Kanter just happened to be on the floor at the start of the 2Q when the Celtics hit 6 consecutive 3-pointers. On the other end he was helpless against their PNR. He couldn’t play in the 2H after his showing when he was out there.
I think this is reasonable at this point, with the caveat that they were substantially over .500 last year when JT+JB played together, and are substantially under it this year.
I wouldn't say that this 'worked' so much as the Celtics hit 8 straight threes or something like that. In the second half the Knicks started attacking the drop coverage int he pick and roll.
Smart does fine when he is in PG mode. He gets them, and Rob, the ball. It is the Smart Schroder combo that doesn't work because both of their defenders will heppaily cheat off of them.
The odds of Beal forcing his way to this mess of a team have to be extremely long.
The problem is Ime's decision to employ him as a floor spacing wing in those situations, especially in lineups that don;t have anyone who can shoot reliably other than Brown and Tatum themselves.
As someone noted in the game thread, Smart is getting open shots for a reason.
The Cs are 2-11 in games decided by 5 points or fewer. I'm also not going to say that it's random like baseball one-run games as there are obviously very real issues but on the optimistic side, it also means that an improvement down the stretch could have big improvement in their win-loss performance.
While I don't have any hard data, my internal biases tell me that this record is more indicative in basketball of the underlying talent level than it is in baseball. FYI, I use the term talent broadly here, as it includes coaching and roster fit as well.
Thanks for posting.
I don't have time to do a dive into this but isn't it pretty clear that the /36 stats of everyone is regressing because their 4Q stats are so bad?
Yeah look at this dummie that doesn't know how to win!
who's criticizing IME for liking the 3 too much?
But not with the 1980's gameplan. Williams is obviously not a low post player. Horford a little bit more so, but Kevin McHale - he is not.
Execution down the stretch of basketball games is far different than baseball. There isn’t a whole lot of “luck” involved in winning/losing 1-2 possession basketball games.
I think if anything we criticize Ime for not having a better 3pt shooting lineup at all times. 3s are good... setting up wide open 3s with your star only to have Schroder, Smart, TL (or Al) as the shooters is bad coaching. 2 guys who can't shoot and are ballhandlers together is bad, 2 guys who can't shoot and are ballhandlers together late game, when neither is going to be the primary initiator is malpractice.
What difference does it make how the lead was made? Once you have it, if you don't play dumb basketball or sleepwalk through the rest of the game on D and stick to running your offense you should be able to hold enough of it to win the game.
I have never criticized Ime for trying to be like Pop or for liking the 3 too much. I just didn't like seeing the drive by zero content post that is typical of those who don't like or follow the NBA. There's an argument to be made about the aesthetics of the game, I just dont think this is the thread for it and I don't find "what would Vitaly Potapenko think?" to be a good contribution to that conversation.
This is probably true, but watching it seems like there are more bad ISOs down the stretch than at any other time in the past few years.
I understand, but I found the grouchy old man who doesn't like 3s portrayal and Pop's protege too close not to comment.
Maybe one of the reasons they hit 8 straight 3's while Enes was in the game, has something to do with Enes being in the game. The spacing looked better, the ball movement was good, etc. Maybe not, like I said, I wasn't hyper focused as I normally would be.
What is “dumb” though? The 3’s missed in the 2H were the ones made in the 2Q. Which were dumb and which weren’t? I’m not excusing losing a 20+ pt lead but the sole reason the Knicks were down 20 was from the 6 straight 3’s…….so when Fournier makes 6 on the other end which team was “dumb” and which wasn’t? There is a shit ton of variance in 3-pt shooting……look at the shot Barrett made.
Agreed. The offense is for sure better with Enes in there. He is the best screener on the team by a mile. He grabs offensive boards. That stretch of the season where the Celtics were winning was when he was playing more. And it isn't like going to Rob or Al stopper Fournier from getting shots. Go under screen, switch big to perimeter, every time down the floor. None of the bigs could impact his shooting. I don't think Enes is a 30 minute per game guy or anything, and he isn't going to be a playoff guy, but he has a positive impact when he is in and can win games in the regular season.
Isn’t it the head coach who is questioning their mental fortitude, leadership and “guts”?
Like I get what you are saying. Building the lead was fluky off hot shooting and runs happen all the time in the NBA, but my point is that teams with a 16+ point lead at the half generally win like 90% of the time right? I am having trouble finding anything official but a 20 point lead is usually 95-97% as best as I can find, so as long as you don't choke down the stretch you SHOULD win that game regardless of how the lead was built. That's all I am saying.
So I guess we just keep running Al and TL out there for 35 minutes, blowing 15 point leads down the stretch and watch as our two best players decide to walk in the next 2+ years.
it wasn't 20. It was a 24 point lead, then a new 20 point lead in the 2nd half.
Thank you. I didn't actually see the game so I wasn't entirely sure, but given that it was over 20 wouldn't that help make my point stronger? Who cares how you build a lead, in the NBA historically when you get one that big you shouldn't lose very often.
Oh yeah, I was just reinforcing your point. Every team goes on a run, no lead is safe, blah, blah, blah. I've heard it all this season (and last).
I think they are both underperforming their talent AND don't have true contender talent.
This all may be correct - and to be clear, on paper I agree with you - but if you look at the individual production, it doesn't support the idea that they upgraded in talent. They got better in some areas and worse in others. Aside from us feeling that way, there is no way to support the position that this team is more talented than last season. And last season they were a .500 team.
This is what I see. The ball does seem to be moving more more often. The players, not nearly as much. I get putting the guy into the corner to hit a corner 3. But there are 2 corners, if if the guy hasn't gotten the ball yet, he should go to the other corner. Just fucking move. You move, a defender moves. and probably a teammate. And another defender.
I agree that adjustments should have been made but when the Knicks are running everything through Fournier and he has it going the last guy I want on the floor in this scenario is Kanter. The ideal option to protect a lead and trying to slow down Fournier would be a long, athletic wing defender……it’s a shame we didn’t have one on the bench who has been in our rotation all year.
Pointing to the production on paper as indicating the individual talent is performing to its level as opposed to underperforming is kind of question begging. Part of thinking the team is underperforming is thinking guys actual on paper production is below what they are platonically capable of.
Even if Ime put in a long, athletic wing defender, like say, Jayson Tatum, he would probably get switched off so Al or TL or Grant could cover Fournier. I realize Kanter is a black hole on defense, especially in Ime's switch-everything system, but at least the offense seems to flow better when he's out there at times, as it did last night.
Perhaps both Udoka and Stevens held some/all of these players back with their bad coaching - that is entirely possible.
an emotionless Romeo doesn't even react... but you know we needed all those minutes from our BIGs since Taj Gibson and Mitchell Robinson are such huge threats offensively
