Numerous reasons for Celtics success

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

me common denominators
Numerous reasons for Celtics success
By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 10/31/2003

WALTHAM -- The Celtics coaches kept their own statistics for the
season-opening victory Wednesday night against the Heat, as they will for the
remaining 81 games. Since statistics in official box scores often fail to
reflect the goals O'Brien has set, the Celtics calculate adjusted assists (a
pass that should or would have resulted in a basket also counts) and define
fast-break opportunities as a numbers advantage (2-on-1, 3-on-2, 4-on-3,
etc.).

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But any way the numbers from opening night were viewed, they indicated more
positive than negative signs. Adjusted to suit the Boston offensive and
defensive philosophies or not, it was clear the Celtics moved the ball well
and kept the Heat away from the rim, especially in the second half.

Here are the numbers that stood out, from all perspectives: The Celtics
officially finished with 28 assists -- 45 by the coaches' adjusted count. They
committed 10 turnovers, including just four through the first three quarters.
They blocked 9 shots. Six players had double figures and shot 51 percent. They
held the Heat to 36.6 percent shooting. They allowed Miami to score just 2
points in the paint in the second half. Mark Blount showed his versatility
with five assists. Mike James finished with six assists.

"It comes from having confidence in each other's ability and just loving to
play with each other," said Paul Pierce, who could add 10 adjusted assists to
his official 4.

But what, if anything, did the numbers mean to O'Brien and the players one
game into the regular season on the eve of their first road trip. In some
cases, they were important measures. The numbers were certainly spread among
the nine rotation players complementing Pierce. That was a natural byproduct
of the way O'Brien used his rotation in the opener. With the exception of
Pierce, who played 35 minutes, no one played more than 28 (Raef LaFrentz and
James) and no one played fewer than 13 minutes (Walter McCarty). The rest fell
into the low- to mid-20s range.

"If you want to play Paul with nine guys, then those nine guys better put up
rebounding numbers, assist numbers, and keep their turnovers down," said
O'Brien.

The Celtics were most productive in the passing game. Everyone except McCarty
had at least one assist. Last season, the Celtics recorded 28 or more assists
on only four occasions. O'Brien wants his team to finish with 22 or more
assists because he has calculated that bottom number gives Boston the best
chance of winning.

"We don't talk to our players about too many statistics," said O'Brien. "This
is for our tracking of what we think is important. We talk to our guys about
unselfishness. We try to praise them for that unselfishness. They really have
to know why they win, what wins for them, as much as they have to know what
loses for them. We try to go three parts positive to one part negative. But
the negative is ugly."

The coaching staff bases its tracking on nine statistical offensive goals and
nine statistical defensive goals. The numbers set by the coaches have been
proven to win for the Celtics in the past. For example, if they challenge 40
percent of an opponent's shots, the Celtics should win three out of every four
games. They want 35 deflections per contest. They want to force 19 or more
turnovers. They want to shoot at least 46 percent from the floor. They want to
commit 13 or fewer turnovers.

As far as the running game goes, the Celtics want to be out on the break 25
times a game. And of those 25 fast-break opportunities, O'Brien wants to
convert 60 percent of them. Unfortunately, as O'Brien said yesterday after
practice, "We ain't even near it in either category." So for now, the emphasis
remains on the running game.

"We're not really happy with our running game right now," said O'Brien. "We're
just not getting out quickly enough. We're not sprinting quickly enough. We're
not advancing the basketball up. We're not moving the defense. In order to
take best advantage of our depth, we have to do those things.

"By and large, our guys know if they're not sprinting, either they're
fatigued, in which case I'm going to take them out, or if they're not
sprinting and they're not fatigued, I'm going to take them out anyway. We want
to get up and down the court. But right now, we are not driving ourselves
enough, taking advantage of our depth. It's just not up to the point guard to
push it. Those people on the wings and the big guys need to bust it."

Thanks,

Steve
sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx

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