re: running and point guards

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Cecil wrote:

I think Banks needs to start taking the short jumper inside the key.  He seems to have no trouble taking his man off the dribble, but then wants to penetrate all the way to the rim.  That's when he gets collapsed on and in trouble.  Once he starts to hit a couple, the defense will come to meet him sooner, thereby opening up an earlier and easier passing angle to one of our slammers.

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Cecil, I was just about to post the same thing, only I would have taken a couple hundred more words to say it this well. 

I completely agree that the shot right now is the little pull-up jumper in the lane. And if he hits a couple of those, the big men will have to help and he'll be able to find our big men around the basket. That's exactly right. And if he does that a few times, the big men will stay home and he may get a cleaner look all the way to the basket. But the first step is hitting that little jumper.

As for the fast break, the point guards are part of the problem, but even when Banks is in there, he's the first one down the court. The other guys aren't running. You watch the Nets, and as soon as the ball is rebounded, they're sprinting the other way. The Celtics don't do that yet. 

Mark