Things could be much worse...remember what happened in 2005?

[Snoopy the Celtics Beagle]

Ok, I have a bad habit, in that it takes forever to clean out my 
e-mail boxes.  As I was doing this today, I came upon the Celtics 
playoff disastrous game 7 against the Pacers, preceded by Pierce's 
going slightly insane, and ending in a 97-70 loss to end the C's 
season.  I copy here a portion of that box score:

Boston
  Name              Min     FG           3Pt       FT       Off  Reb 
Ast  TO  Stl  Blk  PF  Pts
   <http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3112>A. 
Walker       37       8-17        2-4       2-4      2      5     1 
    2     1     2    3    20
   <http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3253>P. 
Pierce         36       6-13        0-4       7-7      1       7    3 
      6     1     1     2    19
   <http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3246>R. 
LaFrentz     31       0-4         0-2       0-0      1      7     1 
    1     2     1     4    0
   <http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3841>D. 
West         27       2-5         0-2       0-0      1      2     2 
    1     1     0     4    4
   <http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/259>G. 
Payton        31       3-10        1-2       0-0      0      1     7 
     1     2     0      1   7
   <http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3264>R. 
Davis         31       3-7         1-2        1-2      0      2     0 
      2    0     0      1   8
   <http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3832>A. 
Jefferson  23       3-9         0-0       1-2      4       7     0 
   0    1     3      2   7
   <http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3716>M. 
Banks        12       0-3         0-1       0-0      0       0     0 
     1    0     0      1    0
   <http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3730>K. 
Perkins        4       1-1          0-0       1-1       1       1 
0      0    0     2      0    3
   <http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3857>J. 
Reed           4       0-2         0-1        0-0      0      0     0 
      0    0     0      0    0
   <http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3842>T. 
Allen          4       1-2         0-0        0-0      0      1 
0      0    0     0      0    2
   <http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3222>M. Blount      DNP - 
Coach's Decision
  Totals          240    27-73       4-18      12-16   10     33 
14     14   8      9     18   70
  Percentages:          .370        .222       .750   Team Rebounds: 8

Take a careful look at this.  Only Pierce, Perkins, and Tony Allen 
shot 50%.  Perk only TOOK one shot, and Tony was 1-2.  The three 
pointers were worse.  Why is this relevant?  Because three players 
from that team are on the C's roster today.  What scares me is 
they're making the same mistakes against the Cavs as they made 
against the Pacers three years ago.

Too many desperate jump shots, nothing going to the hoop for Boston, 
whereas Cleveland kept driving to the basket.  Both teams have played 
excellent defense, but the difference has been in how the offense was 
played.  Shooting jumpers works fine in a regular season game when 
the defense falls back and lets you take them.  But in the Playoffs, 
every shot is contested, and you HAVE to attack the basket and probe 
the defense for weaknesses.  When Rondo doesn't have the ball, 
Delonte West is drifting off him.  Why isn't Rondo cutting into the 
basket and waiting for a pass in from Pierce Allen, or Garnett?  Do 
that a few times, and West stays at home, otherwise Rondo scores 
30.  If they close off Rondo, it opens up someone else.

This is the kind of offense the C's need to have to beat 
Cleveland.  Their defense is too good to settle for deep jump shots, 
or halfhearted runs by the basket that end with a fallaway 
jumper.  ATTACK them.  Don't be afraid to take a few charge calls, 
just keep coming at them.

The series against the Pacers is too frighteningly similar to what 
the Celtics face now.  We need to rewrite the ending!

I believe they will.

Banner #17, coming to the Boston Garden this June!


Snoopy the Celtics Beagle
Please visit the <http://www.celticsbeagle.net/>Celtics Beagle Website