“I hate it,” Allen said. “We won, but I take it as a loss in terms of getting better. Being able to play for a full four quarters is what I want. Every day we have to get better.”
Ray Allen Courtesy Of ESPN Boston
After watching the Cleveland Cavs give Boston another run for their money with a huge fourth quarter comeback, I am left with the feeling that head coach Doc Rivers has a new and yet very familiar problem to deal with. This issue has cost Boston many wins this year to the point that a team with title aspirations sits at a .500 record after a third of the season. This issue needs to be resolved because if it does not then Boston will not be making any last run at a title this season. The problem is the team just has not played a full forty eight minute game too often.
Earlier in the year the teams struggles were at the beginning of the season. The Celtics would struggle to score or defend with a high amount of energy during the first half. The defense would rotate late and the athletic teams would get to the basket. The offense had little movement with and without the ball and the team would be forced into tough shots. The result was teams like Miami, Chicago, and Dallas would jump all over them. The team would be dominated and down blow out numbers at the half as they struggled to score even forty points.
The second half would see Boston come out fighting with great intensity in the second half of those games. Those games saw Boston battle back from the deficit to even have a shot at the lead in the fourth quarter. They would look smooth on offense and get to the basket. The would play with energy defense and limit second chance points. However, in the end dumb mistakes down the stretch would cost the team the win. However, one could not help, but think had they just played O.k. instead of wretched that they would have been able to grab these wins.
The last two games against Cleveland show a different problem. The Celtics got off to nice starts as the offense looked great. The team got great ball movement and the players moved great without the ball to set up great scoring opportunities. The defense rotated well and caused Cleveland a lot of issues. The result of this was Boston got off to a strong start and a solid lead after three quarters.
However, the Celtics would go back to playing awful at the end of the third going into the fourth quarter to cost Boston a win and scare them in a game that should have been a laugher. The Celtics have no one to blame, but themselves. They failed to move without the ball on offense and settled for tough contested jump shots after isolations failed. The Celtics also on defense seemed to once again not play with the same intense urgency that made life miserable for the Cavs the previous half. The Cavs would start punching back and fourth quarter Celtics leads of 12 and 22 vanished in the blink of an eye.
The issues are different in regards that one is starting slow and the other is failing to finish strong, but they are both can be grouped together as a single issue. The issue is Boston needs to play a complete game. Championship teams play forty eight minutes and compete. That is why Boston won in 08 and LA did not. Bosotn competed the entire series no matter the score. They need to start strong to avoid playing from behind and finish strong to close teams out. When Boston plays for forty eight minutes, the team comes away with easy wins. When they do not like most of the year, the games are interesting and tough to watch.
Doc Rivers is a smart coach. I am sure that he will figure it out. However, until they do Boston is going to continue this roller coaster ride. The great news is the team is at least playing better in the last ten games then the first ten games. With any luck after another ten games this issue is solved. Remember Go Green or Go Home!!!!!!!
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I hope that Doc can figure this out in a timely manner.I liked that Doc brought in Sasha,before Marquis.I would much rather see Sasha come in,rather than Marquis.This team is so talented,that I just don’t understand what’s going on with them!
They Are starting to get it togehter. Better late than never.