Celtics Game Day: Ballhandlers Not Protecting The Rock
The Boston Celtics should have a winning record.
There – I said it and got it out of the way.
I’m not bleeding green over here; I know this Celtics team almost certainly won’t make the playoffs, and would enjoy an early exit even if it did.
Still, I hate it when teams lose games they should win, and the Celtics currently own two Ls that should be Ws.
(Let’s just forget about the Houston game – that was a mismatch of the worst kind.)
There are a lot of factors that go into winning, or in our case losing, an NBA game. Shooting. Rebounding. Playing defense. Taking care of the ball.
So far this season, Boston is shooting the ball (.467 FG%, 8th in the NBA) and hitting the offensive glass (15.5 ORB, 5th in the NBA) well enough to compete. Defensively, the Celtics have been a mixed bag so far . . . but let’s not forget that it was defense that got the Cs back into the game against Dallas, and while I can criticize the Cs’ defensive efforts against Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan the other night, there is a developing trend that is seriously pissing me off about these Boston Celtics:
The inability to PROTECT THE ROCK.
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The Celtics managed to turn the ball over 44 times in its losses to the Mavericks (17 TO) and Raptors (27 TO). You read that correctly: 44 combined turnovers in the past two games. What that means is that, in two games, Boston committed 64% of its turnovers for the season so far.
Now that’s impressive.
Two losses, one by five points, the other by three. 44 turnovers in those two games.
Tell me that just 3-4 less turnovers per game would not have made the difference between winning and losing, especially that Dallas game, when Rajon Rondo had the chance to cut the Mavericks lead to two late in the game . . . and threw the ball away.
The worst culprit is starting point guard Rondo, who has committed five turnovers in each of the past three games – but he’s not alone. Avery Bradley added to the cause by coughing the ball up three and four times, respectively, against the Mavs and the Raptors;. Jeff Green and Marcus Smart each handed out four free helpings of the rock against the Raptors, as well; and Evan Turner managed the stunning feat of playing twelve minutes, scoring two points, and handing off to the Raptors five times. No wonder he was -10 over the course of those 12 minutes!
Halloween is over, guys. Stop being so generous.
What does this mean for tonight’s game against the Indiana Pacers? For starters, the Pacers are not exactly playing the sort of defense that creates a lot of turnovers. So far, Indiana is only forcing 11.6 TOs per game, good for 24th in the NBA. If Boston can’t hold onto the ball against these guys, coach Brad Stevens is going to need to sew sticky pads into the palms of his ballhandlers.
More importantly, the Pacers have one of the league’s worst offenses – surprise! The Pacers only shoot .418 from the floor, the fifth-worst field goal percentage in the league. Scoring just a touch under 92 points per game, Indiana struggles to find offense – but it won’t shoot a low percentage or struggle to earn point if the Celtics keep handing the ball over to them and letting them get out in transition.
This match-up against the Pacers is the definition of a winnable game. Having lost Paul George to a horrific injury and Lance Stephenson to free agency, the Pacers in no way, shape or form resemble last year’s squad. The Celtics are by no means head-and-shoulders better than the Pacers, but they should be able to secure a victory tonight if they defend, look for good shots, and above all else protect the damn ball!