Game 58: Cavaliers at Celtics

[Benedict_Boozer]

We need Wally to get on track....dumping Gooden dropped our frontcourt scoring so we need our back court to produce.

Coaching staff needs to work with him to figure out where he likes his shots from and he has to be more patient with his shot selection

[bballcool34]

BTW, anyone notice Boston runs two halfcourt sets...(They also have a Pierce at the top play, but they don't run it nearly as much)

Ray Allen down screens..

And high screen & rolls to the basket..

Riddle me this though: Why do we actually double Eddie House when they string out to let their front court players roll right to the basket ??

It's literally the same play time after time..

Very odd..

That's one thing that has been discussed on the Celtics board- that at times are offense is very predictable.

We usually do have Pierce up high more, but he was having a bad game, and Ray was having a good one, so the Celts went more to him.

Actually, the Celtics don't usually run as many pick and rolls as they do tonight- but the Celtics feed said the team recognized in a timeout that Varejao often doubles the ball handlers and is overly aggressive, which leaves the guy rolling to the hoop open.

We didn't have KG in the block at all today, but utilized him on pick-pops more, so yeah the offense really was very similar all night- don't know why Cleveland didn't adjust?

[celticfan42487]

Yeah we usually do run one or two main plays.

But Pick and rolls isn't it. It was tonight I guess though.

Usually you'll see a lot more KG iso on the block. And Pierce iso in general.

Looks like the poster above me was smart enough to catch that apparently the coaches deemed Varajeo was vunerable to pick and rolls. So it looks like it was an adjustment.

Well one more regular season down to the books for us, hope you guys enoy the rest of your warmup job before you start running into the playoffs.


And don't judge West too quickly, give him time to adjust please.

Judge Wally though, for a team that plays defense I think you're going to learn to hate Wally. Damn slow version of Damon Jones.

[LiquidFire]

i actually think wally isnt as bad as people say he is on defense. i mean hes slow, but he always has his hand in there face. i think he can improve maybe.

[devwat12]

Cavs played horrible pick and roll D tonight. Powe, Davis, and Perkins were running free to the rim all night long. Can't give those guys 30 points on 12 shots.

Lebron played one of his worst games of the year. He overdribbled and made some poor decisions. Too many jumpers. I would like to see West initiate the offense a little more with Lebron moving down into the post, especially if Brown continues to run lineups with 1 or no shooters on the court.

We need to get Gibson back. Devin Brown is not a 25-30 minute a night player.

I'm amazed the game wasn't a complete blowout with Lebron and Wally clanging so much.

West and Joe Smith continue to impress. Wally is shooting below 30% with us now. He'll come around. He's trying too hard to impress right now instead of just letting it fly.

Still a lot of work to be done in getting this group to gel together. Some problems were exposed on this back to back roadie that need to be shored up. Get a couple winnable home games coming up to iron some stuff out.

[JiriMania]

Boston fans showing class by cheering for LeBron's injury, how unexpected.

When the whistle blew, Brown and the training staff rushed over to attend to James, while the crowd hushed and the players on both benches looked over to see what was happening. After being looked at on the floor for a few minutes, he limped off to the locker room, favoring his right leg, getting a cheer from the Boston fans.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=280227002

For what its worth...

Good game.

[B Mac]

Its rough getting through these games, but it also is exciting to think about what this team can do once they have a chance to get healthy and gel as a team.

[Gordon Bombay]

damn back-to-back clunkers...good thing we got minny on friday

[heathmalc]

damn back-to-back clunkers...good thing we got minny on friday

Assuming we beat them.

[kiwibrindle]

We look bad at the moment. I doubt I will turn on the game Friday. I hope they start pulling this team together soon. This trade needs to show progress or it may blow up in Ferry's face.

So far,

Wallace looks out of place. As bad as Gooden maybe worst with less offense for sure. Wallace's defense has been okay at times but on offense its like watching Eric Snow with the ball. Its painful.

Wally looks like he's forcing ever shot. He needs to be comfortable going to the hole. I think just standing at the arc for 3's is a mistake. I do not know but I think his role is wrong. Maybe he should play the three with Lebron at the four or two.

Joe Smith needs more minutes. Right now he should start until Wallace can find it. His shot looks good.

West needs to handle the ball freely to the hole. After LBJ went down, Boston was not focusing on Lebron who has to touch it every possesion. Delonte knows were Wally can hit his shot and passes to him well. Wally looked better when he gets the ball from West.

Possible lineups in the short term to try:

1 2 3 4 5
West, Lebron, Wally, Smith, Z

1 2 3 4 5
West, Brown, Wally, Lebron, Smith

1 2 3 4 5
West, Wally, Lebron, Smith, Z

I think West and Wally need to start and play together.
I think Smith needs to be in there more to.
Maybe going small with more shooters is a move to help.

Our defense can't look worse.

I would settle for:

1 2 3 4 5
West, Lebron, Smith, Wallace, Z

Get Smith out there more. Play the Hot Hand

[Uncooked]

-= original quote snipped =-



http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=280227002

For what its worth...

Good game.

For what it's worth, it was way before the whistle, but they were probably just cheering for LeBron's basket/5 on 4/jumbotron/free popcorn/other lame excuse we've seen so far from posters.