GAME 3: Toronto Raptors vs Boston Celtics 09/03/20 6:30 PM ET TSN

[golden]

This scene really is straight out of a James Bond movie....

[planetmars]

The one thing that really irritates me and it's happened a few times is when we get a steal or deflection are on a 2-1 on an open break and get called for an offensive foul. The very next play Boston gets a 3 point play. It's so deflating.

Fred and Pascal used to be money on the break. They have lost their sense of awareness. Get back fast, but watch out for their pests like Kemba, Smart, etc.. if you can't make a shot at the rim, pull back and try again with a half court offense.

[planetmars]

This scene really is straight out of a James Bond movie....

Because it's the bubble, Kyle has so much more room on the sidelines that he can just see over top anyone. He wouldn't have been able to make the pass like that if it was in a regular stadium.

[golden]

The one thing that really irritates me and it's happened a few times is when we get a steal or deflection are on a 2-1 on an open break and get called for an offensive foul. The very next play Boston gets a 3 point play. It's so deflating.

Fred and Pascal used to be money on the break. They have lost their sense of awareness. Get back fast, but watch out for their pests like Kemba, Smart, etc.. if you can't make a shot at the rim, pull back and try again with a half court offense.

Fred is taking it hard to the rim and getting stuffed a LOT, instead of slowing down and trying to get fouled or find the trailer like Lowry does.

[inthepaint]

Because it's the bubble, Kyle has so much more room on the sidelines that he can just see over top anyone. He wouldn't have been able to make the pass like that if it was in a regular stadium.

If it was in a stadium (ACC) there's no way Celtics would have won game 2. Series would probably still be 2-1 for one team or the other.

[The Great One]

Did anyone hear Jaylen Brown's comments after the game? he's Jimmy Butler like. Everything about him is Jimmy Butler - his game and his mentality. They gotta watch out for him tomorrow. And Siakam better step up, Brown has completely OWNED him in this series.

[DanH]

Using your own explanation in your very next post as an excuse for Gasol getting targeted by Stevens... I guess we can say unequivocally that the Celtics got "exhausted" , which is why they weren't contesting 3's as hard in the second half. Do you even read your own posts? smh. You switch back and forth between being data-driven and rational and then just making up stuff and conjecture, when things don't fit your narrative. Pick a lane and stick to it.

But still, after getting red-hot in the second half... FVV and Lowry ending up shooting only shot 33% from 3 for the game and a number of those makes were due to improved 2-man screening action with a big, which is a good adjustment to counter the Celtics length and closeout speed. Context. If you think the Celtics aren't playing awesome defense, you need to give your head a shake.

I do think the Celtics are playing good defence! I just don’t think that Brown contest is indicative of every contest this series. I think it’s probably the best contest this series outside of any actual blocks on the perimeter, which means it is not a good example to demonstrate the cause of the Raptors shooting woes. Never mind the more obvious point which was that the shot was NOT classified as wide open like so many have been.

The Celtics had players logging the extreme minutes the Raptors did, especially in the 2nd half? Huh, didn’t notice that. I guess the two teams were equally exhausted. Weird how the Celtics didn’t get exhausted in the other two games. Guess I just need to give my head a shake. Weird how Brown was suddenly not exhausted on that final play to make that great contest. Ah, thinking too hard here, gotta shake harder.

[inthepaint]

Another observation/thought. This is all on memory and I have not stats to back it up:

It seemed like in the 2nd half Lowry (and FVV a bit too) got to the rim with a lot of success. Thinking back on the other games the raptors shot a lot of 3's and Siakam certainly tried to post up but the guards didn't attack the rim much. Seems like the Celtics strategy is to pressure the 3 point shooter but not give up much drive and kick action. They may send a double at Siakam in the paint to give him fits but Lowry and FVV seem to not attract as much attention or help defense attacking the basket.

I noticed that too. In a way the Celtics defensive focus is the opposite of the Bucks. Bucks pack the paint, Celtics pack the perimeter (and start nagging our guards high up near the half court). They do that regardless if they're in zone or man-to-man defence. Theirs and Miami's are among the most aggressive zones defences I've seen (as in putting the guards way high up). The exception to that is when they're on Siakam, where there's usually a help defender roaming around the paint as he tries to postup.

To open up perimeter leaning defences like that, we need to do exactly what we did yesterday: Have the guards take it to the rim with force after a high screen to free them up. In addition to that though, you need the screening bigs to be a factor, either rolling to the basket or popping out for 3 or midrange shot, plus wing corner shooters way out in the corner, to prevent the defending wings to come help (and if they do come help, the driving guard should kick it to the corner)

You must get paint touches with the Celtics. That's an imperative I think our guys are starting to discover. They don't have strong shot blocking so you need to put pressure inside. They'll try to contain you there too, but at the expense of sucking a lot of their manpower into it, which means someone on our end is open. Ball movement just on the permiter and postup at the elbows without paint touches will get you nowhere against that Celtics defence. Paint touches on the other hand (even if the final shot is not in the paint), will create the strain you need to break through their set defence.

[golden]

I do think the Celtics are playing good defence! I just don’t think that Brown contest is indicative of every contest this series. I think it’s probably the best contest this series outside of any actual blocks on the perimeter, which means it is not a good example to demonstrate the cause of the Raptors shooting woes. Never mind the more obvious point which was that the shot was NOT classified as wide open like so many have been.

The Celtics had players logging the extreme minutes the Raptors did, especially in the 2nd half? Huh, didn’t notice that. I guess the two teams were equally exhausted. Weird how the Celtics didn’t get exhausted in the other two games. Guess I just need to give my head a shake. Weird how Brown was suddenly not exhausted on that final play to make that great contest. Ah, thinking too hard here, gotta shake harder.

Yep. The contrast between you trying to sound rational and arrogant at times, and then using posterior extraction and snarkiness when it suits you, is indeed head shaking. And you completely forgot about Gasol getting hunted for blow-by's.... that's basically what Stevens said the play call was on the Kemba pass and Theis dunk. There were earlier breakdowns for dunks as well. And your explanation is "guys got exhausted, Doug" and "help at the back-end issues". Well, at least you acknowledge that explanation is being pulled from somebody's back-end.

Gasol can simply do no wrong in your books. How about the obvious explanation: Gasol is slow AF in space and the Celtics are exploiting that. Kemba went right around him like a damn pylon in an open gym.

[007]

Because it's the bubble, Kyle has so much more room on the sidelines that he can just see over top anyone. He wouldn't have been able to make the pass like that if it was in a regular stadium.

The one thing I really hope the NBA keeps from the bubble is the extra room on the sidelines and baselines. It’s much more freeing for the players

[The Claw Reborn]

The one thing that really irritates me and it's happened a few times is when we get a steal or deflection are on a 2-1 on an open break and get called for an offensive foul. The very next play Boston gets a 3 point play. It's so deflating.

Fred and Pascal used to be money on the break. They have lost their sense of awareness. Get back fast, but watch out for their pests like Kemba, Smart, etc.. if you can't make a shot at the rim, pull back and try again with a half court offense.

The turnovers at the opposite end were the worse after a series of stellar defensive effort.
There were so many instances in Game 2 and a few in Game 3 that were momentum breakers when they missed some opportunities to extend the lead.

Lack of concentration more than anything else.

Hopefully the miracle shot from Mr. “Ice in his veins” OG Anunoby would allow the rest of the team to calm down and summon their “Kawhi-like playoff killer instinct swag”

[saints91]

Personally I am glad the Raptors magically stopped hearing footsteps at the end of this game and the Celtics decided not to challenge like they have been all series on wide open threes for the final 18 minutes of this game where the Raps shot 8 of 14 from three. Lucky they decided to stop playing awesome defence on open shots I guess, with the exception of that last shot that OG made anyway. Here’s hoping they don’t decide to do it again, forcing the Raptors to start missing those threes again.

If Kyle can get layups at will, you would think Siakam, Powell and TD would be able to do the same with the right action. Get Serg, OG and Gasol more touches inside. They'll eventually have to make an adjustment that will open up the perimeter a bit. We can't live and die with the 3

[Jclaw]

That was an incredible angle. Thanks for sharing.

I'd like to see the angle from the other side of the court if it exists. There's a point where Jaylen is still in the air but falling backwards with his arms up as the shot goes.

[golden]

I'd like to see the angle from the other side of the court if it exists. There's a point where Jaylen is still in the air but falling backwards with his arms up as the shot goes.

[Jclaw]

meanwhile...we're all sh***ing on Siakim but do you think the bostonites are doing the same thing to Tattum? Well, maybe they are but he was even worse last night. Or at least the same.