[T]he Celtics saw their points allowed per 100 possessions shoot up from 100.8 with Garnett--far...

[T]he Celtics saw their points allowed per 100 possessions shoot up from 100.8 with Garnett--far better than the Magic's 103.0 Defensive Rating--to a whopping 109.6 when Garnett sat out.

At the other end of the floor, Boston has actually thrived without Garnett. The Celtics' drop-off on defense is somewhat offset by the fact that they have pushed their Offensive Rating from 111.4 points per 100 possessions to 115.2 in Garnett's absence.

Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus

I wanted to refer to an article written by Pelton a few weeks ago, given the relevance the information has pertaining to the series between the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics. Two notes .. this article was written before the Leon Powe injury, so that should be taken into consideration. Likewise, this article was written before the Courtney Lee injury, so that should be taken into consideration too.

Logically, the Celtics and Magic will be affected with the absences of Powe and Lee, respectively, on both ends of the court. For Orlando, even without Courtney, the team is still an elite defensive squad. On offense, the Magic do have the ability to offset Lee's production but the jury is out on that, for the moment.

about 1 year ago erivera7 7 comments 0 recs |

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The Lee injury is very intruiging

Three to four months ago we would have had no idea that missing Courtney Lee would be so damaging to our playoff hopes. I still think we lucked out in a way because SG is probably our deepest position on the roster. An injury to Skip or Lewis would have been devastating…and while Lee was really turning it on late, Pietrus and JJ are capable of filling in admirably.

by Lee for three on May 4, 2009 2:00 PM EDT reply actions

Magic did luck out.

.. that it was Lee injured and not someone like Alston or Lewis, as you mentioned.

I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.

Some of your smartest have tried to articulate/My whole part in this/But they're fruitless in their harvestin' - Lupe Fiasco

by erivera7 on May 4, 2009 2:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Speaking of this

has there been word on who is getting the start tonight.

I would figure it would be Pietrus matching up with Allen with JJ getting most of his minutes against House. We could afford to start Redick in game six going up against Willie Green but I gotta figure Stan will try to stifle Allen w/Pietrus’ length

by Lee for three on May 4, 2009 3:32 PM EDT up reply actions

No official word, yet.

I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.

Some of your smartest have tried to articulate/My whole part in this/But they're fruitless in their harvestin' - Lupe Fiasco

by erivera7 on May 4, 2009 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions

The Celtics are not even close...

to the same defense they were with KG. KG was the center piece to our defense. The Celtics don’t look to hold opponents to 80 points a game anymore, as this stat proves.

Instead the Celtics have upped the ante on the offensive end. Glen Davis, Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo have all stepped up on the offensive end.

That being said, the key to this series will be defense. If the Celtics can contain Howard and Lewis they have a chance. If they can’t, it will be a quick series.

by beantownkid10 on May 4, 2009 2:26 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah, I think the Celtics have done a great job of adjusting on the fly.

Instead of defense, defense, defense .. Boston has favored an up-tempo, offensive strategy (the team is t-2nd in pace, so far in the playoffs). It’s definitely allowed Rajon Rondo, especially, to blossom.

In the end, I agree also .. the key is defense. Whoever can stop the other team will win the series.

I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.

Some of your smartest have tried to articulate/My whole part in this/But they're fruitless in their harvestin' - Lupe Fiasco

by erivera7 on May 4, 2009 2:33 PM EDT up reply actions