Play by Player Analysis: Game 1 vs Boston

[sharp/7/shooter 23]

I decided to make this a new thread because I thought the post was too big for the game thread. Here is my player-by-player analysis of Game 1 in our series against Boston. Read if you would like, comment and discuss if you want.

 

Dwight Howard

Dwight needs to one, grow up, and two, use his strengths. Arguing and pouting down the court doesn't show your heart or determination, actually to be quite frank, it pisses me off. Act like a leader man, you call yourself Superman....

This is the playoffs ladies and gents, not a time to try and use skills that you haven't locked down. When your struggling in the post, SLAM that puppy in the basket, forget about a twisting lefty one handed hook with multiple defenders around you. 30% from the field and I watched as he kept bricking lefty hooks from 2 feet away. Defensively, Dwight was solid. He contested and changed shots but he did lack in effort when he was upset. He did make 7 free throws which eases the pain at least a little. Learn from this Dwight, come back stronger next game, please.

 

Rashard Lewis

With a 20% FG percentage and shooting 0-6 from behind the arc, one could say it was a dismal outing for Rashard. I know there is faith, but when we draw up multiple set plays out of timeout, you NEED to execute...Rashard did not do that today. This could be a coach's decision or what have you, but when you are called upon and have multiple chances to do so, you have to make it count. Defensively he wasn't as passive which is good, but we all know Lewis isn't a DPOY.

 

Matt Barnes

This outing could be culprit to the questionable back. His play was very forced and unaware. In retrospect we were better off without him in the game, but we needed to test if we could benefit from his defensive energy.

 

Vince Carter

VC was basically our offense in the first half. We ran our offensive sets through him as well as a big pile of pick and rolls. As I have said before, Vince is best when he diversifies his game. When he drives and attacks the basket, he is a much better player. He got in a groove and started putting up fade-away, off-balance jump shots over bigs...not smart IMO especially when you are down. However, there was not much negative to his game apart from his sporadic poor shot selection. His defense was feasible but he stepped up big on the offensive end.

 

Jameer Nelson

Jameer came out strong to start the second half. He sparked our team and made smart shots. He had a HUGE put back layup off of Vince Carter's FT miss in the 4th quarter (he was the shortest man on the floor). He showed a lot of heart where there was very little. Defensively he was a weak point and his court vision was sub-par. In the end though, his toughness and offensive spark definitely overpowered the bad spots in his game.

 

Mickael Pietrus

Rough game for Air France. Hitting only 1 out of 5 from the floor. He seemed out of the offense on almost every possession. His playing time was for his defense. MP manned up on his assignment and made him take tough shots. All in all, I'd have to say this was a poor game for him, he needs to bounce back to have an impact on this series.

 

Jason Williams

JWill was 100% from the field. Even if it was only two shots, he was efficient. We need this guy in the game to push the ball, up the tempo, and distribute on the break. Sadly, we weren't on the break all that much this game. Boston's defense created a half court situation for us almost every time down the floor. JWill thrives on the break and when you take that away, his upside falls hard. Also, his defense was suspect throughout the game which turned SVG to giving Jameer a lot more minutes.

 

J.J. Redick

In hindsight, I wish he was given a handful of Barnes' minutes and a few of MP's. When he is in the game, our offense runs smoother. He didn't force his shots and made sound plays offensively. He stood up and played defense very well. He got beat a few times but he funneled his man to the middle where there is a DPOY waiting. He took charges against some of the fattest players in the league and was a key part to our comeback in the fourth.

 

Marcin Gortat

In the first half, Gortat was a force. When he was put in the game alongside Dwight, he brought energy and great effort to the game. He was doing all the little things, battling in the trenches until the second half came. He lost his intensity and looked a bit lost out there. Ultimately, he was a great energy booster in the 1st.

 

Other Notes:

- I have come to notice that down the stretch, when we are trying to get some points on the board, we tend to stray away from our usual offensive sets and run isolation plays. Usually we give the rock to our best distributor on the floor, run some pick and rolls, weighing out our options, surveying the floor. If Redick is on the floor, we give him the ball and let him either feed it to Dwight or run a set play. Then in the 4th, we tend to give the ball to Carter or to Dwight and let them do their thing. My question is why? Why all of a sudden change the offense when we have come back by using smart passing and good shot selection? Which leads to...

 

- Assists, we had 10 all game. We need to bring our fast paced, free flowing and ball distributing offense back. Ball movement people, it opens up kinks in the Celtic armor and will make it easier to score easy baskets.

[sharp/7/shooter 23]

I decided to make this a new thread because I thought the post was too big for the game thread. Here is my player-by-player analysis of Game 1 in our series against Boston. Read if you would like, comment and discuss if you want.

 

Dwight Howard

Dwight needs to one, grow up, and two, use his strengths. Arguing and pouting down the court doesn't show your heart or determination, actually to be quite frank, it pisses me off. Act like a leader man, you call yourself Superman....

This is the playoffs ladies and gents, not a time to try and use skills that you haven't locked down. When your struggling in the post, SLAM that puppy in the basket, forget about a twisting lefty one handed hook with multiple defenders around you. 30% from the field and I watched as he kept bricking lefty hooks from 2 feet away. Defensively, Dwight was solid. He contested and changed shots but he did lack in effort when he was upset. He did make 7 free throws which eases the pain at least a little. Learn from this Dwight, come back stronger next game, please.

 

Rashard Lewis

With a 20% FG percentage and shooting 0-6 from behind the arc, one could say it was a dismal outing for Rashard. I know there is faith, but when we draw up multiple set plays out of timeout, you NEED to execute...Rashard did not do that today. This could be a coach's decision or what have you, but when you are called upon and have multiple chances to do so, you have to make it count. Defensively he wasn't as passive which is good, but we all know Lewis isn't a DPOY.

 

Matt Barnes

This outing could be culprit to the questionable back. His play was very forced and unaware. In retrospect we were better off without him in the game, but we needed to test if we could benefit from his defensive energy.

 

Vince Carter

VC was basically our offense in the first half. We ran our offensive sets through him as well as a big pile of pick and rolls. As I have said before, Vince is best when he diversifies his game. When he drives and attacks the basket, he is a much better player. He got in a groove and started putting up fade-away, off-balance jump shots over bigs...not smart IMO especially when you are down. However, there was not much negative to his game apart from his sporadic poor shot selection. His defense was feasible but he stepped up big on the offensive end.

 

Jameer Nelson

Jameer came out strong to start the second half. He sparked our team and made smart shots. He had a HUGE put back layup off of Vince Carter's FT miss in the 4th quarter (he was the shortest man on the floor). He showed a lot of heart where there was very little. Defensively he was a weak point and his court vision was sub-par. In the end though, his toughness and offensive spark definitely overpowered the bad spots in his game.

 

Mickael Pietrus

Rough game for Air France. Hitting only 1 out of 5 from the floor. He seemed out of the offense on almost every possession. His playing time was for his defense. MP manned up on his assignment and made him take tough shots. All in all, I'd have to say this was a poor game for him, he needs to bounce back to have an impact on this series.

 

Jason Williams

JWill was 100% from the field. Even if it was only two shots, he was efficient. We need this guy in the game to push the ball, up the tempo, and distribute on the break. Sadly, we weren't on the break all that much this game. Boston's defense created a half court situation for us almost every time down the floor. JWill thrives on the break and when you take that away, his upside falls hard. Also, his defense was suspect throughout the game which turned SVG to giving Jameer a lot more minutes.

 

J.J. Redick

In hindsight, I wish he was given a handful of Barnes' minutes and a few of MP's. When he is in the game, our offense runs smoother. He didn't force his shots and made sound plays offensively. He stood up and played defense very well. He got beat a few times but he funneled his man to the middle where there is a DPOY waiting. He took charges against some of the fattest players in the league and was a key part to our comeback in the fourth.

 

Marcin Gortat

In the first half, Gortat was a force. When he was put in the game alongside Dwight, he brought energy and great effort to the game. He was doing all the little things, battling in the trenches until the second half came. He lost his intensity and looked a bit lost out there. Ultimately, he was a great energy booster in the 1st.

 

Other Notes:

- I have come to notice that down the stretch, when we are trying to get some points on the board, we tend to stray away from our usual offensive sets and run isolation plays. Usually we give the rock to our best distributor on the floor, run some pick and rolls, weighing out our options, surveying the floor. If Redick is on the floor, we give him the ball and let him either feed it to Dwight or run a set play. Then in the 4th, we tend to give the ball to Carter or to Dwight and let them do their thing. My question is why? Why all of a sudden change the offense when we have come back by using smart passing and good shot selection? Which leads to...

 

- Assists, we had 10 all game. We need to bring our fast paced, free flowing and ball distributing offense back. Ball movement people, it opens up kinks in the Celtic armor and will make it easier to score easy baskets.

[Secretly Space Jesus 670]

Game thread.