Style Change To Win It All: Run, Run, Run

[GreenDreamer]

The Celtics have their backs up against the wall, and with the losses in our front court this team needs to embrace the ONLY style of play which could lead to a Title. The Celtics need to orient the offensive pace around the guy who is in reality our best player now, Rondo, and haul %$# up and down the court. This means:

1. Pushing the ball not only off of steals and long rebounds, but breaking on made baskets and ANYTIME Rondo grabs a defensive rebound, a la Kidd's Nets. We simply cannot look to slow the game down and play strictly in the halfcourt, because such a pace would heavily favor our prime playoff competition. We are too small to bang with the best.

2. Getting Marbury more run. The faster pace will be hard on Rajon, and Marbury is a point guard who can help to keep such a pace up when Rondo is out. He hasn't done much yet, but against the second lines of other teams, breaking the court open would be good for him. He still has good athleticism and is a capable passer.

3. Tony will need to get on the court at the beginning of the 2nd and 4th quarters to help give Paul and Ray breathers, especially Paul. Tony would do well in such a fast paced style of play.

4. Guys need to focus on getting out ahead of the break. Rondo and Marbs are trying to run breaks, and guys are staying even with them, or lagging behind. That cannot happen. Fill your lanes,and take the proper angles.

5. Scalabrine coming back is actually good for this style as he can stretch the floor, knows how to get ahead of the break, and is a good passer. He played on Kidd's Nets and just seems to understand transition basketball.

Make no mistake about it, we cannot slow pace our way to a Title. Playoff basketball is halfcourt oriented, but this team needs to jump on EVERY opportunity it can to run. Only go into the halfcourt when transition chances aren't there anymore. Do not SETTLE. Be aggressive and push the issue. We are playing small ball anyways. Baby and Scal are not big/tall enough for us to get away with a slow pace against a bigger team.

We need to get the cheapie points, especially if we are so lucky as to get to meet Cleveland. They are much bigger than we are, but their smallish backcourt opens up some possibilities for us to play small and fast, matchup wise. You can play Rondo and Eddie together against them, provided that we put a speed line up on the floor and punish their bigger guys. Let's face it, LeBron is a load no matter what, but let's shrink the height of his supporting cast by forcing him to play the 4. Previously him playing at the 4 would have been relatively bad for us... now we have to MAKE him do that, or they will just throttle us in the halfcourt with their size.

We have the remainder of this series, and the next series, for our guys to get used to playing this way. Revolve around Rondo. Let him be the hub for the team. He is our best athlete now, and can set everyone else up. Playing slow it down basketball is a ticket to certain elimination. Sooner or later we are GUARANTEED to lose with the personnel we have if we can't find ways to get easy baskets. The good news is that unlike most fast paced teams, we should still be able to play good defense within this style of play, and still have the wherewithall to execute in the halfcourt when we have to. It just shouldn't be our first optiopn to do that.

[Datruth345]

we don't have the personnel to play that way imo

[Magilla_Gorilla]

You do know that pushing the tempo is the Bulls best offense and that they have the players to do it. I'm not so sure the Celtics could keep up.

[GreenDreamer]

we don't have the personnel to play that way imo

Yeah, we actually do. It is the WILL to do it which seems to be missing. If Larry, Kevin and Robert could haul ass up and down the floor, you better believe that our guys can. Will they? That is a different story. There is no way that we can win a halfcourt war against a team like Cleveland. They are simply to big. The same appluies to the Lakers. Have to find a way to make them go small too, otherwise we are doomed.

[GreenDreamer]

You do know that pushing the tempo is the Bulls best offense and that they have the players to do it. I'm not so sure the Celtics could keep up.

I really don't give a hell about the Bulls. I'm thinking about the Cavs, Magic and Lakers. If the Celtics are going to have a shot at the Title, then they cannot play a bigman's game with small guys. To start playing this way means starting to play that way now. Anyways, your team looked like terrible when Rondo was the one shoving it down your throat, and that was just him going one on everyone. If the other Celts get into the act, I think that we should have decent success.

If the Celtics can't keep up, then so be it. Better to play a way that could win it all then win in the first round and get bounced soon afterwards.

[Magilla_Gorilla]

You do know that pushing the tempo is the Bulls best offense and that they have the players to do it. I'm not so sure the Celtics could keep up.

I really don't give a hell about the Bulls. I'm thinking about the Cavs, Magic and Lakers. If the Celtics are going to have a shot at the Title, then they cannot play a bigman's game with small guys. To start playing this way means starting to play that way now. Anyways, your team looked like terrible when Rondo was the one shoving it down your throat, and that was just him going one on everyone. If the other Celts get into the act, I think that we should have decent success.

If the Celtics can't keep up, then so be it. Better to play a way that could win it all then win in the first round and get bounced soon afterwards.

You're right. The Celtics should run up and down the court with Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Perkins, and Big Baby. Sound strategy. Someone tell Doc.

[GuyClinch]

You been listening to Heinsohn too much. Running isn't a cure all for lack of talent. The same goes for the trite leadership theory. The C's path to winning it all is having a healthy KG return. This is a 50 something win team without KG. 50 something teams rarely win championships..

[PPAW4Life]

We should run when we can but we can't force it. We're banged up and "older" and we don't want to give the Bulls more possessions than we need to.

What the C's should do more on offense is be more aggressive and assertive. Less dribbling the ball after missing out on the first option.

Penetrate more and get guys their normal shots like always.

[Joyeuse]

Do you see that second point? The one about Marbury needing more playing time and Rondo less because he will be running a lot? We are a shorthanded team, and your suggestion will have our best players playing fewer minutes. I don't think I need to explain why this is a problem.

[humblebum]

1. I agree with GreenDreamer the Celtics need to play to Rondo's strengths. Pierce and Ray in the half-court isn't good enough as a first option against good defensive teams. Rondo in the open court is a dynamic player all alone, if you get guys running with him it could really help boost the Celtics offensive efficiency.

2. Playing up-tempo offensively doesn't conversely mean that you allow your opponents to play uptempo offense. If the Celtics play up-tempo and get easy baskets in transition it will allow them to get back on defense, set up, and get stops in the half court. If the Celtics can close down the paint they can gather long rebounds (Rondo's specialty) and play the transition game.

3. The Celtics still have options in the half-court. Rondo, Ray, and Pierce are all well above average in the half-court game. Perkins, Davis, and Marbury are solid options as well. And the team as a whole is very much committed to spacing and ball movement. So YES Rondo should push tempo and the team should follow his lead. If there isn't an open look on the break THEN you pull it out and run your half-court stuff. But it's clear that the Celtics MUST push tempo if they have any hopes of challenging the best of the best teams minus KG.

By the way, Great post GreenDreamer!

[Fencer reregistered]

How well the guys are suited for a running attack:

Rondo -- very, very
Ray -- very -- he's a great jump-shooter off the break, and a reasonable actual lane filler
Paul -- very, in principle -- not so much in practice
Perk -- poorly
Baby -- decently despite not being a classic finisher
Marbury -- very if he ever gets an attacking attitude on
Tony -- adequately -- great finisher, lousy passer, tolerable straight-ahead dribbler
Eddie -- well -- he likes to run, and of course can also be the shooter
Moore -- at least as well as he is for any other offensive style ...

[Havlicek17]

Good Post. I agree with everything you said. If you're at a size disadvantage versus the other team, then the best thing you can do is get into your offense before the defense gets a chance to set up. Speed versus size.

With no big men down the floor, the lanes to the basket are open and Rondo is a real threat to go to the hoop, so teams have to respect that and if they collapse on Rondo, he can kick it out to the open man.

In watching the game last night, I think the Celts are already on the same page. Doc has been telling Rondo to use his speed to run the floor. Last night we got into our offense before Chicago could get set, and it wasn't until we tried slowing the game down in the 4th quarter that we lost 10 points off the lead.

I especially liked the play where TNT was interviewing Stern, but in the background you could see BBD take the ball full court and slam.

Not sure if this will get us #18, but it will help us to play this style until KG can get back on the floor. I am still hoping he will play by the Clevelans series.

[Banks2Pierce]

How well the guys are suited for a running attack:

Rondo -- very, very
Ray -- very -- he's a great jump-shooter off the break, and a reasonable actual lane filler
Paul -- very, in principle -- not so much in practice
Perk -- poorly
Baby -- decently despite not being a classic finisher
Marbury -- very if he ever gets an attacking attitude on
Tony -- adequately -- great finisher, lousy passer, tolerable straight-ahead dribbler
Eddie -- well -- he likes to run, and of course can also be the shooter
Moore -- at least as well as he is for any other offensive style ...

I agree with most of these except for Perk. A big component to a fast break team is a guy who will control the boards and then outlet to the streakers. Perk is one of the best in the league at doing this. Baby can also be useful with his ball handling.

[GuyClinch]

Teams defend against the run very well nowadays. So you just have to run situationally (off of steals or long rebounds) like the Celtics already do. With how much you watch basketball you should know better then this.

Teams cannot just turn it on and start running. Not even the Phoenix Suns with Nash score more then 1/3 of their points off the fast break game..

[GreenDreamer]

Teams defend against the run very well nowadays. So you just have to run situationally (off of steals or long rebounds) like the Celtics already do. With how much you watch basketball you should know better then this.

Teams cannot just turn it on and start running. Not even the Phoenix Suns with Nash score more then 1/3 of their points off the fast break game..

I do know better. That's why I wrote the O.P. The Celtics were pushing tempo and running almost every chance that they had. My only problem was them not getting the ball in fast enough, but even then I could see that Perk wasn't wasting as much time as he had before. The diea that we could not run on the Bulls was pretty effectively debunked last night. We uptempoed them into oblivion AND played good D.

The uptempo running will be essential against the Cavs. We can beat them down the court,and must look to punsih their size. We can make Z a positive liability if we play our cards right, and he is a dude who can seriously hurt you if you don't put pressure on their defense in this way. Perk may not be that fast, but he is a hell of a lot faster than Z.

[floyd]

I'd like to see the bench guys push the tempo more. Moore doesn't suck at running, so why not use his one skill to our advantage. They really struggle in the half court, pushing the pace might help.

If you run on Cleveland, you better finish it off though. You don't want to let Lebron getting it going the other way. Bad things tend to happen with him in the open court.

[GreenDreamer]

I'd like to see the bench guys push the tempo more. Moore doesn't suck at running, so why not use his one skill to our advantage. They really struggle in the half court, pushing the pace might help.

If you run on Cleveland, you better finish it off though. You don't want to let Lebron getting it going the other way. Bad things tend to happen with him in the open court.

Bad things happen with him in the half court. Hell, bad things happen with him whenever he is physically on the court. he is the best player in the game, and no one else is even close. The whole Kobe/LeBron thing is a bunch of hot air. Kobe is a great player, but LeBron is like force of nature.

[floyd]

Obviously he's great, but when he gets on the break he's unstoppable. He's like Shaq back in the day when he'd get it 5 feet from the hoop. It's 2 points or a foul or both.

And if you botch the fastbreak, you can count on him coming the other way with it.

[GreenDreamer]

1. I agree with GreenDreamer the Celtics need to play to Rondo's strengths. Pierce and Ray in the half-court isn't good enough as a first option against good defensive teams. Rondo in the open court is a dynamic player all alone, if you get guys running with him it could really help boost the Celtics offensive efficiency.

2. Playing up-tempo offensively doesn't conversely mean that you allow your opponents to play uptempo offense. If the Celtics play up-tempo and get easy baskets in transition it will allow them to get back on defense, set up, and get stops in the half court. If the Celtics can close down the paint they can gather long rebounds (Rondo's specialty) and play the transition game.

3. The Celtics still have options in the half-court. Rondo, Ray, and Pierce are all well above average in the half-court game. Perkins, Davis, and Marbury are solid options as well. And the team as a whole is very much committed to spacing and ball movement. So YES Rondo should push tempo and the team should follow his lead. If there isn't an open look on the break THEN you pull it out and run your half-court stuff. But it's clear that the Celtics MUST push tempo if they have any hopes of challenging the best of the best teams minus KG.

By the way, Great post GreenDreamer!

Very well put HB. We can have our cake and eat it too.

[PPAW4Life]

You need to hit your half court game first and get your prime time players into a good rhythm.

You can't just run all game long....players get tired. It will just be a turnover fest!

Pierce and Allen have proven they are legit number 1 options against any team's defense.