The Problem Is Much Deeper Than Just Offense

This is what Doc has been saying. Every player, every team, goes through shooting slumps. This team sure as hell has lately, and that’s a problem. But that alone can be overcome. The reason they’ve been blowing games is their REACTION to their offensive lapses. What Doc wants to see — what we’ve seen in the past — is guys stepping up in OTHER ways... fighting for those 50-50 balls, intensifying their defense, getting rebounds, and generally helping in any way they can.

This is what’s been missing. There's no urgency, most of the time. When they get a big lead – they let up. When they miss their shots, sometimes their easy layups – they retract and basically sulk. Then the defense goes to hell (helped along by those misses, which set up the other team's transition O), the 50-50s start going the wrong way, and then, well... all hell breaks loose and games slip away.

Doc calls this "selfishness." Maybe he’s right. I rather think of it as something simpler: lack of urgency and focus. (I think that because those are traits usually associated with this time of year -- which also means they are more likely to disappear when the playoffs start. Selfishness is much longer lasting. So let’s hope Doc’s characterization is wrong.....)

I don’t actually see PP or KG doing this. Not sure about Ray. But this is CERTAINLY a problem with Rondo, and most especially Krstic. Those are two pretty big cogs in this machine... more than enough to throw the whole team out of whack.

So how does the future look? When Shaq replaces Krstic, that will help a lot. K's tendency to retract will hopefully fade on the 2nd team (where the pressure and spotlight are not so intense), especially when he sees the starters playing the right way. Which leaves: Rondo. He's the big question mark. We always knew that this team needs Rajon to play his game. That's still true, now more than ever.