Hey all. It's "The Path" here to bring you the promised post game analysis of the game. I wanted to compare and contrast some of Brad vs. Van Gundy game plans coming into the game with my own suggestions made earlier today in this post!
Please feel free to criticize or comment on the post! I missed the first 5 minutes of the game and the first 3 min of the 3rd quarter due to stream issues. I also failed to collect defensive stats as I had my hands full in trying to juggle advanced offensive stats for both teams.
Let me start by highlighting some stats and interesting points in the game:
Overall Stats.
Celtics Detroit
FG 36-82 43-97
FG% 43.9% 44.3%
3PT Attempts 13-32 3-27
3PT % 40.6% 11.1%
Rebounds 44 (6O, 38D) 51(12O, 39D)
Assists 23 18
Fast Break Pts 8 14
Paint Pts 38 60
First of all, the most astonishing stat line is Detroit's 11.1% shooting on 27 3pt attempts. Let me break down the 3PT attempts Detroit took by their star players:
Player Open 3PT (Made/Attempted), Contested (Made/Attempted), Fouls at arc.
Caldwell-Pope: 1/2, 1/5, 2. Season Avg: 39.1%
Jackson: 0/1, 0/2, 0. Season Avg: 39.2%
Harris 0/2, 0/2, 0. Season Avg: 34.2%
Morris 1/4, 0/3, 0. Season Avg: sub 30%
Team average 3pt% lies around ~34% for the season.
Tonight was absolutely horrendous for the Pistons on 3 pt shots. Only 1/3 open shots from 39% shooters fell. Harris & Morris combine for 1 made open shot out of 6 opportunities. C's did a good job only allowing Caldwell-Pope to draw 2 shooting fouls on the close out.
Now let's take a look at points inside the arc.
Player, Min, Total Points, Points in paint (Attempt/Made), Points out of paint (Attempt/Made), Miscellaneous.
Drummond: 41 min, 28 pts, 24 (12/16), 0 (0/0), 7 OREB, 15 DREB.
As we expected, Drummond was a monster. Out of the 7 OREB, he put back 6 and kicked 1 out for a made 2 pointer. He was blocked on one FG attempt and was fouled 3 times with 4/7 FT shooting.
Caldwell-Pope: 36 min, 18 pts, 6 (3/4), 0 (0/5).
Caldwell had quite the poor game, only shining in the 4th when he drew 2 Fouls at the arc and made 1 of 2 3s for the Pistons in the 4th quarter. He failed miserably outside the paint, unable to beat the Celtics quick defenders.
Jackson: 28 min, 12 pt, 6 (3/7), 2 (1/3).
Jackson fared better than his fellow teammates. He drew some contact that were questionable no-calls in the paint in the 4th quarter but no matter. The guard usually averages 17 pts per game but looked flustered on the court as he managed to rack up 6 PFs with 18 seconds left in the game.
Harris: 30 min, 15 pts, 8 (4/6), 6 (3/4).
Harris was really the only decent performer, getting good looks on the inside paint and having some crucial mid range jumpers. I'm surprised Van Gundy didn't play Harris for 35+ min as he is a decent front court defender.
Morris: 35 min, 13 pt, 8 (4/6), 2 (1/3).
Morris gave the Pistons some hope in the 4th quarter with some great inside paint plays. Otherwise, he looked a bit dead beat on the court.
Smith: 19 min, 12 pts, 6 (3/3), 6 (3/4).
Van Gundy made a colossal mistake not playing Smith more this game. He had a great steal on IT in the 4th and arguably changed the tide of the game solo with his great mid range jumpers off the dribble. He was the only stellar player alongside Drummond tonight, with a +/- of +12.
I did not record stats for the other players on the bench as I already had too much to try and keep track of.
Now we look at the breakdown of the Celtics stats. Unfortunately, I could not find a full game replay to find defensive stats and close outs in different perimeter D situations. When I do, I may update this post to reflect which defenders adequately pressured the perimeter.
Player, Min, Pts, Points off contest (Attempt/Made), off dribble screen (A/M), off open kickout (A/M), off screen (A/M), off line drive (A/M).
Additionally, I will denote points with the following initials and style <made/not made>. Sorry if it adds confusion.
W: shots taken from the wing
T: shots taken from the top of the arc
PU: shots taken from the post up
P: shots taken from within the paint
O: shots taken from outside the paint but within the arc
3: shots taken from beyond the arc
F: shots drawing fouls. 3pt attempts will show as 3F. Fouls in the paint will show up as FP.
Thomas, 37 min, 41 pts, 8 (3/8 <3T, 3T, FG, F, 3F>/<3W, 3T x4, FG>), 5 (2/3 <FG, 3T>/<3T>), 0 (0/0), 3 (2/3 <3T, F>/<3T>, 10 (5/8 <FP x3, FGP x5, FGO/FGP x2, FGO x1>), 15/15 FT, 8 Assists, 2 Steals.
Thomas benefited quite a bit from Van Gundy's retraction in game plan to the one the Pistons employed in the first head-to-head back in mid-November. I'll get into more detail about the strategy shift later. For now, I would like to highlight IT's clutch ability in generating 10 pts in the paint drives with 3 fouls drawn. Only 2 attempts were denied. IT showed up huge with a 20+ pt 4th quarter. I'm surprised he received 0 kickouts from the likes of Rozier/Smart. IT can knock those shots down with at least 40+% consistency on any given day.
Horford, 35 min, 13 pts, 4 (2/2 <FG, FGPU>), 3 (1/1 <3T>), 0 (0/2 </3T, 3T>), 0 (0/0), 6 (3/5 <FGP x3/FGP, FGO>), 6 Assists, 6 REB (1O/5D).
Horford played surprisingly well, serving as a defensive anchor alongside Jerebko for the C's paint. On offense, he managed to get 6 points in the paint which was extremely surprising. He also posted up once to success. Overall, he was able to work around the suffocating Pistons paint defense. He did, however, have multiple turn overs attempting to work and wrestle in the paint. Horford should have looked to post up instead on smaller players like Smith.
Jerebko: 24 min, 3 pts, 0 (0/0), 3 (1/1 <3T>), 0 (0/1 </3W>), 1 OREB, 9 DREB.
Jerebko showed up big on the defensive end with 9 DREB, half of which were contested. He had an overall plus in the +/- and also rebounded the last basket to secure the win. I was surprised by his play time & usage- I was expecting a much more aggressive rolling Jerebko. Brad was content to have him sit back on the perimeter & move the ball.
Brown: 18 min, 4 pts, 0 (0/0), 0 (0/0), 0 (0/1 </3T>), 0 (0/0), 4 (2/5 <FGP x2/FG, FG Blocked x2>), 3 DREB.
As predicted in my earlier post, Jaylen got roasted. He kept driving from the wing to the paint without adequate contact and got a measly 4 points on 2/5 attempts. As a plus, Jaylen got good experience against the elite big Drummond.
Crowder: 36 min, 21 pts, 0 (0/1 <F/3T>), 6 (2/2 <3T, 3T>), 6 (2/4 <3T, 3T/3T, FG>), 0 (0/0), 2 (2/4 <FG, FG off TO, 2FP, FO/FGO, FGP>). 5/8 FT.
Crowder was the 2nd player to come up big for the C's. With excellent perimeter and mid range D, Crowder was able to force some crucial turnovers. He was great off the dribble screen and open look kick out to beyond the arc. Despite missing 2 FG attempts in + out of the paint, Crowder was not afraid to drive to draw 4 total fouls inside the arc.
Smart: 30 min, 13 pts, 0 (0/1 </FG>), 0 (0/1 </FGP>, 6 (2/3 <3W, 3T/3W>), 0 (0/1 </FG>), 2 (1/8 <FGP, FP x3/FGP x5, FGO x2>), 5 REB, 8 Assists, 5-6FT.
Smart's role cannot be understated. He had an awesome showing with 8 assists. Although he went 1-10 on FG, Smart had some clutch moments driving and drawing fouls in the paint. However, he did give up 5 FG attempts in the paint and 2 FG outside. He can still use some work on the inside with his handling and footwork. He often took off too hard, fast, or early when going for the FGA.
I will gloss over Rozier, Johnson, and Green.
Rozier had a subpar game, failing to get looks on attacks into the paint. He put up 5 points in 2-3 FG in 11 minutes. Green had a similar story as 4 points in 1-5 FG in 14 minutes. Had either of these players gone off to score 13+ points, the game would have maintained a ~10 point differential. As for Amir, he had another great showing on both ends of the court. With 4 points on 2-5 FG in 15 min, Amir's worth shined as he managed to sneak in 2 FGs in the Pistons paint. He also had 5 rebounds and 2 monster blocks which hyped up the team. I was very pleased with his performance as well as Brad's decision to limit his minutes.
Now it's time to address my prior post. I described 4 major offensive tactics and 5 major defensive strategies. They were the following:
Maintain wide spacing on the floor for the 3 pointer, avoiding direct drives into the heart of the paint
My reasoning: in game 2, Van Gundy prioritized crashing the paint with 4 defenders to prevent the IT paint plays. They succeeded in doing so, blocking and denying IT often. By maintaining wide spacing, we could get easy open kick out 3s from IT/Smart/Rozier out of paint drives.
What happened in reality: Van Gundy reverted back to his game 1 attitude. He had at maximum 3 players crash in order to pressure the high 3 point percentage shooting C's team. This allowed players like IT and Smart to penetrate the paint well. A major reason why we won came from IT's 10 points in the line drive to the paint with 6 fouls drawn within the arc. Classic from the King of the Fourth.
Screen. A LOT. Let me repeat. SCREEN LIKE HELL
It worked quite well. IT, Crowder, Horford, Smart, and Jerebko each had at least one 3 point basket from high arc screens. Crowder went 2-2 in the dribble off the screen pull up 3.
Run off-ball wing movements with frequent spot up mid range jumpers.
This strategy was not employed much by Brad. However, we did have many drive pull up mid range 3s. C's often employ this strategy with 2 specific players: AB & Crowder. I hope to see both these players shine in this regard in the upcoming game against Toronto.
Avoid posting up. Designate 1 or 2 players to grab offensive boards.
We had one FG off a post up. Al turned it over twice down low early, forcing the C's to abandon the tactic by the start of the half. As for offensive boards, KO, Johnson, & Horford came up enough (6 OREB total) to give some much needed 2nd chance points. We also gave up 14 points in the transition fast break. Such is somewhat acceptable knowing that the Pistons are one of the quickest teams to push the ball to half court. Had we committed to rebounding more than six offensive boards, our defense would have suffered tremendously, giving way to hype-inducing plays for the Pistons.
Other offensives notes:
I mentioned that Jaylen would probably be shut down this game. The prediction came true as he opted for paint drives rather than for pull up jumpers from either off ball screens or baseline post ups. He had a great learning experience, getting a feel for his ability and limits against front court dominant teams. I hope he doesn't feel slumped from only scoring 4 points. He did his job contesting 2 out of his 3 defensive rebounds.
Brad noticeably changed one thing on offense I believe many of you missed.
The majority of the paint and line drives from IT/Crowder/Smart began at the diagonal arc. While normal for Crowder, IT/Smart prefer the high top arc as a starting point for their drives as it offers more space while attacking the paint. By adjusting the starting position of the initial drive, the C's were able to prevent the 4 man collapse from the perimeter defense. At most, an additional man shrugging off the apex of the arc can afford to help in this play. IT/Smart was able to smartly (haha) cut laterally to slash to the basket while using his defender's body as a wall against Drummond/Morris in the middle. Smart drew 3 of his 4 fouls in this manner while IT managed to draw 2 fouls off a short lateral dribble and 3 fouls in the lateral slash to the paint. His mid range pull up jumper and 8/10 paint points were generated by this seemingly insignificant adjustment. Brad Stevens is quite literally a genius.
Onto the defensive strats!
Crash the paint hard. Box out Drummond with 2 players if necessary.
Although Drummond grabbed 7 offensive boards, we did well in preventing a large number of alley-oop plays. Only Morris seemed like a secondary paint threat throughout the game. In regards to boxing Drummond: he only had one foul which is extremely low for such a dominant center. The C's would double Drummond with Jerebko & Horford when possible. Overall, a great showing in the Celtics defensive paint.
Utilize KO, Jerebko, & Jaylen to close out on the perimeter.
Jerebko especially had a strong showing in this regard despite focusing on retrieving defensive boards. It may not be a bad idea starting Jerebko and Jaylen together against teams that are quicker on the 3 point release. Having a balance of length and speed will serve us well in both contesting shots and rebounds. KO had a bit of a disappointing showing today. I was expecting many more fast pick and pops involving IT/Rozier.
Help one pass away, especially on sub-30% shooters
We did a great job in general here. We forced 34+% large volume shooters to take multiple contested 3s. Open shooters had a Celtics player no more than a body length away. Today was our strongest showing in perimeter defense, allowing the Pistons to score only 3 beyond the arc, 2 of which were heavily contested.
Play suffocating defense at and near the half court.
Rozier got a great steal and put back because of this. Although Smart probably could have pressed harder, I can't complain.
Play hard in the 3rd to maintain our lead. Have King IT dominate the 4th
We were actually tied throughout most of the game. IT had a dominant showing in the 4th with 20+ points; however, he also gave up 2 Fouls on Detroit's strongest FT shooter. I believe the foot call was unwarranted but things luckily worked out in the end after a missed layup from the Pistons. I would urge Brad to keep Smart at 30+ minutes for exposure in late game situations. Smart lost concentration at times, especially in the crucial backcourt violation off the inbounds pass & missed layup. Smart would benefit immensely in adjusting to the pressure of sub 5 minute 4th quarters in which one possession determines the remaining flow of the game. We were also extremely lucky Ish Smith did not handle the ball for the last 2 minutes as I'm sure he would have come up with a silencing mid range off the dribble jumper to hush the crowd.
When all was said and done, the 2nd rematch proved to be a true nail biter. With 60 points in the paint, Drummond's Pistons looked like they were unstoppable. They somehow managed to hold on throughout the game even with their atrocious 11% 3 pt shooting. Brad Stevens was extremely flexible in his response to the reversion of Van Gundy's game plan. Brad often gave IT confidence in between plays, reassuring the king that he should take the ball up and shoot. The prospective East All-Star coach employed 2/4 of my proposed offensive tactics and 5/5 of the defensive ones. He added one major offensive ploy that arguably won us the game.
It was extremely entertaining to watch this young team refuse to back down from the 13 rebound averaging Drummond.
Time to look forward to the Raptors on Wednesday! BRING IT ON!
goCs
P.S.- As much as I would like to continue tracking advanced stats, it was exhausting without the ability to have access to the full game replay (especially for defensive stats). If you know a streaming site that allows for rewinding 24/7, please share. Your help will be greatly appreciated.
Submitted January 31, 2017 at 07:19AM by Noanswer_merelyapath