The Celtics were without a doubt the superior team offensively and defensively, and should have dominated every game, yet Cleveland was merely a few missed opportunities from winning the series. The reason Boston nearly lost was poor coaching.
I can’t totally trash on my boy Doc, because he didn’t do EVERYTHING wrong, I did agree with a few of his decisions. James Posey was the first guy off the bench in every game in the series. He’s arguably the best great defender on the Celts, and for 20 minutes or so each game, he gave Pierce a much needed break in guarding LeBron. It also should be known that this was a very obvious move… even someone as incompetent as Isaiah Thomas would agree with this. Doc also neglected to play Sam Cassell over the past few contests, which was a great call since not only was he shooting the ball horribly, he was forcing shots as soon as he caught a glimpse of daylight.
But…
1. What’s the deal with his substitutions?
I often find myself wondering if Doc Rivers is hammered during games. I think this is the only logical reasoning that can even attempt to explain his substitutions. Clearly there is no pattern to who he plays, and he surely doesn’t use anything close to resembling a professional basketball rotation.
Eddie House, a streaky shooter at best, only logs in like 8 minutes during the series, all garbage time. Suddenly, he plays 30 minutes combined in games 6 and 7. Leon Powe performs great in the first two games in Boston, and inexplicably sits on the bench for nearly the remainder of the series, single handedly killing his confidence. The ghost of P.J. Brown, whose legs appear to be glued to the court at all times, plays 20+ minutes in games 4 and 7, but is rarely utililized the rest of the time. Worse, "Big Baby" Davis, a ROOKIE (also a second round pic for those of you keeping track at home), plays 17 minutes in game 7, almost all of these being in the clutch. Just in case you missed it, "Big Baby" missed 6 of 8 shot attempts and turned the ball over a costly five times.
Some of these lineup changes did end up working out for the best in a few single games. House brought some much needed energy in game 6, and P.J. Brown had a significant contribution in the deciding contest of the series. But why did they occur in the first place? Yes, it's necessary to alter individual playing time in regards to matchups, to assure that the opposing team won't have an advantage. For example, the Celts probably wouldn't play Powe significantly against the Lakers, since he's an undersized forward that isn't very athletic and the Lakers are a huge, very talented team. But the matchups didn't change at all - the Celts were still playing the Cavs after the first two games, so why alter the lineup so significantly when it had been working well in the first place? Yes, Cassell needed to be benched, but was it necessary to sit Powe?
A consistent rotation is very important, especially the playoffs. When players aren't accustomed to the others being on the court with them, turnovers are the result.
2. Why not use the “Hack-A-Shaq” technique on Ben Wallace?
If Doc watched even the last five minutes of any quarter in the Spurs vs. Suns series, he would have seen how great this tactic worked for San Antonio. Popovich fouled Shaq when the Spurs were already in the penalty, and not only did it slow down the Suns’ potent offense that relies on the fast break, but Shaq only made 50% of his free throws (32 – 64).
Meanwhile, Ben Wallace makes Shaq look like Mark Price from the foul line. Wallace is the WORST FREE THROW SHOOTER IN THE HISTORY OF THE NBA, 41% for his career. Yes, while Shaq is still very awful from the free throw line, he's averaged 52% throughout his career, which is 11% higher than Wallace if you do the math.
Plus, Cleveland averaged about 950 foul shots a game, so the Celtics were always in the penalty at the end of quarters anyway. Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure that hacking Wallace a few times a game would take the ball out of LeBron's hands for some possessions, which would have been to the Celts advantage - this series was so close that every offensive set was crucial. It'd be a much better bet to force Big Ben to beat you from the line, rather than attempting to stop LeBron.
Jeff Van Gundy kept repeating this over and over again. It was to the point that I wished he hooked his mic up to the PA system at the Garden and passed the message along to Rivers. Anytime the announcer broadcasting the game is infinitely smarter than your favorite team’s coach, that’s a pretty big problem.
3. Design som
e quick-hitters for Ray Allen!
Ray Allen is the best shooter on the Celtics, hands down. Yes, he was extremely cold during the series, and couldn't throw the ball in the ocean, but he still had Wally fucking Sczerbiak guarding him. Wally is an awful defender - I'm positive that he is paralyzed from the waist down. Since poor shooting isn't something that's typically a problem with Allen, he just needs to get his confidence back up.
The only way for a marksman to regain his confidence is to make some baskets. He was constantly double teamed and wasn't getting any good opportunities. Doc needed to create some plays for Ray - set some screens and get him some open looks. After hitting a few open shots, he's bound to start scoring consistently again.
- Scottie
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