Doc Throws Out Half of the Offensive Plays

[Bahku]

Doc has made the decision to whittle down the Offensive Playbook by about 50%:



WALTHAM, Mass. – Heading into Game 1 of the 2011 NBA Playoffs, Doc Rivers is bringing his team back to the basics. Just two days prior to tip off against the New York Knicks, Boston’s head coach decided to slash his team’s playbook in half. Literally.

“I’m cutting out literally half of our offensive playbook,” Rivers told the media after Friday’s lengthy practice, which lasted about two and a half hours. “I made a choice: I’d rather run a couple things well than a lot of things average or poor.”



The rest of the story is here.

I personally think this is a great move, (as does Rondo, according to the article), considering the state of things ... what do you folks think?

[Surferdad]

So the whole team will run half the plays, which is good because half the team doesn't know the whole playbook.

[thirstyboots18]

    Keep It Simple, Sweetie!   

[Bahku]

   Keep It Simple, Sweetie!   

Yeah ... there was obviously enough confusion that remained with the new guys to warrant doing this ... I don't think he would have done it without good reason, but I think it's a great move on his part.

[Moranis]

You can't really cut Pierce ISO in half, so I'm confused.

[Dante]

Doc is really admitting that he has been coaching useless 50% offensive sets and now he is going to improve on them? It took him 82 games to find out this? He should be running for Coach of the Year.

[Spilling Green Dye]

I think its a good move in this particular series.  The Knicks are a very poor defensive team, so by keeping it simple an open shot should arise after just a few passes.  In addition, this should cut down on turnovers and transition points.

However, against the Bulls/Heat/Lakers I think the playbook needs to be extended and mixed up a bit.

[hpantazo]

Heinson has been saying this for a while now. Red's teams had only a few plays but they dominated. Keep it simple!

[hwangjini_1]

Looks as if doc is gearing up for the playoffs in an intelligent way.  Reducing the number of plays will help the new players, of which there are many. Fewer plays to master, more reps on the plays they know.

As for the starters, they know the plays but can now focus on executing certain plays better.

Honestly, I thought it has been the celtics offense that has faltered as of late. Hopefully this will keep them focused and allow them to all execute plays better.

It is not that 1/2 the plays have been bad all year. Over a season, doc puts in lots of plays to provide variety, test new ideas, etc. Some work, some don't, some are better than others for certain players.

By now, Doc knows which plays work with which player combinations and will focus on those plays that work the best.

Good for doc.

[birdwatcher]

I think it's exactly what the offense needs. In a 7 game series the other team is going to see/know all your sets anyway, so the only thing you can do once they've figured you out is execute. It's all about execution, so if every guy on the floor knows 3 or 4 basic plays inside and out it should only help them. Solid execution will also give them confidence going deeper into the playoffs--they will all trust each other as teammmates to either hit their shots or to get the ball to the right person.

I think a good football analogy is Mike Martz's offenses. When everyone on offense knows the plays inside and out, it's "the best show on turf". When you keep complicating the plays and making them more elaborate, forcing your QB to make more reads and having WRs making their own decisions on multiple options within a route, that offense can come crashing down, leading to your QB getting sacked 9 times in a game (Cutler this year against the Giants).

[get_banners]

smart move for this series. the knick play no defense. better to run fewer sets and get the new guys 100% down with them and then keep building up. the nice thing about the playoffs is we'll have plenty of practice time. so doc can sneak in a few more plays in each practice for the new players to master, but not run them in the games until the next round.

[EJPLAYA]

Doc is really admitting that he has been coaching useless 50% offensive sets and now he is going to improve on them? It took him 82 games to find out this? He should be running for Coach of the Year.

I think you underestimate the timing and difficulty of running plays in the NBA. When run well, they aren’t useless plays. When you have such widespread lineup changes and insertion of new faces, the most difficult plays can easily not work as well as they should. I give credit to Doc for not forcing something that isn’t working, as he knows our defense is good enough to keep us in games as long as we have a reasonable offensive outing. Being stubborn and struggling in the playoffs is a better option for you?!

[housecall]

They aren't exactly facing a defensive juggernaut in the first round anyhow...make some adjustments alone the way.

[jimmehx]

You can't really cut Pierce ISO in half, so I'm confused.

Hahahaha TP for sure but sure you can! Shoot after 12s!

[Jeff]

kind of surprised this didn't happen after the trade (and it probably did for the 2nd unit) but maybe this will help the new guys like Green and Krstic

even Delonte hasn't had a lot of time to practice all the plays and Shaq will be a bit rusty (despite the showing he put on that brief 5 minute run before getting hurt again)