Alarm Bells are Ringing

Don’t let the 9-2 record or the constant late game heroics of Paul Pierce fool you, something is very wrong with the 2008-2009 Boston Celtics.  Actually, “something” isn’t even the right word, because there are multiple things wrong with this year’s Celtics team that if uncorrected, will spell disaster for the defending champs come springtime.  If you don’t already believe me, then I would respectfully refer you to the tape of last Friday’s pathetisad home loss to the Denver Nuggets as evidence supporting my forthcoming claims. 

Sure, it was only one game, and sure, it’s only November, but that game was like the antithesis of a youtube highlight reel of the Boston Celtics, showcasing everything wrong with the previously invincible Boston Celtics in one concise, well-edited 48 minute clip.  Last Friday’s game was so bad (how bad was it?), it’s taken me nearly a half dozen drafts of this post to decide which flaws to focus on and how to describe them without making myself violently ill.  

First and foremost, the Celtics killed themselves with turnovers on Friday and, quite frankly, have been doing so all season long.  Turnovers have kept the Celtics in close games all year and have precipitated both of their losses this year (in their first loss to Indiana, Boston turned the ball over an astounding 24 times), and Friday night’s embarrassing loss to Denver was no different.  In that game, the Celtics coughed up the ball 18 times, which led to a mind boggling 28 points for Denver.  While the turnovers killed the Celtics throughout the game, it was especially bad in the first quarter where the Celtics turned the ball over seven times, spoiling an 18 point eruption from Ray Allen that could have very well demoralized the Nuggets for the entire night.

And while the Nuggets were active on defense and did their part to force some mistakes by Boston, the Celtics repeatedly shot themselves in the foot at crucial moments throughout the game.  Most of the turnovers on Friday were simply mental mistakes by the Celtics, killing runs and momentum whenever it seemed that the Celtics were poised to regain control of the game.  Championship quality teams do not make these kinds of mistakes, plain and simple.  This season, the Celtics are dead last in the NBA in turnovers per game, averaging a whopping 17.5 per game.  In case you were wondering, the 2006-2007 Celtics (owners of the franchise record 19 straight losses) were only 27^th in the NBA at an average of 16.5 turnovers per game.  It is extremely difficult to win games without taking care of the ball, and the only reason that the 2007-2008 NBA champion Celtics weren’t repeatedly killed by their turnovers (they averaged a shade over 15 per game) was because they were forcing more turnovers than they were giving up (not so this year). 

In addition to costly turnovers, last Friday’s contest with the Denver Nuggets exposed the Celtics’ second unit in a painful and humbling fashion.  Without a calming veteran presence like James Posey to come off the bench early and often, the Celtics looked lost on offense with the second unit on the floor.  While Leon Powe, Eddie House et al can get it done sometimes, the Celtics have a painful lack of consistency off of the bench and often don’t know where the ball needs to go to get a good shot while the second unit is on the floor.  I almost feel like it would be better if Doc just told Eddie House to jack up a three pointer and had everybody else just go for the offensive rebound, it would be more natural for House and might actually get the Celtics better shots off of the second chance opportunities (wait, this isn’t what they’re doing now???).  

At this point, the Celtics look like they need to add a piece to the bench to add some consistency to the second unit and take pressure off of the guys currently riding the pine for Boston.  A veteran point guard who can make plays and create easy shots for others off of the bench would be huge, though I don’t want to see either Stephon Marbury or Damon Stoudemire suit up in Celtic green any time this year (never thought I’d say this, but what is Jason Williams up to these days?).  It doesn’t even have to be a point guard; all the Celtics need is a calming presence to solidify the bench and bring a reliable 8-10 points off the pine every night.  Right now, Doc Rivers has no idea who’s going to be his guy off the bench, and as a result he’s had to play Garnett, Allen and Pierce longer to give the Celtics at least one reliable and trustworthy option on the floor at all times. 

As if the turnovers and the unreliable second unit weren’t problematic enough for Boston, the Denver debacle (patent pending!) featured something I’ve hardly ever seen from the Celtics this year or last that was especially troubling: open space in the middle of the floor.  Although the trademark defensive intensity was present for the game against Denver (Rajon Rondo had seven steals), there were several defensive sequences where the lane was wide open for Denver as a result of poor rotation or simple mental lapses.  I almost never saw this from the Celtics last year, and as a result, Denver was able to punish the Celtics and get easy baskets in the paint or an open shot on the perimeter off of penetration.  

Granted, Kenyon Martin was hitting outside shots (something he isn’t known for) and forcing the Celtics to stretch out to play him, but even so Boston gave the Nuggets all the space they needed and then some to win the game.  I can even distinctly remember a few sets where the Celtics (specifically Kendrick Perkins) were guarding Nene closely at 18-20 feet, leaving a ton of space in the middle to be exploited.  Guarding Nene anywhere outside of the paint/elbow area is a mental error, and last year, the Celtics did not make mental errors on defense.  All things considered the defensive effort on Friday was good, but when the offense is sputtering the way it has been for the Celtics, good just isn’t enough to win even the games the Celtics are supposed to win. 

As always, there’s a silver lining to all of this gloominess, and that is that this indicator is coming so early in the season.  These problems can be fixed, either by adding a key piece to the roster (McDyess, cough, cough, cough) or by simply fixing the problems in practice over the coming months.  Also, the Cletics offense has been painful to watch this year and open shots that should be falling aren’t at this point.  Ray Allen looked especially sharp on Friday (a terrific sign), and once more of those open shots start falling the Celtics can hopefully become the unstoppable juggernaut that they were last year.  It was only one game, but the problems that it exposed will persist unless the Celtics continue to work hard for 48 minutes every game night from now until May.