preston@fortune.UUCP (Carol Preston) (12/13/84)
I'm kinda confused. I am a Celtics fan, and since I now live on the
West Coast, I have to follow them mostly through printed media. I
have been looking through the stats and trying to figure out what's
going on. Boston has always been (at least in the last few years) a
great defensive team. As of yesterday, they were ranked #2 in offense,
and only #10 in defense. I mean, Larry Bird is averaging 28+ points a
game. What's happening? Was this planned, or did it just happen? The
y are doing really well, but in the end, it's defense that has always
"got them there". Should I be worried? What has the media in Boston
been saying about this phenomenum? I subscribe to some sports magazines,
and nobody has yet to discuss this.
Gosh, I hope somebody can help me figger this out.
--
Carol Preston
{sri-unix, amd, hpda, harpo, ihnp4, allegra}!fortune!preston
(415) 594-2891
Fortune Systems, 101 Twin Dolphin Pkwy, Redwood Shores, CA 94065bruce@godot.UUCP (Bruce Nemnich) (12/15/84)
Don't worry about the defense. It's there when they need it. They rank offense and defense by most points scored and least points allowed. What is interesting in the difference between the two. Last year, the Celtics lead the league averaging 7.2 points more than their opponents if I remember correctly. Last I heard (last week) they were averaging +13, which is out of sight. Offensively, they are averaging 9 points more per game than last year, so they must be giving up about 3 more per game. They are shooting and running well, so the games have been more up-tempo and high-scoring. I think we're beginning to see much more of KC Jones's coaching philosophy this year; last year, he didn't do too much differently on the court from what Bill Fitch was doing, though his off-court style is completely different. Now, the offense is more spread-out. They are relying on the inside game a lot less. The guards and Bird are shooting (well) outside a lot more, which is opening up the inside and making it more effective when they do go down low. The offense seems much more flexible in terms of getting the ball to whoever's hot. The are usually releasing a guard as soon as the other team shoots, and often hitting him on a court-length pass on the rebound or inbounds. Bird is usually hot. He seems to have been given the green light to do what he wants. Last I looked, he was leading the team in points, assists, rebounds, blocked shots, and steals. He leads the league in freethrow percentage and 3-point percentage, and is third in scoring. He's all over the court on offense (and hitting from everywhere), spending much less time in the trenches. He's making last year's MVP season look like a bad year. I cannot say enough; it is such a pleasure to watch him play. By the way, the Sixers won round 2 Wednesday in a beautiful game. The Celts missed several chances in the last minute. Great games for Moses, Barkley, and Bird. 110-107 final. Best basketball around. -- --Bruce Nemnich, Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge, MA ihnp4!godot!bruce, bjn@mit-mc.arpa ... soon to be bruce@godot.arpa
david@fluke.UUCP (David L. Epperson) (12/16/84)
The Celtics may not be the best defensive team in the league but they have been getting 7-14 points a game more than they have been giving up. Check other teams in the league on the spread of points-for and points given up. They are also out rebounding heir opponents in most of their games. Sports coverage for the NBA on the west coast sucks. Almost no mention of the NBA on the TV and very little in the papers. Although if the Sonics win you do here about. David