khandor’s sports blog

As inocuous as this event may seem to be … at least, on the surface … in reality, it just might prove to be the leading edge of an iceberg.

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Isiah Thomas to serve as Knicks consultant

Thomas, a Hall of Famer with the Detroit Pistons, had a dismal run as team president from December 2003-April 2008, with the Knicks never winning a postseason game despite often having the league’s highest payroll. He was also the coach the final two seasons, getting dismissed after a 23-59 season in 2007-08.

Despite all that, plus that lawsuit brought by former team employee Anucha Browne Sanders that cost MSG $11.6 million, Thomas has remained close to Dolan and Walsh, even while coaching Florida International University, a job he will keep.

In fact, even when he was fired, he didn’t even fully leave. Walsh kept him on in an unspecified role until Thomas took the FIU job.

“I’m excited to once again be a part of the New York Knicks organization,” Thomas said. “I was honored to have been asked to help during the recent free agent recruiting process, and believe that this new role takes full advantage of my skill set as an evaluator of basketball talent.”

The Knicks said Thomas would “assist the team’s senior management in various capacities, including player recruitment.”

He helped the team in that area during free agency, when the Knicks landed Amare Stoudemire. He also was sent to Ohio to talk to representatives from LeBron James(notes), who eventually signed with Miami.

Walsh thanked Thomas during the press conference for Stoudemire, sparking reports that Thomas would return to the organization, perhaps even as general manager.

Before his failures in New York, largely a result on overspending for big names that didn’t work out, Thomas was known as a good evaluator of talent. He drafted Tracy McGrady(notes), Marcus Camby(notes) and eventual Rookie of the Year Damon Stoudamire(notes) in Toronto. Walsh has used him to scout in New York, sending him to Europe to see current Knicks forward Danilo Gallinari(notes).

The Knicks will call on those skills in Thomas’ current role.

“He will provide valuable insight and analysis of young prospects from around the world,” the statement said.

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 You Make The Call …

Please feel free to explain your answer further in the comments section.

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Update:

#1. Seems as though Jeff Eisenberg was thinking in a similar way to this corner, about this situation with Zeke and the Knicks, when this news first broke [on Friday].

#2. Thomas won’t return to Knicks, afterall.

For those of you who might be interested in a “lively” discussion on multiple, inter-related NBA topics:

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Courtesy of …

Amare Stoudemire, Lamar Odom’s “Lucky Game” and What it Means to be a Superstar

Instead of comparing how the Team USA coaching staff used Bosh in 2008 to the way they used the rest of their players, compare how Bosh [himself] played in 2008 vs how he played in 2006 and the impact he had in 2008 vs the impact he had in 2006, in comparison with the other Bigs on the roster [e.g. in terms of MP, St, Rebs, etc.].

 

Other key additions, included Kobe Bryant [a big factor, to be sure], Deron Williams, Jason Kidd, Tayshaun Prince, Michael Redd and Carlos Boozer … who each effected the way the 2008 team played, in their own unique way.

 

————–

 

When I say that Mike Brown was/is a poor offensive coach, I am not repeating the claims of anyone else.

 

My perceptions about the game of basketball are not derived from media reports.

 

Mike Brown is not an elite level communicator.

 

Mike Brown is not an elite level X’s and O’s offensive guru.

 

Mike Brown is aware of his own deficiencies, at least in these two areas, as a head coach, and sought out the assistance of someone like Ettore Messina to “improve” his own understanding of the game, from an offensive perspective, and then delegated responsibility to one of his assistant coaches to run the Cavs’ offensive systems, both, in practices and in games.

 

Mike Brown does not have a “wholistic” Basketball Philosophy, which comes close to approximating a System Of Play, like the Triangle Offense.

 

Mike Brown’s offensive “system” lacks creativity, imagination, versatility and discipline.

 

Conversely, Mike Brown is a very good defensive coach.

 

————–

 

Those who mistakenly thought/think that Bill Belichick was/is a poor offensive coach … are simply idiots. 

 

I pay no attention to idiots.

 

————–

 

Au contraire … there are all sorts of strategies and tactics which an authentically elite level coach can use to overcome the fact that his/her best player may have quit in the middle of a critical contest.

 

Mike Brown used none of these.

 

In fact, the chief reason LeBron James may have acted - and performed - the way he did, when he played poorly vs Boston this year, is BECAUSE of Mike Brown … and, specifically, what he and the rest of his teammates knew about the way they were being coached by Mike Brown, vs how the Celtics were being coached by Doc Rivers.

 

[e.g. the level of disrespect which the Cavs, as a group, showed towards Mike Brown was palpable, as the series developed ... and, IMO, an astute basketball observer could clearly see that the players on their team were exasperated with the way their team was being handled in that series, in comparison with the way the Celtics were being handled by Doc Rivers & Co. LeBron James did not quit in those games; the Cavaliers decided to say "F-U" to Mike Brown because they did not agree with what was going on [A] behind the scenes AND [B] on the floor.]

 

IMO, an authentic elite level coach would not have done what Mike Brown did in the Game 2 post-game press conference; nor, would s/he have done, in general, what Mike Brown did while coaching LeBron James for the last 7 years.

 

Superstar players - e.g. Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, etc. - like … and, in fact, crave the opportunity - to play for an authentic elite level coach.

 

In general, they do not despise being “coached” by this person and want to have him fired.

 

khandor

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David Friedman is someone who has written about “the NBA game” extensively, in a variety of different forms, over a number of years.

 

Update:

Since David’s blog has a 4096 character limit, the decision was made to publish both:

a. His response to my comment; and,
b. My reply comment, in return;

in this location instead.

Enjoy!

============================

[a. David's response to my comment]

Khandor:

My Team USA report card (see link above) details the insignificant roles that Boozer, Prince and Redd had for the 2008 team. Williams and Kidd certainly made solid contributions.

Bryant was the biggest difference.

It should be considered a sign of strength and confidence when a coach seeks out the wisdom of other coaches to increase his understanding of the game. The greatest coaches regularly seek out other coaches to watch how they run their practices, etc.

The word you were looking for is “holistic.”

Brown’s coaching philosophy emphasizes the importance of defense and is based on what he learned while serving as a member of Popovich’s staff on the Spurs (including during their 2003 championship run). Brown publicly stated on several occasions that his first and top priority as Cavs’ coach was to transform the team into an elite defensive squad, which he did.

The “disrespect” shown toward Brown stemmed mainly, if not entirely from LeBron James–a shameful display of immaturity by the self-proclaimed “King.”

Brown’s postgame rant after game two, which was not at all typical of how he usually conducted himself (I was at that press conference and at many others conducted by Brown), was clearly an attempt to rouse the team out of the complacency that had taken hold as a result of LeBron’s indifference (i.e., quitting). Perhaps if the franchise had not coddled LeBron for so long things might have turned out differently.

I agree that great players crave the opportunity to be coached. Perhaps LeBron is not at the level of the esteemed players you listed–not in terms of his obvious, indisputable talent but rather in terms of the mentality it takes to be a champion–or perhaps he has had his ear bent for too long by his high school buddies.

Contrary to what you wrote, Cleveland players other than LeBron (including Ilgauskas and Mo Williams) publicly expressed disagreement with Brown’s firing, with Williams explicitly saying that unless the Cavs hired Phil Jackson this was a mistake.

Thursday, July 22, 2010 1:26:00 PM

============================

[b. my reply comment]

re: Kobe was the biggest difference for Team USA. - DF 

I agree.

re: Bosh did play well for Team USA in the Olympics - DF [from an earlier comment]

I agree.

re: but Team USA could have won without him. - DF [from an earlier comment]

I agree that “anything” could have happened, if any “one” of the different “parts” to The Redeem Team might have been changed, either, big or small. That’s how it goes in the game of basketball which is heavily dependent on an intangible like “team chemistry”.

re: Team USA would not have won the gold medal without Kobe Bryant. - DF [from an earlier comment]

I agree … but for the same reason the Team might not have won without the services of any of their other [i.e. lesser] players, as well.

re: Other key additions, included Kobe Bryant [a big factor, to be sure], DeRon Williams, Jason Kidd, Tayshaun, Michael Redd and Carlos Boozer … who each effected the way the 2008 team played, in their own unique way. - khandor

Do you agree with this observation of mine?

I wrote “wholistic” for a specific reason.

[NOTE: What I should have done though is put quotes around the word to indicate that the "error" was made with a specific purpose in mind, to illustrate a more subtle point.]

re: Mike Brown is not an elite level communicator. Mike Brown is not an elite level X’s and O’s offensive guru. - khandor

I said these two things about Mike Brown’s ability as a head coach.

re: It should be considered a sign of strength and confidence when a coach seeks out the wisdom of other coaches to increase his understanding of the game. The greatest coaches regularly seek out other coaches to watch how they run their practices, etc. - DF

I did not speak about a “lack of strength” or a “lack of confidence”, on the part of Mike Brown.

I agree with the notion that it’s important to seek out assistance from others when a known deficiency exists in one’s own portfolio of professionally required skills.

Just because Mike Brown happens to know what his “weaknesses” were/are, as a head coach, does not mean that those same areas are somehow also not to be considered as his specific deficiencies.

We agree about Mike Brown’s philosophy and ability, as a defensive coach.

re: The “disrespect” shown toward Brown stemmed mainly, if not entirely from LeBron James–a shameful display of immaturity by the self-proclaimed “King.” - DF

I agree with this observation.

In part, it was a sign of petulance by a head-strong young man … but, not dissimilar to when Kobe played an entire 4th quarter of a [playoff?] game and simply refused to shoot the ball, in order to “show” the ZenMaster tangible “evidence” of what exactly he thought of his dictates to both Black Mamba and the rest of his teammates at the time.

When a petulant player also goes for double-digit rebounds in that same game, however, it is not accurate to characterize his actions as “having simply quit”.

[NOTE: IMO, it would be more accurate to assert that this player did not like how the team was being asked to play on offense at that point in time and expressed his displeasure in a selfish manner. This is the sort of thing that happens all the time in basketball, at every level of the game ... but what was different here is THE WAY in which Mike Brown chose to handle it, i.e. which was basically to do nothing "subtle" about it, and instead, after-the-fact, to try to do the WRONG THING about it, i.e. rant and rave in public in an effort to "rouse" either his "star" player and/or his supporting cast.]

re: Brown’s postgame rant after game two, which was not at all typical of how he usually conducted himself - DF

It is not just how one conducts oneself “typically” which determines if one should be placed in an elite category … but, also, how one actually conducts oneself in an “atypical” moment.

IMO, Mike Brown made a coaching mistake.

IMO, LeBron James was crying out “to be coach” and, unfortunately, Mike Brown … as well as many others in his life … let him down [which is not to say that HE did not let them down, in return, because HE most certainly did].

Father-and-son breakdowns are, in general, a two-way street.

What Mo and Zydrunas said regarding Mike Brown’s dismissal and their loyal support of him does not stand in opposition to the observations which I made. They are merely corollaries.

What I said was speaking primarily to what I observed from the actions [and inter-actions] of LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, Anthony Parker, Antawn Jamison, Delonte West, Daniel Gibson, Jamario Moon, Jawad Williams and JJ Hickson.

As I’ve mentioned to you before …

You and I agree about many things associated with the game; however, it is some of the more subtle things which we sometimes approach from a distinctly different vantage point.

As the kids say, though:

“It’s all good.”

 

 

Before the 2009-2010 NBA regular season began, the Los Angeles Lakers were identified by yours truly as the best team in the league, provided that they could remain relatively healthy over the course of this season.

There is only 1 game remaining in this year’s NBA Finals and the Lakers are poised to make that pre-season forecast come true.

Los Angeles was destined to be the best team in the NBA this season when you consider all three main phases of the game:

1. Team Offense;

2. Team Defensive ;

and,

3. Team Rebounding.

As long as the referees do not unnecessarily insert themselves into the equation, by burdening either Kobe Bryant or Pau Gasol with serious early foul trouble, and Los Angeles continues to play unselfishly, the Lakers will win The Battle of the Boards in Game 7 and, thus, their 2nd consecutive NBA crown.

When a team is able to:

i. Effectively execute a well-coordinated Team Offense, like Tex Winter’s Triangle, which is predicated upon sharing the basketball;

ii. Employ a number of talented individual players who are solid Team Defenders, e.g. Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom, Derek Fisher, Shannon Brown, Luke Walton and Josh Powell;

iii. Consistently REBOUND the ball, at both ends of the floor;

iv. Repeatedly draw upon its “Collective Breath” … courtesy of an authentic elite level head coach; 

and, then,

v. Put the ball in the hands of the best player in the game today, for its most crucial possessions … both, offensively and defensively, given his ability to defend on-the-ball, as well … to orchestrate their symphony;

it is going to win the league championship.

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PS. If both Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins had been 100% healthy, it might have been a different story.

The Lakers’ defense gets it done

The Lakers pressured the Celtics all night, making life particularly miserable for Paul Pierce. The defense was all the more stifling because Kobe Bryant continued to play rover, sloughing off Rajon Rondo in the half court to plug holes and double-team the ball. Bryant’s strategy was nothing new, but the Lakers’ quickness to the ball, readiness on ball screens and relentlessness on those traps were unprecedented. Literally. The Lakers’ defensive rating of 75.3 on Tuesday night was their best mark of the season — and far and away the Celtics’ worst offensive output since opening night.

A real key was Phil Jackson’s decision to have the Lakers “trap” more aggressively vs Boston’s “Pick and Pop” offensive action, in conjunction with allowing Kobe Bryant to rotate out, at least initially, to the temporarily “open” shooter … whoever he might be … while consistently “helping off” of Rajon Rondo.

When this version of the LA Lakers plays with this sort of well-coordinated Offense, Defense and Rebounding they are simply the best team in the NBA.

The Triangle Offense is a thing of beauty … when it’s executed properly.

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Q1. Which specific option is the best one for the Lakers to use in Game 6, considering the difficulty Los Angeles has had scoring efficiently?

A1. The option which they have steadfastly refused to go to in each of their 3 losses!

i.e. The Wing/Corner Pick and Roll/Pop [with Kobe Bryant as the ballhandler]

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Fig. 1 -  Initial Alignment

Fig. 2 - Wing/Corner Entry Pass

Fig. 3 - UCLA Backscreen and Weak Side Triangle

Fig. 4 - Wing Pick and Pop

Fig. 5 - Wing Drives Into the Lane to, either, Shoot or Pass

What Boston showed in its series with Orlando is just how vulnerable the Celtics are to a team that will repeatedly put the C’s into Pick and Roll/Pop situations.

Unlike Orlando, however, what the Lakers need to do … instead of having their Picker roll to the basket repeatedly, ala Dwight Howard … is have Pau Gasol set the Wing Pick … ala Bill Wennington [Chicago Bulls],

e.g. like what you see at the 4:40 and 4:50 marks of this video clip

… and then Pop Out to the Wing/Corner, in order to stretch the Celtics defense and allow their best player, i.e. Kobe Bryant, to facilitate the remainder of their half-court offense with their:

i. Other PF/C [i.e. Bynum/Odom/Powell] in the Weak Side Screening position;

ii. PG [i.e. Fisher/Farmar/Brown] in the Weak Side Corner position; and,

iii. SF [i.e. Artest/Vujacic/Walton] in the Weak Side Free Throw Line Extednded position.

Instead of having Kobe Bryant establish his initial position as the Weak Side Pinch Post player [i.e. #4, in the diagrams above] … which is precisely what the Lakers have done repeatedly, in all 5 games, thus far … Los Angeles needs to:

i. Put their best “Pick and Roll/Pop artist” in the Ball Side Wing/Corner position [i.e. #3, in the diagrams above];

ii. Get him the ball [i.e. either, via pass or dribble-handoff] after their initial Offensive Transition has failed to generate a high percentage FGA;

and, then,

iii. Allow him to go to work against the Celtics’ Defense, off the dribble, from the Wing position, with the rest of the floor spread in this manner.

If the Lakers execute this part of the Triangle Ofense … which Michael Jordan’s Bulls teams did so exquisitely with largely average Centers like Wennington, Luc Longley and Bill Cartwright … then, Los Angeles has a very good chance to force a Game 7, in what would go down in NBA history as an epic Finals series.

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PS. Dr. Phil is the winningest head coach in NBA history and it will be up to him to figure this out, and then make the Lakers execute this option within their offense. 

Related:

Five ways for the Lakers to win it all, again

The Lakers have slightly better personnel, overall, than the Boston Celtics.

Yet, the Lakers are trailing 2-3, in this series.

Q1. How come?

A1. Primarily, because … at least, to this point … Phil Jackson is being out-coached by Doc Rivers, when it comes to using his personnel properly.

If you take a closer look at the simple game stats for the series, so far, for the players each team is using at the Power Forward and Center positions, this is what you should be able to see:

BOSTON CELTICS
Role	STARTERS												KEY SUBS
Pos	PF/C						C						PF						PF/C
Player	Garnett						Perkins						Davis						Wallace
	MP	PTS	REB	AST	TO	BS	MP	PTS	REB	AST	TO	BS	MP	PTS	REB	AST	TO	BS	MP	PTS	REB	AST	TO	BS
G1	34:47	16	4	1	1	1	24:25	8	3	1	1	0	18:36	3	3	1	1	0	18:12	9	4	0	1	1
G2	23:43	6	4	6	0	0	31:47	12	6	3	2	0	18:10	8	7	1	1	1	18:07	7	7	1	1	0
G3	31:45	25	6	3	3	1	21:42	5	11	1	2	0	23:42	12	3	0	3	0	18:40	2	4	3	0	1
G4	26:30	13	6	3	2	1	24:41	6	7	0	0	0	22:29	18	5	0	0	0	21:45	3	2	0	1	0
G5	36:09	18	10	3	3	2	31:38	4	7	1	2	0	13:09	0	3	1	0	0	14:45	5	4	0	0	1
G6	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
G7

 

LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Role	STARTERS												KEY SUBS
Pos	PF/C						C						PF						C
Player	Gasol						Bynum						Odom						?
	MP	PTS	REB	AST	TO	BS	MP	PTS	REB	AST	TO	BS	MP	PTS	REB	AST	TO	BS	MP	PTS	REB	AST	TO	BS
G1	46:34	23	14	3	3	3	28:09	10	6	0	1	0	21:17	5	4	1	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-
G2	41:58	25	8	3	1	6	39:00	21	6	0	2	7	14:38	3	5	1	1	0	-	-	-	-	-	-
G3	38:58	13	10	4	1	2	29:11	9	10	0	1	1	27:51	12	5	1	1	0	-	-	-	-	-	-
G4	44:10	21	6	3	4	2	12:10	2	3	0	1	0	39:05	10	7	1	1	0	-	-	-	-	-	-
G5	38:05	12	12	0	1	0	31:38	6	1	0	1	0	26:17	8	8	2	3	0	-	-	-	-	-	-
G6	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
G7

 

Power Forward and Center Stats During 3 Boston Wins
Game	CELTICS					LAKERS
	PTS	REBS	AST	TO	BS	PTS	REBS	AST	TO	BS
2	33	24/+	11/+	4/0	1/-	49	19/-	4/-	4/0	13/+
4	40	20/+	3/-	3/+	1/-	33	16/-	4/+	6/-	2/+
5	27	24/+	5/+	5/0	3/+	26	21/-	2/-	5/0	0/-

 

Power Forward and Center Stats During 2 Lakers Wins
Game	CELTICS					LAKERS
	PTS	REBS	AST	TO	BS	PTS	REBS	AST	TO	BS
1	36	14/-	3/-	4/+	2/-	38	24/+	4/+	6/-	4/+
3	44	24/-	6/+	8/-	2/-	34	25/+	5/-	3/+	3/-

 

Boston is gradually … and, seemingly, inevitably … wearing down Pau Gasol because Phil Jackson is refusing to play Josh Powell, when the Celtics’ consistent use of 4 Bigs [i.e. Garnett & Perkins and Davis & Wallace] … vs just 3 Bigs … DICTATES THAT HE SHOULD RESPOND IN PRECISELY THIS MANNER.

As was first said here in the NBA Finals Preview …

What you should expect from this year’s NBA Finals [June 3 2010]

… the Lakers are, in fact, the better team in this specific match-up, except, of course, if Phil Jackson manages to get out-coached by Doc Rivers, for example, by refusing to use Josh Powell [PF] vs Glen Davis [PF], which would effectively lessen the load that Pau Gasol [PF/C] is working under trying to play against BOTH Kevin Garnett [PF/C] AND Rasheed Wallace [PF/C].

It will be extremely interesting to see:

i. How many minutes Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom are going to play in Game 6 [and, possibly, Game 7];

ii. How effective Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom are during the minutes which they play in Game 6 [and, possibly, Game 7]; and,

iii. Whether, or not, Phil Jackson finally decides to use a bench player with the specific skill-set of Josh Powell [PF] properly;

with only 1 rest day [and a coast-to-coast airplane flight, with a 3 hour time change] between Game 5 and Game 6, and then between Game 6 and Game 7.

—————————-

Related:

Who has outcoached Doc Rivers?

—————————-

PS. Those who perpetually under-value the work and ability of Doc Rivers, and/or the fundamental role played by an authentically elite level head coach in the day-to-day performance of NBA teams and players simply demonstrate that they fail to understand how the game of basketball actually works.

… and, this small corner of the world mourns today.

———————————-

 

John Wooden, the ‘Wizard of Westwood’ dies at 99

Wooden’s legacy that of an innovator

Legendary John Wooden dead at 99

Wizard’s influence went beyond basketball

John Wooden timeline

Teacher, Coach, Legend

Former UCLA coach John Wooden dies

Lakers coach remembers John Wooden

Reaction to John Wooden’s death

“It’s kind of hard to talk about Coach Wooden simply, because he was a complex man. But he taught in a very simple way. He just used sports as a means to teach us how to apply ourselves to any situation.

“He set quite an example. He was more like a parent than a coach. He really was a very selfless and giving human being, but he was a disciplinarian. We learned all about those aspects of life that most kids want to skip over. He wouldn’t let us do that.”
– Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

———————————-

We shall not see his kind again.

Kudos, John.

It was a pleasure to have had the opportunity to speak with you in-person.

Your life’s work has taught each of us, “How to become ‘the best’ we are capable of becoming.”

Pyramid of Success

Life Lessons From Coach Wooden

In all the world, there is no greater, or more meaningful, gift than THIS.

If you have the time today to read but 1 story on-line …

—————————————————–

Pat Williams’ Quest To Understand The Winning Combination

Friedman: “You had told me that you were gathering some material together–some more basketball stories–so do you think that you might publish those stories in a different format since the Chicken Soup people will not use them?”The Winning Combination: 21 Keys to Coaching and Leadership Greatness. That book is coming out even as we speak and that is my latest writing project. My son Bobby has had a career in professional baseball. He spent five years as a coach in the Cincinnati Reds farm system. In January 2005, the Washington Nationals hired him to manage in their farm system. He was 27 years old at the time, the youngest manager in organized baseball. I remember Bobby calling me with the news. His voice was up about three octaves and he said, ‘Dad, what do I do now?’ I remember thinking, ‘I want to help my son.’ So, I then began to ask coaches and managers, ‘What are the four keys to being a good coach or a good manager?’ That process has now gone on for about five years and I have asked that question to about 1500 coaches–current, future, past, I’ve tracked down everybody I could get to. I noticed in this process that there were repeated themes that kept coming up, there were principles that were repeated more often than others. After all that (information) came in, I noticed that there were 21 themes that were really predominant. I thought to myself that this is far more than just a coaching book; this is far more than help for my son as a baseball manager. This is a leadership manual from the greatest coaching minds of all time. So, that is the meat of the book, David. There are 21 chapters built around these 21 themes and I’ve had a marvelous time putting it together and I think that it can impact leaders at every level from the White House on down. We’re excited that the book is ready.”

—————————————————–

then, David Friedman’s interview with the Senior Vice President of the Orlando Magic is THE ONE yours truly would recommend.

Enjoy!

Doc Rivers …

By using:

* Only 3 players at the Point Guard and Off Guard positions;

* Only 2 players at the Small Forward position, with 1 of these players also functioning as the team’s Back-up Point Guard; and,

* 4 players at the Power Forward and Center positions;

has developed a tight 8-man rotation for the Celtics:

BOSTON CELTICS				ORLANDO MAGIC
Game	1/MP	2/MP	#		Game	1/MP	2/MP
POINT GUARD and OFF GUARD
Rondo	46	45	1		Nelson	38	38
R-Allen	39	40	2		Carter	41	26
T-Allen	17	15	3		Redick	20	34
			4		Williams	10	10
SMALL FORWARD
Pierce	42	40	5		Barnes	15	21
T-Allen			6		Pietrus	20	16
					Carter
POWER FORWARD and CENTER
Garnett	34	35	7		Lewis	42	41
Perkins	26	15	8		Howard	39	40
Davis	15	28	9		Gortat	14	15
Wallace	20	18
OTHERS
Robinson	DNP-CD	DNP-CD	10		Johnson	DNP-CD	DNP-CD
Finley	1	5
Daniels	DNP-CD	DNP-CD
Williams	DNP-CD		11		Bass	DNP-CD	DNP-CD
Scalabrine		DNP-CD	12		Anderson	DNP-CD	DNP-CD
Score	92	95			Score	88	92

which has controlled the individual player match-ups in this series and, in the process, created levels of Team Cohesion and Execution [i.e. Offensively, Defensively, and Rebounding-wise] that are superior to what Orlando has been able to muster.

These two things are what have allowed Boston to establish early leads in both Game 1 and Game 2 and, then, forced Orlando to play catch-up for the balance of those contests.

What Stan Van Gundy needs to do now, in response, in order to counter these advantages, is:

BOSTON CELTICS			ORLANDO MAGIC
#	Game	3/MP	#	Game	3/MP
POINT GUARD and OFF GUARD
1	Rondo	46	1	Nelson	46
2	R-Allen	39	2	Carter	39
3	T-Allen	17	3	Barnes [or Redick or Williams]	17
SMALL FORWARD
4	Pierce	42	4	Pietrus	42
	T-Allen			Barnes [or Redick]
POWER FORWARD and CENTER
5	Garnett	34	5	Lewis	34
6	Perkins	26	6	Howard [or Gortat]	32
7	Davis	15	7	Gortat [or Bass or Howard]	10
8	Wallace	20	8	Anderson [or Bass]	20
OTHERS
9	Robinson	DNP-CD	9	Williams	DNP-CD
10	Finley	1	10	Redick	1
11	Daniels	DNP-CD	11	Johnson	DNP-CD
12	Williams	DNP-CD	12	Bass
13	Scalabrine
	Score	?		Score	?

which involves:

* Removing Matt Barnes [SF] from the starting line-up and replacing him with Mickael Pietrus [SF];

* Reducing significantly the minutes played by JJ Redick [OG] and Jason Williams [PG], while increasing the minutes played by Mickael Pietrus [SF];

* Using Vince Carter [OG] as the exclusive match-up vs Ray Allen [OG];

* Using Jameer Nelson [PG] as the exclusive match-up vs Rajon Rondo [PG];

* Having Vince Carter function as Orlando’s Back-up Point Guard, when Jameer Nelson … and, therefore, Rajon Rondo … is off the floor;

* Reducing significantly the minutes played by Rashard Lewis [PF];

* Using Rashard Lewis [PF] as the exclusive match-up vs Kevin Garnett [PF];

* Using either Brandon Bass [PF, or Marcin Gortat, PF/C] as the primary match-up [in addition to Dwight Howard, C] vs Glen Davis [PF]; and,

* Using Ryan Anderson [PF] as the exclusive match-up vs Rasheed Wallace [PF/C];

and would generate the respective Minutes Played [MP] indicated in the chart above for Game 3.

===========================

PS. BTW, those who would suggest that authentically “elite level coaching” makes almost no difference to the way that individual players perform, when it comes to determining “winners from losers,” in the NBA, simply do not understand what the game is all about at the highest levels of competition [e.g. The Celtics would not be leading this series, if Doc Rivers wasn't coaching their team]. 

In the aftermath of Game 2 …

—————————————————–

Stan Van Gundy will try to get Rashard Lewis more involved offensively

Rashard Lewis Needs to Improve Offensively if the Orlando Magic Want to Challenge the Boston Celtics

—————————————————–

This is now a central topic for discussion, on the part of Magic fans and other NBA observers.

In reality …

The answer is very simple.

———-

Orlando MUST:

1. Stop posting up Dwight Howard on the block.

2. Start using Dwight Howard in repeated ”2/3-5, High Middle, Pick and Roll” situations …

i. With the following players on the court:

Off Guard/#2 - Vince Carter

Center/#5 - Dwight Howard

Point Guard/#1 - Jameer Nelson

Small Forward/#3 - Mickael Pietrus

Power Forward/#4 - Rashard Lewis

ii. Located in the following positions on the court:

Off Guard/#2-Small Forward/#3, as The Ball-handler

Center/#5, as The Pick and Roller 

Point Guard/#1, in The Original Ball Side Corner

Small Forward/#3-Off Guard/#2, at The Original Ball Side Free Throw Line Extended

Power Forward/#4 - in The Original Weak Side Corner

3. Demand that their #2-3’s attack the Hedging Pick Defender, by going around him toward the Original Weak Side of the floor and, then, looking for one of the following options:

a. His own drive to the basket;

b. A lob pass to D-12, for a dunk opportunity;

c. A kickout pass to Rashard Lewis for an uncontested 3PT shot from the corner;

d. A throwback pass to Mickael Pietrus for an uncontested 3PT shot, as he re-locates to the Top Of The Key position [following Howard's roll to the basket];

e. A cross-court skip pass to Jameer Nelson for an uncontested 3PT shot, as he re-locates to the New Weak Side Free Throw Line Extended position.

If Orlando runs this simple set play … this exact way … it will generate, either:

I. Open shots galore for Rashard Lewis;

or,

II. A career night for one of Vincent Lamar Carter, or Mickael Pietrus, as their primary ball-handler.

———-

PS. Hopefully, Stan Van Gundy is paying close attention to what’s written here.