Stan Van Gundy
For 3 games of the Eastern Conference Finals the Magic relied on what they knew best. They relied on what had gotten them into the playoffs, and what had helped them sweep the first two rounds. Of those 3 games Orlando did not come away with any victories. Never once was there an adjustment on how to approach the Celtics “stay home” approach on defense. Every shot was contested, and the Orlando offense was relatively stagnant in every game, until game 4.
The Orlando Magic actually showed some life, some will power and desire to play in game 4, and most of all, they had made some adjustments. Prior to game 4 Orlando’s answer to Boston’s man-to-man defense was to counter it by going one-on-one with Vince Carter. Carter, at one point in his career, had been very explosive off the dribble, and able to get to the hole almost at will, and with the Celtics not doubling down on Howard, coach Stan Van Gundy figured Carter would be the answer.
After 3 games of VC not being the answer, and 3 games of the Celtics still not doubling down on Dwight Howard, Stan Van finally figured out a way to get his players open…by running an actual offense. Van Gundy and his coaching staff seemed to have relied so much on Howard being dominant in the post that they allowed their 4 perimeter players to stand virtually motionless outside the arc in anticipation of a kick-out pass from Howard.
The Magic came out in game 4 using screens all over the court, ball-screens and off ball-screens to create space for their perimeter players. Once the space was created it gave the Orlando players a chance to decide whether to pull up for a shot, or drive to the hole. Taking the ball hard to the bucket had not been one of Orlando’s strong points over the course of the series, game 4 they seemed to have realized that driving to the rack created both interior and exterior shots. What this Magic team began to do, was facilitate open shots by creating space with screens. The shots the Magic were taking were open because of well developed plays.
Whether the screen created an open shot, or created enough space to drive to the rim and then kick it out because of the collapsing defense, was exactly what the adjustments were for. Once there was penetration coming from more than one player, and more than one angle, the Celtics were forced to play help defense, which freed up Howard for ally-oops and dunks on the post.
Expect to see more of the same from Orlando tonight now that they have figured out a formula that worked. With Lewis, Carter, Nelson, and others penetrating, it forces Boston’s hand and finally gets their star, Dwight Howard, open.
What almost worries me more than a simple coaching adjustment that took extra time to actually get the W, is the fact that after laying down in game 3, the Magic seemed to have gained a whole lot of confidence back with their game 4 win. Boston had Orlando on the ropes, virtually begging for mercy in game 3, and somehow the Magic have snuck out of that, and are playing like they want to be here.
One other point of contention as game 5 approaches. It was clear that the stars of this Boston team were all tired by the end of regulation, not to mention overtime. Yes, there were rumored problems with Rondo’s leg, and maybe that is what was slowing him down, but Garnett, Allen, Pierce, and Rondo all played 41 minutes or more. Pierce tallying the most with 47. Doc has done a great job monitoring their minutes thus far, but it was apparent that the Big 3 were gassed by the end of game 4.
The Celtics will make the appropriate adjustments, as they did in the 3rd quarter of game 4 holding Orlando to 16 points, but look for fewer minutes from the Big 3 and look for Pierce to take fewer shots after tossing up 25 in game 4.
Sean Sendall – follow me on Twitter
Tags: Boston Celtics, Sean Sendall
