With the start of this Celtics basketball season, I know a lot of fellow Celtics fans are wondering what is going on with this team? Why can’t we win the big games? Why are we having so many issues with playing our game? One huge reason is that we have almost an entirely new team to work with this season—only 5 returning players that know the Celtics methods and playbook—-and it takes time to gel. Unlike past Celtics teams, we’ve pretty much started from scratch this year, but this is a move towards building for the future for when KG and Pierce and no longer playing.
With that being said, let’s just simply look at the numbers compared to past Celtics starts on the season. Based on the stats and numbers, our problems completely revolve around three key areas: points per game, rebounding, and assists…
In the championship year of ’86, here are some Celtics numbers:
114.1 points per game
104.7 points per game allowed
50.8% FG%
46.1% FG% allowed
46.4 boards per game
29.1 ASSISTS per game
For the 2008 championship season:
100.5 points per game
90.3 points per game allowed
47.5% FG%
41.9% FG% allowed
42 boards per game
22.4 assists per game
For last year:
106.5 points per game
91.1 points per game allowed
45.7% FG%
43.4% FG% allowed
44.2 boards per game
23.8 assists per game
For THIS year, the numbers are NOT even close to performance years:
97.2 points per game
99.3 points per game allowed
46% FG%
46.3% FG% allowed
35.8 boards per game, OPP 42 boards per game
23.8 assists per game, OPP 22.9 assists per game
Clearly, we can see that points per game, rebounding, and assists per game are way below opponents averages so far this season. Until we can crash the boards, either increase our assists or limit opponent’s assist abilities, and start scoring some points, the Celtics won’t be able to handle the season—let alone think about the playoffs. Maybe it’s time we did invest in a big man at center to occupy some space to help prevent OPP rebounding and assist issues?? I’m not Danny Ainge, but I do see what our problems are going forward.
True, we need to allow time for our team to mesh and learn the playbook and get ready for the 2nd half of this season, but we need to wake up and remember that FUNDAMENTALS of the game are the reasons that the Celtics have always had this championship mentality. It’s time to get back to making the pass, playing defense, hitting the boards, blocking out, and having more toughness in the paint area. FUNDAMENTALS. Coaching lesson concluded…