Beyond the Big Three
The Boston Celtics made all the headlines twice last offseason during trades for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. However, as good as the trades looked on paper, the Celtics still had some major flaws. To get Garnett and Allen, they gutted the team, trading away talented youth and draft picks. A large […]
12-17-08 Recap
Celtics beat Hawks: Even though they’ve been struggling in Atlanta, Boston still found a way to win. Their record now stands at 24-2. Is 70 wins a possibility? … Although the bench was weak, every Celtic starter contributed … Not surprisingly, defense won the game. Atlanta had an effective field goal percentage […]
12-15-08 Recap
Hawks beat Bobcats: This was not a pretty game to watch. Not only did both offenses struggle (efficiencies of 98.8 and 94), but they played at a snail’s pace. That’s why the final score was 83-79 … Boris Diaw exploded for a season-high 25 points in the loss. His previous season-high […]
12-11-08 Recap
Celtics beat Wizards: The conference formerly known as the Leastern Conference can now boast that it has arguably the two best teams in the league in Cleveland and Boston. Cleveland has been talked about a lot recently (and for good reason), but don’t forget about Boston, who is now 21-2. The East also […]
12-7-08 Recap
Knicks beat Pistons: I don’t want to keep beating the dead horse, but Detroit did not need a player like Allen Iverson and games like this afternoon’s show why. Iverson shot just 6-18 and allowed Chris Duhon to dominate … According to PER, Rodney Stuckey hasn’t had that bad of a year. Sure […]
Offensive/Defensive Four Factors Leaders
For those who may not be aware, Dean Oliver, author of Basketball on Paper, developed a list of four factors that a team must excel in to be good on both offense and defense. For offense, those factors are shooting percentage (measured by effective field goal percentage), turnovers (measured by turnover percentage), offensive rebounds […]
12-3-08 Recap
Hawks beat Grizzlies: Josh Smith returned from injury and had a solid game in somewhat limited minutes. He scored 14 points in 28 minutes of play, which translates to 20 points per 40 minutes. He also added six rebounds, five assists, two steals, and a block … Overall the Hawks shot a sizzling […]
12-1-08 Recap
Bobcats beat Timberwolves: This was Al Jefferson’s worst game offensively of the season. He scored just eight points and missed eight of his 11 shot attempts. However, he did contribute with six blocks and nine rebounds … Jason Richardson has scored over 20 points in each of his three games since returning from […]
11-23-08 Recap
Celtics beat Raptors: Not normally a great offensive team, the Celtics put on quite a show on the road against a pretty good team. They shot 61.6% for the game, including 10-17 on three-pointers. If they could have turned the ball over a little less (18 in the game), their point total could […]
How Did Those Guys Do It?
The Boston Celtics were discussed ad nauseum last season, so I feel bad bringing them up, but they still baffle me. I think many people don’t realize how dominant their defense was last season. Their 98.6 defensive efficiency was three points better than the next closest team, a sizable margin.
Even more […]