
How the Celtics offense can exploit Warriors tactics and revive their championship hopes | Brian Robb
(AP Photo/John Hefti)
BOSTON -- The Celtics had the best offense in the NBA during the second half of the regular season. During the NBA Finals, it has fallen off the cliff, averaging just 107.3 points per 100 possessions, a woeful number that would have ranked 27th in the NBA during the regular season.
The scoring output has been even worse in Boston’s losses in Game 4 and 5, the first back-to-back setbacks for the team since March. In those outings, Boston has scored under 105 points per 100 possessions for the first time since December, long before the team’s stunning second half turnaround.
On paper, the reasons for the offensive decline are obvious. The team has turned the ball over 75 times over the first five games and Boston’s lead ball handlers (Smart, Tatum, Brown) have been the main offenders with all three averaging three or more per game.
So we know what the Celtics are doing that’s slowing down the offense but the bigger question for Boston’s season now is why. With the Celtics facing a must-win starting Thursday night in Game 6, the team’s margin for error is gone against a smart Warriors defense that has preyed on Boston’s worst tendencies.
There is a simple solution to get the Celtics’ offense back on track but it will involve all of Boston’s creators being far more aware of their surroundings than they showed in Game 5.
All year long, Ime Udoka has tried to reduce the Celtics’ isolation tendencies but with the Warriors going primarily small in this series, this group has been eager to attack the basket as much as possible. Golden State simply doesn’t have the horses to protect the paint and also contain Boston’s top talent in 1-on-1 situations.
The Warriors know this but they have found a way to slow Boston down anyway. The formula is something the Celtics have already seen this postseason against the Milwaukee Bucks. Quite simply, the Warriors are packing the paint with help on nearly all of Boston’s drives.
Whether it’s Tatum, Brown or even Smart, Golden State is bringing reinforcements well ahead of time in preparation for Boston’s aggression. A look at the film shows just how early the Warriors are camping out in the paint.
Watch how Draymond Green is just camping out for Jayson Tatum here as he helps off Rob Williams. With Gary Payton II getting more time on Jaylen Brown, it allows Green to spend more time around the rim. Poor spacing here gives Tatum nowhere to go with the ball.
Tatum drive
The same situation comes again here with Brown. Not only is Green offering help but he’s ready for Brown in the paint before he even gets there, leaving Grant Williams wide open in the corner.
Jaylen Brown driving into help
Even a secondary scorer like Marcus Smart is drawing a crowd on many of his drives, with Smart missing an easy kick out to Jaylen Brown.
Smart drive
In the fourth quarter of Game 1, the Celtics were able to punish Golden State for these tactics. However, as the Warriors have doubled down on them, Boston has failed to show the same patience and discipline. The Celtics aren’t just turning the ball over with the Warriors crowding them in the paint but they are failing to finish at the rim well in traffic, shooting just 51 percent in the NBA Finals, which is a seven percent drop from their regular season average. A lack of timely cutting has also contributed to Boston’s spacing and turnover issues. Watch here as Jayson Tatum gets a predictable double team heading into a post up and no one on the perimeter moves to offer him an easy escape route. By the time Brown cuts, Tatum has already turned over the ball. Jayson Tatum facing double team
Heading into Game 6, Boston’s reads and off ball movement/relocation have to be far better to punish the Warriors for these tactics. There should be no surprise that a crowd is waiting for Tatum or Brown in the paint on every possession when they drive. Instead, those guys as well as Smart should be looking to move the ball before they get into trouble and their teammates need to assist with that with better spacing and better angles for passing lanes. That adjustment will send the Warrior defense into scramble mode and unlock better looks against a group that is selling out to protect the paint.
Once the Celtics start making the Warriors pay for their overhelping tactics consistently, we could see some adjustments and more driving lanes open up for Boston’s stars in 1-on-1 situations. Until that happens though, Golden State is going to keep setting the trap that the Celtics are more than happy to fall into. Eventually, the Celtics were able to beat the Bucks in the Eastern Semifinals when they embraced the pass against the Bucks formidable size down low with wins in Games 6 and 7.
Golden State doesn’t have that type of size but their rim protectors in Draymond Green and Kevon Looney are just as skilled and more challenging in some ways thanks to their quickness and recovery ability.
Bottom line? Everyone on the Celtics has to have a pass-first mentality and be proactive with their reads in order to keep their season alive. They have been able to do it with their backs on the line in this postseason before. The challenge begins again on Thursday night at the Garden.
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Post by quagmire on Jun 16, 2022 5:40:46 GMT -5
I expect the C's to win games 6 and 7. Just wanted to take the hardest route possible.
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Post by hedleylamarr on Jun 16, 2022 7:58:17 GMT -5
Time for the lucky pizza tonight. The pizza is 5-1!
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Post by drewski6 on Jun 16, 2022 10:50:49 GMT -5
All year long, Ime Udoka has tried to reduce the Celtics’ isolation tendencies but with the Warriors going primarily small in this series, this group has been eager to attack the basket as much as possible. Golden State simply doesn’t have the horses to protect the paint and also contain Boston’s top talent in 1-on-1 situations.
Exactly. Good article. Like Ive been saying, attack the basket less, attack from the perimeter. I know ppl are scared that this could turn into a shootout, which scares some people. But you just cant beat them when you are turning the ball over so often attacking the basket so much, and then only getting 2 and not 3 when you dont turn the ball over (assuming you are not blocked or miss at the basket).
Our offensive pace. Pts/possession NEEDS to improve, and the best way to do that is with 3s.
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Post by hedleylamarr on Jun 16, 2022 11:02:21 GMT -5
No Scott Foster tonight. Kind of surprised
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Post by cole on Jun 16, 2022 11:22:03 GMT -5
No Scott Foster tonight. Kind of surprised He would be there to help us if he was
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Post by Admin on Jun 16, 2022 11:37:57 GMT -5
Why Robert Williams could be Celtics key wildcard in Game 6 against Warriors
(AP Photo/Steven Senne)
By Brian Robb | brobb@masslive.com
BOSTON --- The most efficient offensive weapon in the NBA Finals for the Celtics is one of the players they’ve used the least so far. Robert Williams has knocked down 88 percent of his shot attempts against the Warriors predominantly small lineups yet has only taken 18 shots (3.6 attempts per game) in the first five games of the NBA Finals. The low usage is largely a byproduct of the design of a Warriors defense that is selling out a lot by taking him away with paint collapses over eliminating potential kickouts on Boston’s drives. “Regarding Rob, I think it is reads,” Ime Udoka said of Williams’ usage. “Like I said, the rotations are set there. They’re a team that’s going to come back and kind of take the big out there. That leaves wide-open kick-outs there. You’ve seen that at times this series. Obviously, Game 1 stands out in the fourth quarter, the last game in the third, where they’re taking away the driver, two or three on the ball, with Jaylen and Jayson specifically. “Good job of getting into Rob. We have some cross matches on the board so we can get the shot up there. But the kick-outs are maybe more wide open than the drop-offs in this series because they are really good with the rotations. We’re the number one, number two defense in the league. And number five halfcourt, we were number one this year. It’s not a fluke when you go through the season. They’re all connected like that. They do a good job as far as that.” While Williams has been taken away a lot, a closer look at the film indicates the team is not looking for him enough in easy spots. While it’s tough to get the ball to him on drives, the secondary drive and kicks where the Warriors’ defense is hedging leads to a lot of passing windows for him with weak defenders at the rim.
Rob Williams open
Rob Williams missed pass
As the Celtics look to keep their season alive in Game 6 and revive better looks in their options, making these correct reads will be crucial to find Williams more for easy looks.
Boston’s starting center has played through constant knee pain to become a more effective contributor in this series. He’s a team-best +31 in plus/minus so far while cracking the 30-minute mark for the first time this postseason during the last two games.
Boston’s rim protection is at a far different level against the Warriors’ attack in this series when he’s on the floor (12 blocks in Finals) but the team’s offense could be far better too with improved reads involving him. Some of that is on Williams to give his teammates better passing angles on some of their drives. However, the 6-foot-9 center should be getting the ball more and being aggressive when he does, especially when rim protectors like Draymond Green and Kevon Looney are focused elsewhere.
The Celtics have been at their best in this series with Williams as the sole big on the floor, having him surrounded by playmakers and shooters. Look for Udoka to lean more into that grouping and push the limits of the minutes Williams can give him as Boston attempts to extend their season to a Game 7.
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Post by Admin on Jun 16, 2022 13:10:16 GMT -5
The Celtics need another game
We’re not ready to say goodbye to these Celtics yet
By Keith P Smith
Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
This is it. Game 6. Down 3-2. Win or the season is over.
It doesn’t get any more important for the Boston Celtics now. Yet, it also doesn’t get any simpler.
Win or it’s over. No grey left now.
This team seems to thrive on doing things the hard way. We’ve heard all the quotes about that. We’ve heard all of the “backs against the wall” quotes too.
They’ve been in a “win or else” spot three times already in the 2022 playoffs. Game 6 of the second round in Milwaukee. Game 7 of that same series in Boston. Then, Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Miami.
Each time, the Celtics came through. No matter the odds, no matter the officials, no matter the injury report, the Celtics won.
Now, they have to do it twice more.
But, and this is important, they only really need to do it Thursday night for Game 6. The Celtics can’t win Banner 18 on Thursday. But they can make it so that there’s another game.
In the end, that’s all we really want as fans, right? Another game.
This team has been special. They went from a “What in the world is this?” mess of a group in 2021 to a juggernaut in 2022. It’s been a frustrating and terrifying roller coaster at times, but it’s also been undeniably exhilarating and fun.
It’s mid-June. Other teams are making trades. The Boston Celtics are still playing in the 2022 NBA Finals. They’re down, but they aren’t out. There’s another game to play, and hopefully another game after that too.
Thursday night, in Boston and around the world, Celtics nation is going to come together and cheer on the guys in green for another game. For two-and-a-half to three hours, that’s all that will matter. Everything else gets shut out.
We’ll cheer. We’ll yell, both in joy and frustration. We’ll scream at officials as if they are our mortal enemies sent to make the road even harder. We’ll exhale deeply on timeouts and sit back roughly in our seats. And when play starts up, we’ll be on the edge of our seats or we’ll stand, ready for battle once again.
All we really want is one more game. One more temporary escape from everything else. One more chance to be a part of something bigger. A world-wide family brought together by the Boston Celtics.
We’ve been here before. It’s the Celtics season, but it’s our season too. Three previous times, we put on our Celtics gear and got ourselves ready for hours of pure, rapturous torture. Three previous times, we collapsed into joyous puddles with smiles as wide as our faces could stretch them.
Now, we want that feeling again. Another game.
The Golden State Warriors are proud champions and worthy foes. They’re likeable enough to not truly hate, but ornery enough to have a heavy dose of “sports hate” thrown their way. They’ve earned their right to try to become 2022 NBA Champions on the parquet floor in TD Garden.
But that doesn’t mean the Celtics will let them. Spoiling things, along with bouncing back, has been what this team has done best.
The Brooklyn Nets were supposed to be the “just wait until the playoffs” team. Four games later they were sent spiraling into an offseason of uncertainty.
The Milwaukee Bucks were the defending champs. They had the chance to close it out on the home floor and to keep their title defense going. Down 3-2, the Celtics spoiled that and assured there would be no repeat.
The Miami Heat had become that infrequent rival. They kept Boston from the Finals in both 2012 and 2020. After losing a chance to close out the Heat at home, the Celtics were poised to fall to this sporadic rival again. But Boston spoiled that beach party in Miami, and made their first NBA Finals in 12 years.
Now, the Celtics can give us another game by holding off the Warriors. Another game.
This is Game 106 of this season. That’s not enough games. We want…no…we NEED Game 107.
The offseason and all the fun of trades and signings can wait. Over hyping Summer League prospects can wait. We need another game.
Another game before a summer of baseball games drones on interminably. Another game.
Weird things happen in Game 7. Someone you expect to be great falls short. Some unexpected role player steps forward to become a hero, forever remembered fondly by his fan base.
But to get there, you need to win Game 6 first. You need to force another game.
The Warriors don’t want to play another game. They know how wrong things can go in Game 7, even on their home floor. They want to close things out in Game 6 on Thursday night.
It’s up to the Celtics to delay that celebration. Ideally, they delay it permanently. But that’s something to worry about on Sunday, when there’s another game.
Another game.
To get there, TD Garden needs to be rocking for Game 6. And virtual TD Gardens all across the globe need to be rocking too. Put on your green early today. Celebrate your Celtics fandom. Speak, tweet, text, write, scream another game into existence. If you wake up your neighbors overseas, just tell them it was all in service of forcing another game. They probably won’t get it, but that’s on them for not feeling the passion you do.
There’s a saying that often goes around that says “Boston is a brotherhood”. That’s needs to be felt during Game 6. Across the board. It doesn’t matter if Boston might as well be as faraway as a fairytale city. If you’re rooting for the Celtics, you’re part of it. That’s just how it works.
All we want as fans is another game. Since late-October, there’s always been another game on the schedule. There’s always been a next time to look forward to. There’s another game on the schedule right now too. It’s sitting there on Sunday at 8:00 PM ET. But it’s got an “if necessary” asterisk attached to it.
It’s up to the Celtics to remove that asterisk. It’s up to Boston to give us another game. One more time.
Getting another game is for Ime and Brad. It’s for Al. It’s for the Jayson, Jaylen, Marcus, Rob core. It’s for the kids. It’s for Derrick’s New Dad energy. It’s for the best damn bench vibes in the NBA.
It’s for Danny. It’s for Paul, KG and Ray. It’s for IT and AB. It’s to honor Bill Russell seeing the balloons ready to fall to celebrate a title for the opponent and snarling “Those friggin' balloons are staying up there.”
And it’s for us too. We’ve been there all year long. Through all the downs and through all the ups. Through the underwhelming and overwhelming. For 105 times, we’ve donned our green and white and tried to will our guys on to greatness. It’s worked three times already when it was needed most.
Now, we need it again. The Celtics need to force one last, final, ultimate game.
Game 6. At home in front of the faithful maniacs who have shed sweat and dropped countless tears for this team, both inside and outside of TD Garden.
We’re not ready to say goodbye to these 2022 Boston Celtics. Not tonight. We need more time with these guys. We need one more reason to get geared up to scream, yell, cheer, laugh and maybe even cry.
Let’s get another game.
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Post by Admin on Jun 16, 2022 15:03:46 GMT -5
NBA unveils officials for Warriors’ potential closeout Game 6 Zach Zarba will be crew chief as Warriors have shot to clinch NBA title vs. Celtics (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group) By Michael Nowels |
The NBA is putting one of its best-known officials in charge of calling NBA Finals Game 6 as the Warriors look to clinch the title in Boston Thursday night.
Zach Zarba will be the crew chief, the same role he covered in the Warriors’ Game 2 win at Chase Center a week and a half ago. Alongside him will be David Guthrie and John Goble.
Goble worked Game 1, a Celtics win, while Guthrie worked Game 3, also won by Boston.
Josh Tiven, who’s already worked two games in these Finals, will be in the replay center.
In that Game 2, Zarba’s crew made the pivotal decision not to call a technical foul on Draymond Green during his scuffle with Jaylen Brown near the end of the first half in a two-point game. Green already had one technical in the game and had been toeing the line before getting tangled up with Brown, meaning another technical would have seen him ejected.
The Warriors went on to win that game 107-88 and even the series at one game apiece.
Golden State is 12-10 overall in postseason games officiated by Zarba. Boston is 11-10 in his games.
In Goble’s playoff games, the Warriors are 11-7 while the Celtics are 9-9. The Warriors are an even 7-7 in Guthrie’s playoff games while Boston is 6-5.
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Post by DaCeltics on Jun 16, 2022 16:16:23 GMT -5
Watch out for Goble then!
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Post by DaCeltics on Jun 16, 2022 17:33:24 GMT -5
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Post by DaCeltics on Jun 16, 2022 17:34:43 GMT -5
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Post by DaCeltics on Jun 16, 2022 17:35:36 GMT -5
Sexy Amanda
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Post by DaCeltics on Jun 16, 2022 17:38:38 GMT -5
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Post by DaCeltics on Jun 16, 2022 17:39:18 GMT -5
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Post by hedleylamarr on Jun 16, 2022 17:46:51 GMT -5
Enjoying my lucky pizza.
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Post by dfries13 on Jun 16, 2022 18:52:56 GMT -5
I arranged the basil on mine into a four leaf clover . Grandson has a ticket and is in Boston..... ist time north of NYC.
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Post by Admin on Jun 16, 2022 20:07:34 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Jun 16, 2022 20:08:09 GMT -5
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Post by hedleylamarr on Jun 16, 2022 20:10:50 GMT -5
Let's go Celtics
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Post by kivancb on Jun 16, 2022 20:12:48 GMT -5
Nice start boys
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Post by Admin on Jun 16, 2022 20:12:55 GMT -5
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Post by elvissurfs on Jun 16, 2022 20:14:57 GMT -5
Time for the lucky pizza tonight. The pizza is 5-1! So far Hedley's lucky pizza is working!...
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Post by jdm894g on Jun 16, 2022 20:16:10 GMT -5
So far so good.
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Post by Admin on Jun 16, 2022 20:16:17 GMT -5
Q1:Al starts it with 2-2 FTs Smart a floater Brown adds 5pts
Tatum a 3
12-2 C's TIME OUT WARRIORS
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