BrokenLeftyJumper wrote:Rick Carlisle made an adjustment.
Then Doc shocked the world.
If the great adjustment that Carlisle made was putting Prince on McGrady, what is the counter move Doc is supposed to make? Take McGrady out?
In that situation, its on the player to make the adjustment not the coach. The coach can't just tell you some secret moves that will help you beat a defender.
No, Doc should have looked to alternatives in his offense (just as the Celtics never found an alternative to "dump the ball to Pierce" once New Jersey figured out "triple team Pierce and you beat the Celtics" in 2002 and 2003).
But Doc's stance, as always, is "play the game you've played all year" and make the other team adjust to you. Except, that stops working when the other team adjusts and they start beating you.
That team had scoring options beyond McGrady that were very capable in 2003 -- including Drew Gooden, Gordan Giricek, and Darrel Armstrong -- three players who could score 20+ points a game, especially when all of the defensive attention was elsewhere.
Nearly every year Phil Jackson is taking nobodies off his bench and making them playoff heroes -- be it Tyronne Lue in 2001 or Jannero Pargo in 2004 -- because Jackson knows how to adjust and stay ahead of his opposition.
Granted the Celtics can make the Finals that is going to be one incredibly painful series to watch.
