Moderators: 7 Footer, Morris_Shatford, DG88, niQ, Duffman100, tsherkin, Reeko, lebron stopper, HiJiNX
On how the Wizards -- without Gilbert Arenas -- were able to win back-to-back games against the league-leading Celtics: "There's a number of things going on there,'' said an advance scout who knows both teams well. "I think you're seeing the Celtics wear down just a little bit, and you're seeing a little of the old Paul Pierce come out -- a little bit of trying to take over the game by himself. Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins aren't getting up and down the court as well as they were early in the season, and they're not getting easy baskets while Rajon Rondo is out [with a back injury].
"In the backcourt, Eddie House and Ray Allen are all-or-nothing. They were a combined 7 of 23 against the Wizards in the loss at Boston, and with his limited touches it's harder for Allen to break out for 25 points anymore.
"In Washington's case, Brendan Haywood, with his strength and length, is able to match up pretty well against Garnett. DeShawn Stevenson is a strong, athletic guard who makes it tougher for Allen to get shots off. And the Wizards did the little things like make 27 of 30 at the free throw line in the latter win.
"What you will see becoming an issue against the Celtics is zone defenses, because I don't think they do a good job offensively against them. They stand around too much when they should be moving against a matchup zone like the Wizards were playing against them. Against that kind of defense, you should be running your man-to-man offense and forcing the switches that make the defense vulnerable. But the Celtics look stagnant in their 1-3-1 set, and that makes their guys easy for the defenders to find.
"The word is out now that the Celtics have problems against zones, and they'll be seeing a lot more of them.''
El Presidente wrote:-= original quote snipped =-
What's that prediction based on? Nothing?
Q00 wrote:When scoring over 100 pts and giving up under 100 pts, they are 11-0
Clearly defense is the difference between winning and losing for this team.
onions17 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-
My prediction is based on nothing.
anyways, Celtics by 8.
Maybe someone with a crystal ball would be better qualified to make predictions.
