A Brutal Stretch

It was a brutal stretch. I don't think I've seen a stretch like that ever in my 24 years in the game. I was very proud of what we did. The game we had the other night (a 102-97 OT victory at Milwaukee on Saturday) I was the most proud. You could see in the fourth quarter we had nothing. Physically, we were tired. We were emotionally tired. We were losing bodies as the game went on. Then we still found a way to win. That's a great sign for our team.

--Glenn Rivers

Doc makes a good point.

Most Celtics fans would agree.

At the same time, Coach wouldn't necessarily disagree with the following assessment:

The first 11 games have been very revealing.

First, the obvious:

The Bench Lacks a Quarterback

The bench lacks a quarterback, a captain. Strike that. They have one, but he now plays for Byron Scott. I'd like to say that the Celtics bench could develop one. But who? Leon Powe isn't the right type. He's too quiet and isn't "bossy" enough. Glen Davis is mouthy, but too young. Eddie House is loud, but more of a cheerleader.

Tony Allen is sort of like a drifter from the 1960s.

Remember the famous YouTube video? KG is on the bench in a huddle during a time out. He's yelling "they don't want no pick and roll!" Every Celtic is captivated--even the coaches--except one, Tony Allen. No one is sure what Tony's thinking about until he gets whapped on the head by KG. At that moment, you kind of get the feeling that TA wanted to respond: "Hey Dude, what do you think you are you doin' interrupting a good day dream!?"

The Bench Lacks a Consistent Scorer

This is not the same as the first point. A team can have a consistent scorer off a rudderless bench. Think Jim Paxson for the Boston Celtics in 1988-89. The first couple of games it looked like Leon Powe might have a break-out year in the scoring column. But he has since retreated. No other reserve has really strung together two good games in a row.

The Defense is in Decline...and so is the Offense

After starting the season playing defense as well or better than we did last year, we went three straight games where we allowed the opponent to shoot comfortably over 40% from the field (.429, .456, and .488). Combine this with a streak of poor shooting by the Celtics (.397, .421, and .438) and you have a recipe for frustration. The good news is that these stats might be entirely explained by the "brutal stretch"

Turnovers and Lots of Them

We turn the ball over at an alarming rate. We've geen doing this since day one. This is a real problem, and not related to the so-called brutal stretch.

Rajon

Rajon Rondo can't hit a free throw, and, over the last four games, can't hit a shot from the field. Most importantly, he's not the destructive force on D he was last year.

Now for the less obvious:

Absence of Length

We've outrebounded one opponent in the last six games. We achieved that dubious distinction after having outrebounded every opponent but one in the first five games. The absence of length off the bench doesn't jump out at me and scream, partly because we start a dominant 7'1" power forward and a shot blocking beast at center. But this is definitely something to keep an eye on. You don't control the glass, you don't control the game, and winning the game becomes more complicated.