ozgod wrote:Mr_Mojo_Risin wrote:ozgod wrote:It's interesting then that against Indiana the Celtics actually had more offensive rebounds, more defensive rebounds and more points in the paint than Indiana did.
I agree with you though that of the rebounds that Indy got, Sabonis got most of them. We'll see how our rebounding by committee works against Philly. Theis is going to have a problem so I would expect more Kanter especially if Timelord is still out.
My eye test said our lack of big defensive options was a factor in the loss. For one I think Brown, Theis and Williams all were in foul trouble for trying to compensate (and a number of **** calls to be fair).
Again I agree to a point. It was certainly a factor. Sabonis was a +21. Also Brogdon drew a lot of fouls going to the rim, he shot 15-15 from the free throw line. If Timelord was around he probably doesn't attack the rim as much.
Though what really killed us in my opinion were the 4 straight turnovers (3 from JT and 1 from Wanamaker) to start the 4th when we led by 10, which shrank our lead to 2 and gave Indy momentum. And the fact that we had constant defensive breakdowns on the perimeter in the 2nd half that led to the Holidays torching us for 35 points on 15-23 shooting. I don't want to fall on the obvious narrative that we need a big - yes we do, but a) who is available for us; b) will they move the needle against the likes of Embiid/Giannis/etc and c) who are we willing to give up to get that big? Because we're going to give up one of our top 4 players to get one that moves the needle.
Thankfully Philly don't have as much perimeter threats, if we lose this one it's most likely going to be due to getting outmuscled inside or shredded on the fastbreak.
From memory a lot of the perimeter defensive breakdowns were again because many players were try to cover the interior, Pacers would head towards them, three of our players would crowd and leave their man free on the perimeter.
We have a better defensive big and I bet less players try to come across.
But no doubt our bench and the start of the 4th cost us a lot. Tatum is becoming very good but he tried to rush too much of the play making then. Hopefully he’ll learn.
Harris, Scott, Richardson and Thybulle are perimeter threats. Kormaz, Horford and Embiid are serviceable there. We will be tested again but I’d rather we see where we are now so we can learn early in the season from it.
Personally I don’t think we need a big that moves the needle, just one defensively big and decent enough, eg Baynes that can’t be bullied by Embiid etc. I haven’t watched Valanciunas enough but seems to fit that bill. These kinda guys we can salary match without losing our core 5 which agree should be off the table. I’d rather improve from within than trade one of them right now.
