On February 2, 2024, the Los Angeles Lakers, who are ninth in the West, take on the Celtics on the road. Previously, the Lakers' record has been up and down since the midseason Cup, and James and Davis are also resting in this game; On the other hand, the Celtics have a full lineup and the team's record has always been in the league.
In the first and second places, the most recent defeat was only lost to the Clippers, who have been in the best form in the league for more than a month, and it seems that the suspense of victory and defeat has been lost. And in this situation, the Celtics lost to the remnants of the Lakers on their home court, so let me talk about why the Celtics lost this game and the problems exposed by the team.
1. Why did the Celtics lose
1.The Celtics started with an inaccurate shot
The Celtics' shooting performance in this game was undoubtedly disappointing, with none of the starting five shooting above 50%. While the Lakers have their natural defensive strengths (height, arm length, and fast movement), the Celtics, one of the league's best and most offensive teams, shouldn't have such a poor shooting performance (five of them hit just seven three-pointers).
As the league with the most three-point shots per game this season, the Celtics are shooting just 33 from three-point range3% (Celtic 16, 48; Lakers 19 36, 52%), although the three-point shooting percentage is not completely inaccurate, and even the Celtics still lead in two-point shooting, but in the case of both starters occupying a lot of the team's ball possession (shots) and salary space, such a shooting percentage performance cannot make the team win. (The Celtics hit nine three-pointers off the bench).
2.The Celtics' miscalculation of the Lakers' hotspot engine plan.
The Lakers are definitely a team that doesn't look good but doesn't have an easy time playing.
First of all, the Lakers have many defensive giants this season, such as Prince, Reddish, Vanderbilt, etc., and others such as Hayes, Hachimura, Wood, Christie, etc., although they have some problems of their own, but all of them are extremely athletic players (height, arm length, fast movement). And on the offensive end, no one knows what kind of surprise these people will bring to the team, and once the Lakers miss the three-point accuracy, they will use their athleticism to force the rim and force physical confrontation to force the opponent to make mistakes and fouls.
It is true that the Lakers played extraordinarily today with players such as Rivers, Christie, and Hachimura (Rivers scored more than two Tanhua), but the Celtics failed to match the intensity of the Lakers, with 15 turnovers and 19 fouls, which made the players unable to shoot with all their strength in the deciding period and finally lost the dominance.
Second, the problems exposed by the Celtics
1.Over-reliance on three-point shots
The Celtics' current style of play is indeed too magical, and the players start to run and shoot three-pointers when they don't agree with each other. The all-out touch does make it difficult for opponents to parry, not only with three-pointers but also with transitions (Brown, one of the best converting players in the league), and all kinds of singles are also emerging. Once you feel cold or encounter a team like the Lakers with a very solid defensive base, you will fall into the embarrassing situation of inaccuracy.
In terms of my own method, the three-point shot is a weapon that can kill the opponent, but the basket offense and the regular two-point shot are the basic plate of a team. The Warriors, who were as strong as a few years ago, did not have such a huge number of three-point shots, and they relied more on passing, three-pointers, and individual star abilities to form a three-dimensional offense to disrupt the opponent's defense. The Celtics really need to improve their tactical ability and mid-range shots to add to the offensive level.
2.The team lacks the ability to solve tough games when facing difficult games
The hard solution of the star has always been the most fascinating part of the basketball game, and as the star of the Celtics, Tatum, especially Tatum, has always been worried about his ability to score in key games.
Tatum and Brown are both offensive and defensive players who are barometers of the team on both ends of the floor. As Brown has focused more on defense in the past two years, Tatum's offense has become increasingly important to the Celtics. Tatum has an excellent talent and has an innate foundation for scoring singles against any defender. However, in recent years, he has shown an extremely inconsistent attacking performance. Whether it's the poor performance of losing to the Warriors in the 2022 Finals, or the shooting performance of hitting only single digits on more than 20 shots when he loses, it makes people doubt his ability to solve hard. I think the key lies in the gradual deepening of his magic ball style of play, which makes him relax his cultivation of mid-range scoring. Although Brown has a lot of mid-range strong shots, the attrition on the defensive end of the key game makes it impossible for him to maintain a very consistent shooting touch.
3.Lack of organizational skills against strong teams
The Celtics' two biggest defenders are Holiday and White. Holiday has excellent defensive and physical qualities, but is not as good as a top defender in terms of organization for the team; White has excellent tactical skills and is highly motivated on the court, but once the player opposite him has excellent confrontation ability, the field becomes very difficult (such as when playing the Clippers White is facing George's defense when attacking), which increases the pressure on the forward players to carry the ball.