The Boston Celtics are dominating the first few weeks of the season, but there are trends that cause concern – including Jaylen Brown’s performance so far. RJ Barrett, on the other hand, seems to have turned a corner with the New York Knicks. The findings of the week.
Also: What’s up with the many technical fouls on dunks and Red Panda!!
NBA – Die Last-Game-Offense der Celtics und Jaylen Brown
The Celtics are 13-4, the best record in the NBA, and yet there are still critical voices in Boston. Coach Joe Mazzulla’s timeout management remains a constant topic; for example, in the defeat in Orlando, the head coach did not take a single timeout during a 0:17 run. There are parallels to the previous year: After a red-hot start, the Celtics are now only ninth in the offensive rating, but the Celtics remain number one in the net rating (+9.1).
The late-game offense is still an issue. The lost 9-point lead with 140 seconds left in Charlotte, the (ultimately unsuccessful) comeback of the Bucks in the big game, all of this fueled criticism again, and in some cases rightly so. A few times the shots simply didn’t fall, but Boston once again fell into the habit of slowing the game down and then going late in their own sets. 22nd place in finishes at the ring shouldn’t be the case for this team with this spacing either.
And then there is Jaylen Brown, who is increasingly being viewed critically, sometimes a bit unfairly. After all, he can’t do anything for his monster contract (5 years, $288 million), but Brown remains a player with clear strengths, but also obvious weaknesses. His scoring has decreased somewhat, the same applies to his throws, but there are always actions in which Brown overexcites and simply overlooks the free teammates, like here for example.
Brown has three options:
The pass to the completely open Porzingis under the basket The pass to the also free Payton Pritchard in the corner The three-pointer over the outstretched arms of Miles Bridges
Option c) was the worst option, the result was a beautiful brick. This is just an example, but not an exception. Yes, Brown is a tough shot maker, but Boston has so many weapons on this team that they hardly rely on something like that. Against the Bucks, Brown showed good signs after the disastrous Charlotte game, in Orlando (18 PTS, 6/22 FG, 3 TO, 2 assists) the guard fell back into old patterns. It is noticeable that Brown often has two problems in halftime when defenses increasingly try to force Brown to dribble with his left, which remains the big weakness.
And don’t get me wrong: Brown is one of the best transition players in the league, he can run hot from mid-range and yet it’s always noticeable how flawed Brown’s game can be. The question now is whether Brown can minimize this further or whether Boston’s team is just too good that it doesn’t matter. For now the Celtics are winning and it’s mainly luxury problems when you pick out things like that, but the playoffs of the past few years have shown that Boston has failed again and again, especially because of these little things.
NBA – Has RJ Barrett got the corner?
Barrett was never a favorite of Advanced Stats, which is why the Canadian was always somewhat scrutinized in New York. But this season everything is suddenly different. According to Cleaning the Glass, the 23-year-old has a net rating of +16.4; otherwise, curiously, only Donte DiVincenzo (+0.1) is in positive territory. Now with Barrett you can point out that a lot of it has to do with hot shooting (currently 44 percent; career average 34.8 percent), but that’s only half the story.
Yes, Barrett otherwise remains very weak from the two-point range (only 45 percent), but much more important than his ratings is how Barrett is used. The fit with the starting five alongside Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson will always remain a bit bumpy, but the Canadian is now spending more time in the second unit as a small four – depending on how you want to interpret Josh Hart’s role.
And that works. With Immanuel Quickley, Donte DiVincenzo, Hart and Isaiah Hartenstein, the Knicks once again have a bench unit that is difficult to top. This quintet is currently +13, making it the Knicks’ best lineup. Barrett can shine here as a flexible defender, has more space and, above all, makes better decisions, which coach Tim Thibodeau also noted: “He’s getting better and better at reading the defense and also moves much better off the ball.”
NBA – Even LeBron James can’t stop Alperen Sengün
We wrote about Sengün in detail a few weeks ago, and since then the Rockets have lost a few close games on the West Coast. Nevertheless, it was an example of his development with the Rockets, who was also the go-to guy in these tight games in crunch time.
How many players dare to post up LeBron James in crunch time? The 38-year-old’s defense may not be what it was in days gone by, but LBJ is actually still capable of holding up in such situations with his massive body in the league. It didn’t matter to Sengün, who simply scored here.
By then, word should have gotten around in the league that Sengün is a star. Well, maybe on the Warriors broadcast. Here co-commentator Kelenna Azubuike gave the following take: “Sengün is really not a bad passer. Sometimes the offense even runs through him.” After all: Azubuike and commentator Bob Fitzgerald hadn’t forgotten that Fred VanVleet had held Stephen Curry here and there in the 2019 finals. Quick tip: Never select the Warriors feed in League Pass if you are not a Warriors fan.
NBA – Rookie im Fokus: Jordan Hawkins (Pelicans)
We try to list a rookie here every now and then, this week’s No. 14 pick is Hawkins. It’s often talked about how fit plays an important role in the draft and one can only say: The Pelicans desperately needed a player like Hawkins. Due to the injuries to CJ McCollum and Trey Murphy III, there was a lack of shooting, so it was logical that Coach Willie Green moved Hawkins to the starting five.
Hawkins has now started a game nine times, and the guard has 15.4 points and nine attempted three-pointers per game (33.3 percent success rate). The odds may sound a bit disappointing, but Hawkins’ presence alone helps the spacing. He is respected by the defense, moves a lot off the ball and repeatedly gets free throws via handoffs.
The first half in particular on Sunday night in Utah was an example of Hawkins’ strengths, who ultimately scored 25 points but hardly saw a ball after the change. It may not have been a coincidence that New Orleans’ offense (without Zion) eventually fell apart.
NBA – The unspeakable rim hanging
Well, no one should be surprised that technical fouls are thrown if a player hangs on the hoop for too long after a dunk. It was one of the so-called “points of emphasis” before the season and everyone involved in the NBA was informed about it. So it was no surprise that LeBron James immediately agreed to his T in Clevelandwhen the refs penalized him for hanging on the ring too long.
Others, however, were more surprised, like Jayson Tatum two days earlier in Orlando: “That doesn’t make any sense,” said the Celtics star. “Anyone who’s ever dunked knows that the most important thing is to land stable. You don’t want anyone to be under you. Maybe they just want me to land on my back.” So, In the case of Tatum, this danger did not exist.
But it is also a fact that the leash is already very short and the fast Ts disrupt the flow of the game. At the same time, everyone should know. So why this rule? On the one hand, it should be ensured that the basket system is not damaged, but on the other hand, the much-vaunted “respect for the game” also comes into play here. Nevertheless: As long as you don’t overdo it completely, this rule is as unnecessary as a goiter.
By the way: “Flopping” is also a point of emphasis, and there have been significantly fewer calls of it so far.
NBA – Red Panda is no longer Red Panda
Red Panda has been an integral part of halftime shows in the NBA for 30 years now; the little Chinese girl with the unicycle and the bowls is repeatedly booked, especially for bigger games. Red Panda is cult, but anyone who watches League Pass carefully will not have gone unnoticed by the fact that the mistakes are increasing among the now over 50-year-olds.
This was also the case recently at halftime at Celtics vs. Bucks, where Red Panda dropped her bowls several times. It took her three attempts to transfer the six bowls from her foot to her head, and even when she did, Rong Liu, her real name, had to help with her hands.
This is unusual, but has been observed several times this season. We hate to say it, but it seems like Red Panda’s time is coming to an end. But let’s be honest: whether she catches the bowls or not, there’s nothing better on a night than hearing this soundtrack during halftime.
2023-11-27 08:39:00
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