Rasheed has the ability to spread the court at the end of the game. His presence will probably affect Rondo the most, in a positive way. At the end of games, it will be difficult to come off of [Rondo] when you have four guys standing behind the 3-point line, or three guys [at the 3-point line] and Kevin on the floor. I think it will make Rondo a lot more dangerous.’’
LINK
Dammit, Doc. Don't you read my blog? I want to see Ray Allen at the point at the end of close games. :)
Showing posts with label KG and the Four Guns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KG and the Four Guns. Show all posts
9.18.2009
8.27.2009
Why Didn't Doc use Ray Allen at the Point in the 2008 Playoffs?
On the few occasions when the Boston Celtics got down big during the 2007-08 NBA season, Doc Rivers deployed what I like to call the KG and the Four Guns lineup. It consisted of KG at the 5, James Posey at the 4, Pierce at the 3, Jesus at the 2, and E.House at the point. That lineup rescued us from a couple of memorable deficits, one of them being against the Lakers in game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals.
This year I'm excited to see whether Doc uses a modified version of this lineup, with Rasheed Wallace replacing James Posey at the 4. As I peruse Celtics' message boards, I see a few fans are anticipating a slightly different variation, with Perk at the 5, Sheed at the 4, KG at the 3, Pierce at the 2, and Ray Allen at the point. This is an interesting idea, and one I really like in certain situations (when we're down big or in a dog fight at the end of a game).
But if this is such a great idea, one might ask, why didn't Doc use Ray Allen at the point during the championship season?
It is a fair question, because like the championship season, the Celtics still only have five dependable jump shooters: Pierce, Jesus, KG, Sheed, and E.House. The reason that deploying a back court of Pierce and Allen this year might be more tempting is because Perk has established himself as one of the premier post defenders in the NBA, whereas in 2008 he was still a question mark. When a game is on the line, getting stops is no less important than scoring the ball. In fact, it might be more important in terms of grabbing control of the final minutes.
So keeping Perk in despite not being a jump shooter has its merits.
One objection is that you don't have the destructive one on the floor, Rajon Rondo. I agree that this is a problem. But if his jumper is still iffy this year, I'm not sure we can risk having him get the ball at the end of the game and being forced to shoot it because his defender is doubling someone else. Another objection is that Ray Allen isn't a point guard. No, he is not. But is he any worse a point guard than Danny, DJ, and Jerry Sichting in 1986? Is he a worse ball handler than Derek Fisher?
Bottom line is that this lineup will be a lineup Doc is tempted to use, and here's to hoping he succumbs to the temptation a few times.
This year I'm excited to see whether Doc uses a modified version of this lineup, with Rasheed Wallace replacing James Posey at the 4. As I peruse Celtics' message boards, I see a few fans are anticipating a slightly different variation, with Perk at the 5, Sheed at the 4, KG at the 3, Pierce at the 2, and Ray Allen at the point. This is an interesting idea, and one I really like in certain situations (when we're down big or in a dog fight at the end of a game).
But if this is such a great idea, one might ask, why didn't Doc use Ray Allen at the point during the championship season?
It is a fair question, because like the championship season, the Celtics still only have five dependable jump shooters: Pierce, Jesus, KG, Sheed, and E.House. The reason that deploying a back court of Pierce and Allen this year might be more tempting is because Perk has established himself as one of the premier post defenders in the NBA, whereas in 2008 he was still a question mark. When a game is on the line, getting stops is no less important than scoring the ball. In fact, it might be more important in terms of grabbing control of the final minutes.
So keeping Perk in despite not being a jump shooter has its merits.
One objection is that you don't have the destructive one on the floor, Rajon Rondo. I agree that this is a problem. But if his jumper is still iffy this year, I'm not sure we can risk having him get the ball at the end of the game and being forced to shoot it because his defender is doubling someone else. Another objection is that Ray Allen isn't a point guard. No, he is not. But is he any worse a point guard than Danny, DJ, and Jerry Sichting in 1986? Is he a worse ball handler than Derek Fisher?
Bottom line is that this lineup will be a lineup Doc is tempted to use, and here's to hoping he succumbs to the temptation a few times.
6.14.2008
KG and the Four Guns
I don't know if Kendrick Perkins will be able to go on Sunday. Nor do I know if Brian Scalabrine will be activated and get a surprise start (it wouldn't surprise me, by the way, if he did, just so Doc could keep his so-called rotation in tact). Last but not least, I have no clue whether Rajon Rondo will play much. But, again, he'll probably at least start the game and play nominal minutes.
However, I do expect to see a lot of what I once called "KG and the Four Guns," a line-up consisting of the above five players.
The Lakers have no post presence to worry about. Posey has effectively guarded Dirk, so I don't see Radmanovich or Odom giving him tons of trouble. The Lakers attempt to double off our point guard will come to an end, and the C's offensive trouble should also cease to be a concern, unless, of course, House or Pierce have a problem getting the ball over half court or getting Team Green into it's offense.
If that is your concern, my riposte is two-fold:
First, keep in mind we're playing the Los Angeles Lakers, my friends, not Detroit or Cleveland. I mean, how much pressure can they really apply?
Second, Doc already went with this line-up during the third and fourth quarters of game 4, and we all know how that turned out.
3.18.2008
Reggie Miller Joins the Celtics Afterall
Remember when Doc and Danny were hot on the trail of Reggie Miller?
They even enlisted Kevin Garnett to persuade the 43-year-old shooting guard to end his four-year retirement and join the party known as the Celtics Summer of Love (which still hasn’t ended, BTW).
Miller gave the comeback a good faith effort, working out on a daily basis with Garnett and others. In the end, Miller wasn’t up to it. Either his body, his mind, or a combination of both decided that returning to the grind of an 82-game schedule, plus pre-season and playoff games, was a mountain he wouldn’t climb.
Nonetheless, many of us Celtics fans were enticed by the idea of Reggie Miller in Green, raining down wide-open threes while defenses focused their energy on the Big Three. The picture painted for us by the Celtics Brass was one depicting a playoff atmosphere, four minutes to go in a tight game.
Garnett’s on the floor, surrounded by four guns: Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Reggie Miller, and either Eddie House or James Posey.
Pick your poison.
Who you gonna guard?
With a little ball movement, something the Celtics have made a hallmark of their offense this season, the answer was good luck trying to guard anyone.
Even though Mr. Indiana Pacer stayed put, it has become clear that Doc and Danny weren’t ready to eulogize the Reggie Miller Offense just yet.
After watching the Celtics play catch-up against the Spurs and then play six of the last seven minutes of the fourth quarter with Rajon Rondo on the bench, it occurred to me that the only big in the game was Garnett, who was surrounded by Sam Cassell, Paul Pierce, Eddie House, and James Posey.
And you know what?
It worked.
It worked in playing catch-up, and it worked in closing out the game.
Rajon Rondo, no doubt, played huge, both in quarters one through three and for thirty seconds of the final minute.
But the interesting point was that the offense conceived by Doc and Danny last August didn’t die a thousand painful deaths when Reggie Miller said ‘no.’
Playing small-ball is not a favorite among a large contingent of Celtics fans, this much is understood. They would prefer if the only sport to witness "small ball" was baseball, where Billy Martin used that phrase to describe an aggressive running game, the hit-and-run, and the suicide squeeze.
Still, you have to believe we haven’t seen the end of it for the Celtics, especially when it produces results like it did last night. And don’t forget, Ray Allen wasn’t even in uniform. Throw another deadly gun into the mix, and it makes the argument for small ball that much more compelling.
To placate Celtics fans made unhappy by this strategy, maybe we should come up with a new name for small ball.
How about Four Guns and Garnett?
They even enlisted Kevin Garnett to persuade the 43-year-old shooting guard to end his four-year retirement and join the party known as the Celtics Summer of Love (which still hasn’t ended, BTW).
Miller gave the comeback a good faith effort, working out on a daily basis with Garnett and others. In the end, Miller wasn’t up to it. Either his body, his mind, or a combination of both decided that returning to the grind of an 82-game schedule, plus pre-season and playoff games, was a mountain he wouldn’t climb.
Nonetheless, many of us Celtics fans were enticed by the idea of Reggie Miller in Green, raining down wide-open threes while defenses focused their energy on the Big Three. The picture painted for us by the Celtics Brass was one depicting a playoff atmosphere, four minutes to go in a tight game.
Garnett’s on the floor, surrounded by four guns: Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Reggie Miller, and either Eddie House or James Posey.
Pick your poison.
Who you gonna guard?
With a little ball movement, something the Celtics have made a hallmark of their offense this season, the answer was good luck trying to guard anyone.
Even though Mr. Indiana Pacer stayed put, it has become clear that Doc and Danny weren’t ready to eulogize the Reggie Miller Offense just yet.
After watching the Celtics play catch-up against the Spurs and then play six of the last seven minutes of the fourth quarter with Rajon Rondo on the bench, it occurred to me that the only big in the game was Garnett, who was surrounded by Sam Cassell, Paul Pierce, Eddie House, and James Posey.
And you know what?
It worked.
It worked in playing catch-up, and it worked in closing out the game.
Rajon Rondo, no doubt, played huge, both in quarters one through three and for thirty seconds of the final minute.
But the interesting point was that the offense conceived by Doc and Danny last August didn’t die a thousand painful deaths when Reggie Miller said ‘no.’
Playing small-ball is not a favorite among a large contingent of Celtics fans, this much is understood. They would prefer if the only sport to witness "small ball" was baseball, where Billy Martin used that phrase to describe an aggressive running game, the hit-and-run, and the suicide squeeze.
Still, you have to believe we haven’t seen the end of it for the Celtics, especially when it produces results like it did last night. And don’t forget, Ray Allen wasn’t even in uniform. Throw another deadly gun into the mix, and it makes the argument for small ball that much more compelling.
To placate Celtics fans made unhappy by this strategy, maybe we should come up with a new name for small ball.
How about Four Guns and Garnett?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)