If there was ever a time to rediscover yourself and bring forth the wrath of Hades, a game against the Los Angeles Lakers on the second night of a back-to-back is it. Of course, the Boston Celtics have dropped their last two games and have looked a shadow of their usual selves while doing so, which further strengthens their need to channel their inner ballers and let loose against LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Luckily, the Lakers aren’t the world-beaters that they appear to be on paper, far from it, actually. In fact, LeBron and co. are sitting 12th in the Western Conference with an 11-15 record and boast a 28th-ranked defense over the past two weeks. As such, the Celtics should have no problem finding areas to attack and, hopefully, ways to overcome Darvin Ham’s team.
This is the NBA, though, and wins don’t come easy. With that being said, here are my 3 tickets to triumph heading into Tuesday’s game.
Dare them to shoot
Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images
The Lakers have struggled for three-point shooting and floor spacing all season, and to this point, nothing has changed. Currently, the Lakers are 28th in three-point shooting, 25th in mid-range success, and 7th when finishing around the rim.
So, if the numbers tell us anything, it’s that you want to keep the Lakers on the perimeter, force them into attacking close-outs, and then take away their drives so they have to shoot middies. Sounds easy, right?
Well, judging by the Lakers’ shot frequencies, it would seem other teams are finding it to be! The Lakers rank 27th for attempts on the perimeter and 21st for mid-range attempts, but no other team is taking more shots around the up, with 40.4% of their offense coming from within 4 feet of the basket. It’s worth remembering that Anthony Davis is currently playing the best basketball of his life, and is a singularity on the glass, so the Celtics will have their work cut out in keeping him at bay!
May I suggest running veer backs on him when he rolls off the screen?
With no Horford or Rob, I would be interested to see the Celtics running some veer-back coverage on AD when he operates as the roll man. Getting in front and underneath him could help keep him out of the paint – if anything, at least it would limit his second-chance opps.
— Adam Taylor (@AdamTaylorNBA) December 13, 2022
Get back to running decoy actions.
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