No ratings today. I'm shelving that due to lack of participation but may reinstitute it on a modified basis come the regular season.
Well, the Celtics beat the Nets in Boston, 100-93. Don't let any idiot trolls tell you it was inferior competition. Doc played his starters a total of 126 minutes. The Nets starters played a total of 142 minutes, including most of the 4th quarter against the Celtics' bench. Lopez is a big-league offensive center, who burned Perk a number of times.
In some ways, this was the most revealing game of the preseason to date. Doc went with the most likely 10-man rotation for the vast majority of the game and then turned it over the a combination of Eddie, Hudson, Sweetney, Quis and Davis at the end.
Some observations:
• KG again played 21 minutes: 9 in the 1st quarter, 4 in the second quarter, 8 in the third quarter. Even at the end of his stint, although obviously tired, he was running in front of the pack (albeit a slow-moving pack); and his jumper was deadly as he shot 6 for 8. Purely for the adrenalin his play gave the team, he would be my co-favorite for the game MVP.
• Marquis Daniels played his normal all-around game, scoring on runners, a breakaway, a patented floater; playing very smart defense, including a great block from behind; and being a guiding hand twice as the bench pulled away from the Nets in the second quarter and held on to win against the Nets' starters at the end. For that performance, he's also my co-favorite for the game MVP.
• But wait, there's more. Eddie House is my third co-favorite for MVP by dint of his timely sharp-shooting (13 points) and surprisingly good interior passing (three assists).
• Paul Pierce makes it an MVP quartet with his 25 points in 28 minutes, including two three-pointers that made it look easy.
• My MVU (most valuable unit) was definitely the bench. These guys had by far a better +/- than the starters, and much of that +/- was achieved against the Nets' starters in the clutch. I LOVE killer instinct; and, except for a little disorganized glitch at the end, the bench really exhibited it.
• Baby said after the game that his role has changed, with the advent of Sheed, to less of a jump-shooter and more of a power player. He is taking it to the hole like a bull, so far being fouled more than scoring field goals.
• You can read the box score and see that the Celts shot well (.45% FG, 84% FT, 39% 3-PT). I'd like to focus on some stats I calculate that can sometimes be revealing:
√ "Offensive chemistry" (assists as a % of made field goals) was okay at 55%. (Anything more than 50% is good, but the Celtics seem to perform best at 60% or more; it was 42% in Game 1 and 61% in Game 2.)
√ "Defensive alertness" (ratio of the sum of steals and blocks to personal fouls they commit) was 1:1.9—an improvement over Game 1 (1 to 2.2) and Game 2 (1 to 2.3). (The lower the second figure in the ratio, the better.)
√ "Offensive rebound efficiency" (number of offensive rebounds divided by the number of rebounds available on the offensive boards) was only 12% (only two-thirds as high as in both of the previous games).
√ "Defensive rebound efficiency" (number of defensive rebounds divided by the number of rebounds available on the defensive boards) was a very high 83%. In other words, they did a good job of keeping the Nets off the offensive boards, although Lopez got a few.
So, if I had to pinpoint what stood out as the principal difference-makers in this game, it would be (1) the Celtics' defensive alertness, which was strong among both the starters (1 to 1.8) and the bench (1 to 2. 0) and (2) defensive rebounding efficiency. If I were to identify a key need for improvement (based on this one game), it would be offensive rebounding.
If there's one player who has yet to hit his stride, despite occasional flashes of both offensive and defensive sparks, it would have to be Rondo. He went 3-9 from the field (finally hitting one jumper) and a promising 2-2 from the line, with 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, and 4 turnovers in 26 minutes. So far this preseason, he's shooting 35% from the field and a very acceptable 70% from the line; and he's averaging 3.0 assists, 1.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 3.3 turnovers in 21.3 minutes. Not terrible, but not reflective of the reliable catalyst they need him to be. He did seem to become inspired at certain points in this game (including an emphatic dunk), so we'll hope for the best.
All-in-all, it was a good outing and further indication of the emergence of the second unit as a decisive factor.
Sam
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8 comments:
Thanks for the post, Sam.
I didn't see this game. I like these alternative statistics that you mentioned. In particular, "defensive alertness" has a good name. I'm glad you didn't call it "defensive percentage" or something like that. As you know, steals and blocks are not necessarily indicators of good defense (Bruce Bowen almost never had many of either, but reliably stayed in front of his man and never gave his man a clean look at the basket). But they are gamble plays that can sometimes result in fouls. A team's alertness in knowing when and how to engage in such gambles is a key indicator of how likely they are to win a game.
I'm glad that KG continues to look reasonably fluid. I saw the Knicks game and thought he looked solid but not like the KG of old. I don't know if we'll ever have that guy back, but he doesn't look as creaky as I feared he would, so I'll consider that major progress at this stage.
Dslack,
You pinpointed the precise reason why I give that stat the "defensive alertness" name; and you did it more concisely than I ever could have.
I look at KG's recovery as a long-term process. Fortunately, with the depth this team has, he doesn't have to be hurried. It's interesting to see the old pro playing more with his head these days. I have enjoyed the analogies people have made to pitchers who ahve lost their fastball and must now use more guile. However, I remain hopeful that KG will recover all or most of his "cheese."
Sam
Sooner or later, KG was going to have to learn to pace himself as Father Time caught up with him as FT catches up with all of us mere mortals... the sooner the better. That time is now.
This will extend his NBA career and that is a very good thing indeed.
I was never comfortable when KG was allowed to HIDE AWAY (simply no excuse... bad, bad coaching and poor leadership) in the locker room when he could not play, something we saw in his first two years here when injured until playoffs last year when he sat on the bench (better coaching and better leadership) and cheered on his teammates to play beyond expectations... and they did.
He is now coming to grips with his limitations... finally... and that will make him an even more effective team player AND LEADER as he learns to control his emotions/energies and to focus them like a lazer.
KG is growing up.
Watch out, world!
With a bit of luck... TOP OF THE WORLD- REDUX!
Hi Sam, I agree with most of what you say, I am beginning to love this kid Daniels. Not flashy, just does his job and does it well. Seems to be in the right place at the right time. Eddie is playing well with him. Looks like a good duo. KG is looking like KG, intense as heck. You want to say,"calm down big guy it is just the pre season, but this is what makes KG what he is, and that is great. Paul finally hit his stride during this game, it looked so easy for him.
I will say that I agree with partially about Rondo. He had his spots yesterday, I am looking for more consistency though.
I am concerned a little about Ray.
It seems he is hardly touching the ball. More plays have to be put in for him to get in his groove. I would hate for him to start the season in a rut.
All in all, I am impressed with that second unit. They are really gelling and making it look so easy.
You are right about Lopez, he is really developing into a terrific
ballplayer. His brother already is
super, what a good blood line!
I believe we are right on track, that the team will really start playing better and better. I can't wait for that Cleveland game.
Rosalie,
It said in today's paper that Doc is gradually introducing plays, but I believe none has yet been put in for either Paul or Ray. I expect that will happen during the last two or three games of preseason.
It would be interesting to get Doc's "take" on why he waits so long to institute plays. I would think that part of evaluating the effectivness of various combinations would involve determining how efficiently they run various plays. I assume Doc feels that would be information overload at this stage.
Sam
Sam,
It's interesting your take on % of offensive rebounds. I went on about that a couple of years ago and DSlack pointed out to me, correctly, that if a bigger % of your rebounds are offensive, then a smaller % are defensive and that's not necessarily a good thing. To make that work, you have to temper it against what an average # of total rebounds are (if avg is 45 and you only get 38, then getting a high % of offensive rebs isn't necessarily good. If you get 52 rebs total, that's great).
I wish the NBA would start keeping stats on # charges committed and # charges taken. I think that would really highlight how in/out of control a ballhandler is and also highlight the type of contributions that dslack was referring to with Bowen. Keeps in front of his man, takes charges, not a lot of steals and blocks.
Too bad there's no way to track how many seconds a player wastes trying to "work" a defender, only to have to pass it away or take a bad shot.
bob
P.S. I'm leaving for NY tomorrow and my postings, in general, will become scarcer.
Bob,
I think there may be a misconception about the stats I posted.
By % of offensive rebounds, I do NOT refer to a percentage breakdown of your offensive versus your defensive rebounds (adding to 100%).
I refer to the number of offensive rebounds you get divided by the total of your offensive rebounds and the other team's defensive rebounds. In other words, of the total number of rebounds that are available in your offensive end, what proportion of them do you grab?
Conversely, % of available defensive rebounds refers to the number of defensive rebounds you get as a percentage of the number of rebounds available in your defensive end.
As for other stats I'd like to see, there are two that I know are kept and are not made readily available are points in the paint and fast break points. I'd surely like better access to those.
Good luck in New York, and safe travels.
Sam
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