Boston and Detroit square off tonight in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Six Detroit Pistons (Hamilton, McDyess, Wallace, Billups, Stuckey, Prince) have averaged double-figures in this series.
Only three Celtics (Garnett, Pierce, Allen) are averaging 10 or more points per game.
Ray Allen’s struggles (38% from the field) have been well documented but if the Celtics are to advance to their first NBA Finals since 1987, they’ll need more from the man most responsible for getting them to this point: Kevin Garnett.
Boston 88 Detroit 79
Kevin Garnett: 11-of-17 for 26 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocked shots.
5-of-6 from inside the paint, 5-of-11 from outside the paint
Detroit 103 Boston 97
Kevin Garnett: 11-of-19 for 24 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assists, 2 blocked shots.
4-of-4 from inside the paint, 7-of-15 from outside the paint.
Boston 94 Detroit 80
Kevin Garnett: 7-of-16 for 22 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 0 blocked shots.
0-of-1 from inside the paint, 7-of-15 from outside the paint.
Detroit 94 Boston 75
Kevin Garnett: 6-of-16 for 16 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocked shots.
0-of-2 from inside the paint, 6-of-14 from outside the paint.
Analysis
KG has attempted more shots (68) than any other Celtic in the Conference Finals. He’s also leading ‘Boston’s Big 3′ in field goal percentage (.515). But 55 of those 68 shot attempts have been outside of the paint.
Fifty-two percent is a good shooting percentage but it pales in comparison to the 69% (9-of-13) KG is shooting from inside the paint.
This is why Kevin Garnett was the Defensive Player of the Year and not the MVP this season. He’s either incapable or unwilling to impose his will upon games and lead his team to victory on both ends.
Someone needs to remind Garnett that he’s a power forward!
And great power forwards (Tim Duncan, Kevin McHale, Karl Malone) do the bulk of their damage on the low block, with their back to the basket.
The player Garnett is most often compared to — Tim Duncan — has attempted 82 shots over the course of his Western Conference Finals series with the Lakers. Forty of those attempts (give or take a few since it’s difficult to count all of the X’s and O’s atop one another within TD’s shot charts at ESPN) have taken place in the key.
Duncan and Malone take/took their fair share of perimeter jumpshots. And like Garnett, each are/were capable of shooting a good percentage from that distance. But they also realized that they could help their teams more if they operated closer to the basket.
Low post basketball is more beneficial to a team than getting high percentage shots. It opens the floor up for perimeter play. It spaces the offense by drawing perimeter defenders down low. Low post scorers draw fouls and put their teams in the bonus.
Why is it so hard for Garnett to grasp these concepts? After 12 years in the league, he still doesn’t get it?
When motivated to do so, he’s virtually unstoppable on the block. He can turn to each shoulder with his back to the basket and his release is high enough that it’s impossible for defenders to alter his shot.
Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, and Jason Maxiell cannot stop him.
But Garnett’s only taken three shots from inside the paint over the last two games.
That’s inexcusable.
Can you imagine Kevin McHale, Karl Malone, or Tim Duncan taking less than three shots near the basket during one playoff game, let alone two?
Neither can I.
Garnett can continue to influence games from mid-range and hope for the best or he can dominate down low and lead his team to the NBA Finals.
The choice is his.
(Note: The title of this blog is a play on words. Judging from the emails I’ve received, a poor one at that.)
May 28th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Good article and I agree completely. His timidity in the post one reason why Garnett has struggled so much in the playoffs in his career. Even this season, Paul Pierce is the player doing the power work by bulling his way into the lane. KG is playing like just another pick-and-pop jump shooter and is simply playing like a better version of Antonio McDyess.
May 28th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Honestly, you’re really reaching here. By all accounts, Garnett has played a marvelous series so far. 22-11-3.5-1.5-1 on 51% shooting is a fantastic stat line, especially considering the snail-slow pace this series is being played at. He’s making fantastic decisions with his low-post passing and getting tons of open looks for Kendrick Perkins (there’s a reason he’s shooting 72% this series). He’s also, despite your implication to the contrary, shooting more free throws in this series than in the regular season, and he’s shooting almost three times as many as Kobe is shooting in the conference finals.
“Low post basketball is more beneficial to a team than getting high percentage shots.”
That’s a ridiculous statement. The entire goal of any type of offense is to get high percentage shots. Post play is important only because it typically does end in high percentage shots.
The Pistons are a good interior defensive team. You would much rather have KG shooting wide-open 15 footers (which he’s getting all day on pick and pops) than to have him shooting 10-foot turnaround jumpers with Sheed contesting them.
KG is getting wide open looks in the flow of the offense and he’s knocking them down. There have been times in his career where you could really point at his failure to exploit people on offense, this hasn’t been one of those times. He’s playing a fantastic series.
May 28th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Erick,
Thanks.
KG had a monster night (33 points) but once again, failed to establish himself down low.
Thankfully, Ray Allen did his part.
I appreciate your words of support Erick!
May 28th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
xphoenix87,
KG has played well but I haven’t liked his shot selection in this series.
The Pistons haven’t been a good defensive team on the interior since Ben Wallace left for the Bulls.
Comparing Kobe’s free throw attempts to KG’s is “ridiculous.” The Spurs committed the second fewest fouls in the league during the regular season. Kobe is a shooting guard.
KG is a power forward and before tonight, had gotten to the line as many times as Ray Allen had.
My stating that low post basketball is more beneficial to a team than getting high percentage shots isn’t ridiculous. Low post basketball doesn’t always result in the ‘highest’ percentage shot since the highest percentage shots are close to the basket. What it does result in is good looks and proper spacing.
It puts the pressure on the defense and often times results in foul trouble for the opposing team.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Oh, and since I’ve received a few emails about the title of this blog, I should state that the title is a play on words.
I know it’s ‘achilles heel’, not achilles heal.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Shooting Guards are regularly among the league leaders in FTAs. Kobe was 4th in FTAs this year.
And why do you care about getting good looks and having proper spacing? Because it leads to high percentage shots. Why do you care about getting to the free throw line? Because free throws are high percentage shots. Offense is ALL about getting the highest percentage shot you can, whether that’s a post-up or a jumper.
May 29th, 2008 at 8:45 am
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May 29th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Let me get this straight . . . KG is posting a 51.5% overall shooting percentage and 69% from the paint- where’s the problem here? I’m always amazed at the twists and gyrations people will go through to find something wrong with KG . . . give it up already.
May 29th, 2008 at 11:25 am
The NBA where 33 points is no longer good enough for some.
May 29th, 2008 at 11:42 am
NoraG1
KG played great last night. Not that it matters, but I wrote this blog yesterday…before Game 5.
May 29th, 2008 at 11:44 am
T-WolfForever
KG is shooting well from midrange. That’s not entirely the issue. As I alluded to within the blog, low post play opens up the game for perimeter play.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Ray Allen shot well last night.
Garnett and Perkins did a fantastic job of getting the Celtics off to a good start by making high percentage shots.
An early lead built upon shots close to the basket gives a team confidence and relieves the pressure off of outside marksmen.
May 29th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Haow are Duncan’s inside shooting helping the Spurs who are now down 3-1? Not a whole lot considering the way the series is going.
May 29th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Nora,
Duncan’s play isn’t the issue in that series. Ginobili is hobbled by injury and the Spurs haven’t received anything from their bench.
Also, Duncan’s offense down low has given San Antonio’s shooters PLENTY of open looks, they just haven’t been connecting.
That could change very quickly tonight.
May 29th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Don’t get me wrong, Garnett’s been incredibly useful in the series and has been a perfect compliment to Paul Pierce. With Pierce attacking and putting pressure off the dribble, Garnett has been able to float around and get open to knock down the majority of his open jump shots.
My qualm is that franchise players aren’t niche players where their success is predicated around other people making plays. In many respects, that’s exactly what KG has been.
And I agree about the post up situation. Attacking from the post does so much more to an opponent than shooting jump shots.
For one thing, being closer to the basket is fundamentally better than being farther away. The shots are closer.
Second attacking from the low post with a player of Garnett’s stature is an automatic double team because players of that stature routinely convert layups or get fouled in the post. This forces defenses to double and rotate perfectly (putting pressure on rotations) which may result in layups, or at worst, wide open jump shots.
Also, dominating in the post sends a message that you will defeat an opponent with physicality instead of finesse. While finesse isn’t always a bad thing, opponents will shut themselves out of games if they are dominated physically.
These are reasons why nearly every NBA championship team has been led by a powerful post player, and are reasons why I believe Garnett is a terrific (maybe an all-time) second-option, but nowhere near the claims of legendary, or all-time best power forward that I’ve heard in the past.
May 30th, 2008 at 7:18 am
Erick
Great analysis!
May 30th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
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